What consequences could left-right facial perception have for everyday life? The impact of facial signals may be very different if sent from the left or right sides of the face: “Mary raised an eyebrow when he mentioned the price” “The boss flashed him a wink of understanding” “Jim’s wry smile suggested that he’d heard this all a hundred times before” Try some quick experiments. Assume a questioning stance and raise a single eyebrow, wink at an imaginary partner. Make a wry, one-sided smile. Notice that with each of these responses, you have a preferred side. As your left face side is controlled by your left brain hemisphere (and vice-versa), which of your two brains is doing the “talking” when you animate one side of your face? What are the implications for sitting opposite a discussion partner? Could communication be improved by sitting slightly to the side where our dominant hemisphere can pick up more facial cues? Should this affect the seating during an important negotiation? or a business dinner? What about standing on the left or right of an audience when making a presentation? Could it be that for most of us at least, a three-quarter portrait looking to our right is in some way more understandable than when it is looking to our left? Could it be that a smiling face lit from our left looks friendlier because the shadow side is on our right? What consequences could this have for designers in the selection of images and their placement on a page or screen? Is that photo on your CV, ID or driver’s licence showing your “best side”? Our emotional response to photographs of the human face can be radically affected by simply mirror-flipping the image. Which of these these two images of George W. Bush do you find the better picture? Did Time Magazine get it right? If you are right-handed you’re likely to say “yes”! Given that a significant minority of the population (60% of left-handers, 10% of right-handers) have a right visual field bias; what are the design, perception and communication implications for this significant minority? Although there is an extensive literature on facial perception, I have found few answers to the issues suggested above. Left-right perception could be a rich field for original and useful research. Further Information and References... Continue to enter the exhibition... If you have any feedback or suggestions concerning this subject or my site I would be very happy to hear from you. Please provide your name and e.mail if you are interested in receiving research results. first name: last name: e.mail address: