Distributed attention

“Imaged images – by which presenting many images simultaneously within a single optical act, calls for a visual self engaged in a mode of parallel rather than serial seeing. The result is a form of visual polyphony with sampled images as voices whose influence extends across contemporary design aesthetics as well as informatic imagery…linked narratives can be run and interpreted simultaneously.”

– Brian Rotman

“Similarly, interface design, page layout or mise en page, can be either a collage of disparate, competing elements or a delineated hierarchy. Interface design, like production design in movies, is an art to primarily guide attention as it flows through and around multiple elements on a screen. Gestalt design principles, such as contrast, proportion, proximity, isolation and repetition create hierarchies of importance in layout. But an interface that disrupts such clear orderings, forces a user to work at interpretation, to engage in a dynamic seeing and to speculate about narrative meaning.”