The Use of Iambic Pentameter in the

Figure 9. Flight status display with ambiguous grouping
Note. In each interface, text groups by the principle of color similarity within the ‘Status’ and ‘Measure’ columns.
However, text also groups by alignment within the ‘Current’ and ‘Recommended’ rows.
The designer in our example has grouped the information in each display by the
principles of alignment and color similarity (see Figure 9). Grouping by color similarity
is used to show difference between the ‘Status’ and ‘Measure’ categories of information.
Grouping by alignment is used to show the difference between the ‘Current’ and
‘Recommended’ categories. Recall that the pilot’s task is to locate the ‘Current’
measurement of altitude and speed before making a decision about landing. If the pilot
groups the information by alignment, she will likely find the ‘Current’ status of both
altitude and speed very quickly. However, the nature of the pilots’ task requires her to
saccade across the displays very rapidly. In these conditions, is the designers’ intended
grouping of information perceived? If so, is one grouping interpretation more salient than
the other? If the alignment grouping were most salient in limited exposure conditions,
then the pilot would locate the relevant information very efficiently. However, if color
grouping where the most salient in limited exposure conditions, the scene would appear
to be grouped by ‘Status’ and ‘Measure’ categories. In this case, the grouping of
information would not help the user discriminate between ‘Current’ and ‘Recommended’
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