This study uses a fashion shop facade design to track human gaze, find gaze frequency for gaze time for the gaze points along the path of sight, and expose the importance of facade design and figure out the value through theoretical systematization. Current spatial design direction is ‘consumer-oriented’ and accordingly, the purchase action in a sales space becomes a bi-directional complex action. A bi-direction complex action refers to purchasing not just the product for the function, but including the mental state or experience in the purchase. Such phenomenon takes ‘what you first see’ and ‘what is first seen’ to be important. Thus, this study employed the measurement method in physiological psychology which is sight-tracking device with eye-tracking to perform effective data evaluation. To find gaze frequency and study the contents to reflect on the facade, precedent study review, survey, and case study of facade design to collect stimulants to be used in eye-tracking experiment were executed. And the eye-tracking experiment which traces the movement of eye(pupil) was performed along with post-experiment survey. As the result of analyzing gaze frequency, three points could be summarized about human sight.
First, it was found from the overall area gaze frequency analysis process that human sight forms gaze path continuously seeking for something (to enter the sight). The objective of gaze path in the space is visual interest, which are formed through repetition of sight movement and stay. The characteristics of such gaze path formation made the characteristics for gaze frequency even clearer. What was characteristic in the analysis result according to ‘average value for gaze time’ was that only 8 out of 2000 areas showed over 1 second of frequency and, and all other shoed less than 1 second of gaze time. This indicates that human sight endlessly jumps around, and that it ‘Stay’ where it has interest. This study found the average of the frequency of this ‘Stay’ in facade design.
Second, all images can be said to have drawn ‘attention’ by providing visual evidences. The sight of subjects, however, was analyzed to have deviated away from the provided image and moved outside the image as well. Such phenomenon was observed in all images except for one, and this indicates that even if people have certain ‘objectives’, people naturally show interest in the nearby surroundings beside the ‘objective’.
Third, through gaze analysis, the following conclusion was drawn about the ‘interest level of sight'' for gaze frequency. The interest level can be interpreted to be higher for faster sequence, shorter entry time, longer all fixation(ms) for dwell time, faster all saccade(%), higher hit ratio, more revisits, more revisitors, longer average fixation, faster and longer first fixation, and more fixation count, and the person can be said to have felt interest faster and/or more.
This study well presents the major points to add value to the design of the space of facade based on scientific measurement/analysis data obtained through visual understanding. It is hoped that the theoretical background using eye-tracking in this study would be utilized as a more accurate and precise analysis tool for business owners or designers and be provided as the concept of visual value of expressional element, and serve as an elementary resource to deliver design value efficiently to the consumer.
Through such, this study is thought to be able to have a positive interaction with marketing by forming a theoretical background bringing utility to purchase environment and assisting in sales increase.