Tehnički vjesnik 26, 3(2019), 823-830 823 ISSN 1330-3651 (Print), ISSN 1848-6339 (Online) https://doi.org/10.17559/TV-20180109110718 Preliminary communication Effects of Colour Combination on Short-Words Processing Speed Nace PUŠNIK, Anja PODLESEK, Uroš NEDELJKOVIĆ, Klementina MOŽINA Abstract: In television broadcasts, important information is often conveyed with short inscriptions. In such elements, the typeface, letter case, positioning, timing and colour combinations may affect the speed of information processing to the level of recognition. It is therefore necessary to choose an appropriate combination of these properties. In the present study, we were especially interested in the effects of applied colours in connection with the above-mentioned factors. The speed of recognising three-letter words was measured in different experimental conditions where the typeface of the inscription, its position and colour combination varied. Two typefaces (i.e. Calibri and Georgia), two letter cases (i.e. upper-case and lower-case), two positions (i.e. upper left and right) and four colour combinations (i.e. white on blue, blue on white, white on red and red on white) were tested. The results showed that colour combinations affected the speed of word processing to the level of recognition. Keywords: colour combination; letter case; position; recognition; typeface 1 INTRODUCTION While watching television informative programmes, we mostly focus on the video and sound. However, some important information, e.g. the location of a certain event or the identity of the person speaking, is also conveyed through graphic elements (indications). In such elements, the typeface, letter case and position of their presentations may affect the speed of processing information to the level of recognition [1–3]. It is hence necessary to choose an appropriate combination of these properties. The present study examined to what extent, in comparison to, for example, typeface, letter case and location of indication presentation, the recognition threshold is affected by the colour combination. The television technology has rapidly developed in terms of technological improvements [4]; however, at the same time, the area of ergonomic requirements and related graphic design has been put aside. Graphic design should receive more attention as it may affect the processing of information presented on the screen. The effect of colours in connection with appropriate typography on information processing has been studied less than expected. Both, technology and design factors, should be taken into account since both areas are important for effective exploration and implementation of improvements [5–8]. Short inscriptions can appear on a screen during television news. In most cases, they inform the viewers about the facts that could be important for them, e.g. sport results, election results, upcoming content etc. The viewer should therefore be able to receive and process the information. The latter should be presented in a way which is convenient for the user, not requiring too much effort for comprehension. Limitations can occur since short inscriptions are present on the screen for a limited period of time, during which the viewer may not be focused on the screen content. The question arises as to how short inscriptions should be presented on the screen to be processed in a minimum amount of time and with minimum attention resources. Certain typefaces and other relevant characteristics of information presentation may lead to quicker and more efficient processing than others [9–11]. Common guidelines of typeface application for titles of short duration (excl. subtitles) are somewhat vague, since there is a lack of research on the practical use of typography in this area. For this reason, the present study focused on how the shape of letters, letter case, position on the screen and especially colour combinations affect word legibility in the case of short titles presented in a limited amount of time. We studied recognition thresholds, i.e. the minimum time needed for recognition (correct recall) of the presented title. The importance of title position was pointed out by Leckner [12]; however, present study also wanted to address the role of other factors (i.e. shape of characters, colour combination) in title recognition and their interaction with the title position. Inscriptions in news programmes are rarely shown in isolation. In practice, they are put on coloured backgrounds to increase their visibility, making them easily distinguishable from the video, which is typically essential and attracts attention to a greater extent [13–17]. The choice of colour of the text and background is not trivial. The colour combination can affect our decisions subconsciously [18]. For example, in line with the research on the applicability of colours [19, 20] in advertising, it is recommended that specific colours be selected to suit an individual stakeholder group. Furthermore, colour may benefit the working memory [21]. The news programmes often use a combination of white, red and blue colours (cf. Fig. 1, Examples of corporate identities of TV news), trying to achieve a good colour contrast and visibility. For example, a white (light) text is combined with a blue background (cf. Fig. 1, Panels A–B), a dark blue text is presented on a background of higher brightness (cf. Fig. 1, Panel C), a white text is presented on a red background, or vice versa (cf. Fig. 1, Panels D–F). The method of reporting news differs between national and commercial informative programmes – commercial television stations tend to present news in a more sensational way. They may want to use red combined with white for titles, since the red colour is associated with danger, aggression or fear [28, 29]. It can activate avoidance motivation and enhance performance on detail- oriented cognitive tasks [30]. In turn, it can lead to greater attention given to short inscriptions that will appear during the broadcast. On the other hand, national television channels tend to follow the principle of authenticity more, using a calm mode of providing information. Therefore, in brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk