{"id":1459,"date":"2026-04-24T09:12:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/?p=1459"},"modified":"2026-04-24T13:16:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T13:16:33","slug":"issue-60-1-highlighting-techniques","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-60-1-highlighting-techniques\/","title":{"rendered":"Evaluating Interactive Highlighting Techniques in Digital Reading: An Empirical Study of Hover-Based Line, Sentence, and Paragraph Highlighting"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"sitecontainer\">\n<div class=\"pagecontainer\">\n<article class=\"vj-article\">\n<div class=\"articlesidebar\">\n<h5>Issue 60.1<\/h5>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-60-1-editors-introduce\/\">The Editors Introduce the April 2026 Issue<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-60-1-graphic-design-terminology\/\">The Terminological Development of Graphic Design: Between Office Art and Social Purpose<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-60-1-automation-type-design\/\">Automation and Artificial Intelligence in the Type Design Process: Insights from an Industry Survey<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-60-1-highlighting-techniques\/\">Evaluating Interactive Highlighting Techniques in Digital Reading: An Empirical Study of Hover-Based Line, Sentence, and Paragraph Highlighting<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-60-1-why-metafont\/\">Why Meta-Font Struck a Nerve<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-60-1-metafont-comments\/\">Metafont, Metamathematics, and Metaphysics: Comments on Donald Knuth\u2019s Article \u201cThe Concept of a Meta-Font\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-60-1-how-metafont\/\">A Profession Provoked: How Meta-Font Struck a Nerve<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-60-1\/Visible-Language-60-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Download Issue 60.1 \u27a4<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articlecontent\">\n<h1>Evaluating Interactive Highlighting Techniques in Digital Reading: An Empirical Study of Hover-Based Line, Sentence, and Paragraph Highlighting<\/h1>\n<h3>Szabolcs Vat\u00e1ny<sup>a<\/sup>, Thi Huyen Nguyen<sup>b<\/sup>, Anik\u00f3 Ill\u00e9s<sup>a<\/sup>, and Ann Bessemans<sup>c<\/sup><\/h3>\n<h4 style=\"line-height: 1.5;\"><strong>a<\/strong> Doctoral School, Moholy Nagy University of Art and Design; <strong>b<\/strong> Data Science Institute, Hasselt University; <strong>c<\/strong> Faculty of Architecture and Art, Hasselt University, READSEARCH research group<br \/>Corresponding author: Szabolcs Vat\u00e1ny (vatany.sz[at]gmail.com)<br \/>attention sustainment; digital reading; interactive highlighting; reading comprehension; typographic design; user experience<\/h4>\n<div class=\"abstractbox\">\n<p><span class=\"smallblueheading\">Abstract:<\/span> Maintaining user engagement and supporting comprehension remain key challenges in digital reading environments. This study examines the impact of interactive hover-based text highlighting\u2014on the line, sentence, and paragraph levels\u2014on reading speed, comprehension, perceived attention, and user preferences during interlude reading. In a study with 80 participants, we compared these interactive techniques to static text presentations. While no statistically significant differences were observed in comprehension or reading speed across the tested highlighting methods, participants\u2019 subjective ratings showed significantly higher perceived attention sustainment with sentence- and paragraph-level highlighting compared to the static condition. These findings suggest that while such techniques may not enhance measurable reading performance, they can positively influence user experience. This work informs the design of digital reading interfaces by presenting the potential of user-preferred interaction mechanisms to support attentional engagement. Future research should investigate the long-term effects and adaptation to mobile contexts, as well as assess the relevance of these techniques for readers with attentional variability.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"smallblueheading\">Implications for practice:<\/span> Designers of digital reading interfaces should note that while interactive hover-based highlighting does not directly improve comprehension or reading speed, it can meaningfully enhance readers\u2019 perceived focus. Highlighting by grammatical units\u2014sentences or paragraphs\u2014was both preferred and rated as more attention-sustaining than line-by-line highlighting, which divided users. This distinction matters: aligning highlights with how readers naturally process meaning appears more effective than segmenting by visual lines. However, highlighting alone should not be expected to boost learning outcomes. Its practical value lies in supporting sustained engagement, particularly when integrated alongside comprehension\u00ad-oriented strategies in e-reading tools and digital textbooks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"keywordsbox\">\n<p><span class=\"smallblueheading\">Keywords:<\/span> attention sustainment; digital reading; interactive highlighting; reading comprehension; typographic design; user experience<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"viewarticlebtn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-60-1\/VL-60-1-Vatany-et-al.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"articlepdfviewer\">\n<object data=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-60-1\/VL-60-1-Vatany-et-al.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-60-1\/VL-60-1-Vatany-et-al.pdf\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" style=\"border: none;\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/object>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"authorbox\">\n<p><span class=\"smallblueheading\">Author<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Szabolcs Vat\u00e1ny<\/strong> is a doctoral student at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest, where his research focuses on digital readability and typography. He holds an MA in Graphic Design and has several years of professional experience as a UX designer. His background spans interface design, type design, and multiple areas of graphic communication. His work often explores the intersection of design, disability, and education, including projects aimed at improving accessibility and developing educational technologies. He has also led university courses on related topics, integrating design practice with inclusive and research-based approaches.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Thi Huyen Nguyen<\/strong> is a Doctor of Preventive Medicine with an MSc in Epidemiology and a PhD candidate in Statistics. She has over eight years of combined experience in public health, infectious disease modeling, and clinical research. She specializes in statistical modeling, data analysis, and reproducible research workflows, with applications spanning public health and non-health domains such as cognitive accessibility and design perception. Her work bridges quantitative methodology with real-world problem solving, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration across academic, governmental, and international partners.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Anik\u00f3 Ill\u00e9s<\/strong> PhD, is a psychologist and aesthete, professor of Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest. Her main research interest is about issues concerning visual culture, such as psychology of art (appreciation of artworks, creativity, analyzing artworks), pedagogical aspects of art and museums, analyzing visual images as a research method for several topics in the fields of education and social psychology (schooling, educational gap, perceived social mobility of children, national identity). She was the Secretary General of International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (2020\u20132025). She was a Fulbright researcher at Montclair State University, NJ, USA (2020).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann Bessemans<\/strong> (prof. dr.) is a leading expert in legibility and an award-winning typographic and type designer. She is the founder of READSEARCH, the legibility research group at PXL-MAD School of Arts and Hasselt University (Belgium), where she is affiliated with the Faculty of Architecture and Arts and the Data Science Institute (DSI). In addition to her academic work, she also operates as an independent designer and consultant. At PXL she teaches typography and type design. Bessemans is the program director of the international Master program \u201cReading Type &#038; Typography.\u201d With a PhD (under the supervision of Gerard Unger) from Leiden and Hasselt Universities, her data-driven legibility research, supported by multiple Microsoft grants, aims to improve typeface design for diverse reading needs, including those with impairments. She actively engages in various academic and research roles, actively participating in the board of directors at ATypI.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"viewarticlebtn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-60-1\/VL-60-1-Vatany-et-al.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Download PDF<\/a><br \/>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"articlecitebox\">\n<div>\n<p class=\"blueurllink\">DOI being generated<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cite this article:<\/strong><br \/>Vat\u00e1ny, S., Nguyen, T. H., Ill\u00e9s, A., &#038; Bessemans, A. (2026). Evaluating interactive highlighting techniques in digital reading: An empirical study of hover-based line, sentence, and paragraph highlighting. <em>Visible Language<\/em>, 60(1), 58\u201383. https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-60-1-highlighting-techniques<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>First published online April 26, 2026. \u00a9 2026 Visible Language \u2014 this article is open access, published under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.<\/p>\n<p><pre>https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal<\/pre>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"vlconsortiumheading\"><strong>Visible Language Consortium:<\/strong><\/span><br \/>University of Leeds (UK)<br \/>University of Cincinnati (USA)<br \/>North Carolina State University (USA)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Issue 60.1 The Editors Introduce the April 2026 Issue The Terminological Development of Graphic Design: Between Office Art and Social Purpose Automation and Artificial Intelligence in the Type Design Process: Insights from an Industry Survey Evaluating Interactive Highlighting Techniques in Digital Reading: An Empirical Study of Hover-Based Line, Sentence, and Paragraph Highlighting Why Meta-Font Struck &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-60-1-highlighting-techniques\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Evaluating Interactive Highlighting Techniques in Digital Reading: An Empirical Study of Hover-Based Line, Sentence, and Paragraph Highlighting&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-issue-60-1","category-research-article","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1459"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1515,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1459\/revisions\/1515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}