Five-second test
Also called 5-second test, first impression test
Showing a design or a message for a few seconds, then asking what people remember or think it is for.
First impressions form fast, and most visitors give a page only a few seconds before deciding whether to stay. A five-second test reproduces that: the material appears once, for a fixed time, then disappears before the questions, so the answers reflect what got through rather than what careful study could find.
Ask open questions first (what was this page for, what do you remember) and specific ones after. The open answers show what the design communicates on its own; the specific ones confirm whether one message landed.
Five seconds suits a page or an ad; a dense message may need ten. Keep the exposure the same for everyone you compare.
Where it goes wrong
Letting people look again. Once the material can be reopened, the test becomes a reading test and the first impression is gone.