Pack heatmap interpretation

Overview

A heatmap shows you where people actually looked on your packaging or shelf image, based on real eye-tracking data collected from participants. This article explains how to read it.

How the heatmap works

Decode's eye tracking technology records where each participant's gaze lands while they look at your image or video. The heatmap takes this data from all participants and overlays it on your image as a colour gradient, so you can see, at a glance, which areas got the most visual attention and which were barely noticed.

Reading the colours

• Warm colours (red, orange) — areas that received the most attention; the warmer the colour, the more people looked there
• Cool colours (blue) — areas that received less attention

Use this to quickly spot which parts of your package or shelf are actually pulling focus, and which are being overlooked entirely.

Transparency Map

An alternative view that makes the areas participants looked at most transparent, rather than colouring them. This gives you a clearer look at the underlying image itself while still showing where attention went, useful if the colour overlay is making it hard to see the actual design underneath.

Adjusting the display

The heatmap can be adjusted using three sliders:

• Radius — controls the size of the gaze point area
• Shadow — controls the depth of the colour intensity
• Blur — controls how sharply the gaze points are defined

Reading emotion data alongside the heatmap

Alongside the heatmap, emotion data is tracked second by second, covering engagement, attention, and specific emotions. This tells you not just where people looked, but how they felt while looking at different parts of the shelf or pack, useful for spotting, for example, a product that draws attention but doesn't generate a positive emotional response.

Reading AOI data alongside the heatmap

If you've marked specific elements (a brand name, a product visual, a price, a tagline) as AOIs, use their metrics alongside the visual heatmap:

• Time to Discover — how quickly that area was noticed; a lower value means it drew attention fast
• Earned Attention — how much total attention that area held

The heatmap shows you where attention went at a glance. Emotion data tells you how people felt while looking. AOI data gives you the precise numbers behind specific elements you care about. Use all three together, rather than relying on the heatmap alone, since a busy-looking heatmap doesn't tell you whether the right elements were noticed, only that attention went somewhere.

What to do next

To see this applied to a full shelf image, see Shelf visibility analysis. To see it applied to a single package design, see Packaging design testing.