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Audience research on visual language during Weekend of Science

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18 September 2024
During Weekend of Science, designer and cognitive psychologist Fenne Roefs of Bureau Mijksenaar and VU Amsterdam is starting a study on visual language. You often see flags indicating safety in places where you can swim outdoors. But are those flags clear enough? During this audience research, participants are asked to design comprehensible flags.

Every year, Weekend of Science organises an audience research project to explore the frontiers of science. This year, the focus is on visual language and how people interpret visual information. For example, coloured flags on beaches indicate how safe the water is, but previous research shows that the public often misunderstands them, which can compromise their safety.

Therefore, in this research, the design of the flags is made not only for, but also by the public. Participants design the flags themselves by choosing from different colours, icons and frames. ‘We think changing some colours can help make the flags more understandable. Pictograms can also clarify the meaning,’ says Fenne Roefs.

Here, Roefs examines what associations between visual language and meaning arise with age and what the flags should look like so that they are clear to everyone. How quickly participants choose is also noted, giving insight into the strength of their associations.

The research is being set up and conducted by Fenne Roefs, researcher and designer at Mijksenaar Lab, and PhD candidate at VU Amsterdam. Professor of visual cognition Chris Olivers and cognitive neuroscientist Joshua Snell will support her. The research will run for a year and will start on location during the Weekend of Science.

Want to participate in this research? Then head over to this website or visit the Weekend of Science! The audience research will be at Techniekdag Arnhem on 5 October and at Utrecht University on 6 October. 

Weekend of Science

Weekend of Science takes place annually on the first weekend of October and is organised by NEMO Science Museum, on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Read more about the programme on the Weekend of Science website.

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