The impact of design representation on visual perception: Comparing eye-tracking data of architectural scenes between photography and line drawing

Background Representation in architecture is essential in that most of the design process is performed in representing media. Previous visualization studies have used questionnaires to reveal the relationship between the credibility of representation and high-level features (e.g., accuracy, realism, and abstraction) but had limited impact on the understanding of how people perceive and should produce representations. Methods In this study, eye-tracking data from six pairs of photographs and line drawing images were used to understand how representations affect people's perceptions of architectural scenes. The impact of the educational background of the viewer and the sensitivity to a change in the given architectural scene was also investigated. Results Line drawing, relative to photography, was found to scatter and concentrate attention depending on the means of expression, to reduce the difference in attention between major/non-major groups, and to lessen the shift in attention according to scene changes because of the reduced contextual information. Conclusions While this study suggests how representational differences may be alleviated through technical means, we also argue that line drawing has a unique potential as a common cognitive ground for more open discussion.