Visual complexity: Is that all there is?

Abstract

Visual complexity is conventionally defined as the level of detail or intricacy contained within an image. This paper evaluates different measures of complexity and the extent to which they may be compromised by a familiarity bias. It considers the implications with reference to measures of visual complexity based on users' subjective judgments and explores other metrics which may provide a better basis for evaluating visual complexity in icons and displays. The interaction between shading and complexity is considered as a future direction for the empirical study of visual complexity. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.