Banner Features That Attract Visual Attention: An Eye-Tracking Study of Email Signatures

Broad research in both human-computer interaction and psychology has revealed that visual attention is frequently drawn to either salient or inherently appealing stimuli. In this eye-tracking study with 40 university students, we examined how banner features in email signatures affect viewer attention and engagement, focusing on the most effective features for capturing visual attention. In the laboratory experiment, participants were instructed to read short emails with a banner in the lower section. In the second stage of the study, banners varied in specific design features: color (pastel vs neon), brightness (bright vs dark), the presence of a call-to-action button, animation (dynamic vs static), and the inclusion or exclusion of a human face. We monitored the participants’ visual attention to these banners and collected their click preferences and preference ratings using a five-point Likert scale. The study’s results showed that banners with pastel colors, lower brightness, animation, call-to-action buttons, and including a human face received more attention and higher preference, except for dynamic animation. These outcomes suggest that incorporating these specific features in email banners can effectively enhance recipient attention and engagement, with implications that could be extended to encompass broader aspects of digital communication and user interface design.