I have to disagree. The entire argument of the article is that people learn a specific pattern for looking at websites that they don't use in other contexts; putting a blank screen in front of them wouldn't trigger this pattern.
The test subjects were looking at a large variety of websites. Some used the top-left logo design and some didn't, but this didn't seem to make a difference -- almost everyone looked up and left with their second fixation. I might update the post to make this more clear.
I'd be interested to know a couple of things. First, what types of sites were the people in the study were looking at? My gut feel is that I look at news sites in a different way than I look at product sites, for example. Second, for product sites, where do users look when they are seeking a call to action? When I first view a page I am looking for information. went I want to take action, I scan around looking for a button or link.
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GazeHawk intern here -- I wrote the article.
I have to disagree. The entire argument of the article is that people learn a specific pattern for looking at websites that they don't use in other contexts; putting a blank screen in front of them wouldn't trigger this pattern.
The test subjects were looking at a large variety of websites. Some used the top-left logo design and some didn't, but this didn't seem to make a difference -- almost everyone looked up and left with their second fixation. I might update the post to make this more clear.
I'd be interested to know a couple of things. First, what types of sites were the people in the study were looking at? My gut feel is that I look at news sites in a different way than I look at product sites, for example. Second, for product sites, where do users look when they are seeking a call to action? When I first view a page I am looking for information. went I want to take action, I scan around looking for a button or link.