Perceived relationship between elements of a complex display

An important aspect of complex control and display layout is the grouping together of functionally related areas. Three experiments on perception of the relationship between elements of a complex display are reported. In the first experiment, subjects were presented with an array of nine plain elements with different element and external aspect ratios as well as different values of solidity of the display. Subjects reported their judgments on the perceived relationship of three groups of three elements which were related in either a horizontal or vertical direction. It was found that both aspect ratios were important in determining the strength of the 'vertically'-related response. Solidity of the display was not important. Two further experiments used display elements from power stations. The first of these experiments used a series of display elements with varying element and external aspect ratios; both of these variables were found to be significant in determining the perceived relationship between elements. However, the results are not as clear as those for the abstract elements used in the first experiment and suggest that more extreme aspect ratios are necessary to ensure that the desired relationships are perceived. The third experiment considered displays in which the elements within the one display were of different sizes. The perceived relationships are further weakened by the inclusion of this factor.