Measuring visual search time for a product warning label as a function of icon, color, column, and vertical placement

The first step in producing warning compliance is getting the user to notice the warning. Although research has examined various factors of consumer product warnings, very few studies have objectively measured the noticeability of warnings. In the present study one indicant of noticeability, response time, was measured as a function of several warning label factors. Specifically the experiment employed a 5 (icon) x 3 (color) x 2 (column) x 3 (vertical placement) design, plus a control condition. Participants indicated which of two given warnings was present on a simulated product label (an over-the-counter drug label was used) and the response time was measured. Later they were asked to rank a set of labels according to having the most to least noticeable warning. The presence of an icon and color produced significantly faster response times than their absence. The ranking data showed that people preferred icons and signal words presented in red. Implications for warning label design are discussed.