Navigating Comics II: Constraints on the Reading Order of Comic Page Layouts.
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| Title: | Navigating Comics II: Constraints on the Reading Order of Comic Page Layouts. |
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| Authors: | Cohn, Neil, Campbell, Hannah |
| Source: | Applied Cognitive Psychology. Mar/Apr2015, Vol. 29 Issue 2, p193-199. 7p. |
| Subjects: | Comic books, strips, etc., Reading research, Written communication, Layout (Printing), Graphic novels, Questionnaires |
| Abstract: | Although readers typically believe that comic page layouts should be read following the left to right and down 'Z-path' inherited from written language, several spatial arrangements can push readers to deviate from this order. These manipulations include separating panels from each other, overlapping one panel onto another, and using a long vertical panel to the right of a vertical column to 'block' a horizontal row. We asked participants to order empty panels in comic page layouts that manipulated these factors. All manipulations caused participants to deviate from the conventional Z-path, and this departure was modulated by incremental changes to spatial arrangements: The more layouts deviated from a grid, the less likely participants were to use the Z-path. Overall, these results reinforce that various constraints push comic readers to engage with panels in predictable ways, even when deviating from the traditional Z-path of written language. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | Although readers typically believe that comic page layouts should be read following the left to right and down 'Z-path' inherited from written language, several spatial arrangements can push readers to deviate from this order. These manipulations include separating panels from each other, overlapping one panel onto another, and using a long vertical panel to the right of a vertical column to 'block' a horizontal row. We asked participants to order empty panels in comic page layouts that manipulated these factors. All manipulations caused participants to deviate from the conventional Z-path, and this departure was modulated by incremental changes to spatial arrangements: The more layouts deviated from a grid, the less likely participants were to use the Z-path. Overall, these results reinforce that various constraints push comic readers to engage with panels in predictable ways, even when deviating from the traditional Z-path of written language. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 08884080 |
| DOI: | 10.1002/acp.3086 |
