ABSTRACT
This chapter will discuss the most, and one of the least, frequently employed sensory channels in current
interface design: vision and touch. Foveal vision1 in particular continues to be relied on heavily in display
design, mostly because it affords a higher rate of information transfer than other sensory channels
(Sorkin, 1987). Visual representations appear to be well-suited for conveying large amounts of
complex detailed information, especially in the spatial domain. They also allow for permanent presen-
tation, which affords delayed and prolonged attending. However, in many environments, overreliance
on, and the inappropriate design of, foveal visual displays has resulted in data overload and related break-
downs in attention management and human-machine interaction.
