Eye Saver
Taking a break in front of the screen is a necessary evil of many people's lives in the 'digital age'. The application described below examines the role of the screen being lit - or black - while taking a break in front of it.
Background
Light can enter the eye through the closed eyelid. While the percentage is small, it is still perceivable.
Concept
The application described in the following is a black screen saver, activated as soon as the user closes his eyes for a certain time, i.e. to take a break. This example is based on the experience that flashing a screen white and black was a well-accepted means to get the user's attention while watching a movie with temporarily closed eyes.
I was interested in finding out if the black screen (opposed to a lit screen) might give a better feeling of relaxation when taking a break in front of the screen.
Implementation and user test ´
The computer in the user test had two states: a white (lit) screen, or a black screen. The users were asked to play around with the two screen settings and try to relax in front of the screen with their eyes closed.
Summary of findings
All users agreed that the black screen was giving them a better feeling of relaxation, even if they had their eyes closed, and mostly after a very short period of time. The white screen was, in comparison, found to be disturbing the relaxation.
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I think that blackening the screen might well encourage computer users to close their eyes more frequently in front of the screen, especially when this could be combined with further advantages, such as relaxation support or 'non-visual productivity', as in the 'Spoken Word' application.
