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I'm designing a Queue display for a typical service counters which shows a bunch of queue numbers.

  • There are approximately 8 counters
  • Queue numbers need not be displayed in sequence
  • There will be approximately ~50 people sitting in the waiting room

So it will look something like:

Q121 Counter 1
Q523 Counter 2
Q134 Counter 3
Q651 Counter 4 etc...

Every time this page is updated with new queue numbers, the new numbers will 'flash' along with an audio queue.

I'm having trouble determining how I should animate this, such that people are aware that their number is being called, but without being too annoying?

  • How many times should I 'flash' the numbers?
  • How long should I flash the numbers?

Wondering if anyone has any feedback on how I should go about this, or best practices for designing such a thing. We did a bunch of testing, but its very hard to simulate the actual physical environment as it doesn't exist yet.

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I would avoid blinking the information. The ideal is the blinking of the direction indicator:

  • this number (Q121) should go to (➡️) counter XX (Counter 1)

enter image description here

Regarding time, if the counter has a computerized service, the flashing time usually ends when the service is registered upon receiving the user.

Update after the comments

When we work on projects aimed at a general audience, we tend to think of middle-aged people with optimal perceptual abilities. But this is not real. If the project is aimed at a hospital, an elderly person with a strange code in his hands and a series of similar codes on a blinking screen, will surely have immediate perception problems. In fact, I put the red arrow to emphasize the meaning of the answer, although I would look for something more subtle but easily noticeable.

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  • Interesting, what was your reason for blinking the direction? I was thinking that blinking the whole line would be more obvious
    – cgtk
    May 29 at 15:07
  • Personally, I find Danielillo's option less annoying than the whole line flashing. FWIW, in the clinic I use to go, the new queue ID gets on top with a background that flashes three times and a "ding ding ding... ding ding ding" sound. A new number replaces it, whether the user goes to the counter or not.
    – Devin
    May 29 at 15:23
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    @cgtk Answer updated.-
    – Danielillo
    May 29 at 16:37

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