Visualizations are central to climate change communication, yet subtle layout decisions may change how viewers allocate attention and how urgent the climate crisis feels. We report an eye-tracking study that experimentally varies (1) where a key insight/takeaway is placed relative to a climate graph (inline annotation near the plotted data, subtitle, or bottom footnote) and (2) whether an adjacent image is shown near the visualization. Thirty-three undergraduate participants viewed five visualization conditions while gaze data (fixations and dwell time in predefined Areas of Interest) and post-stimulus perceptions (perceived climate threat) were collected. For insight placement, annotations near plotted data reliably captured attention to the insight region, whereas bottom footnotes promoted comparatively greater attention to the plotted data. Opinion on the climate crisis was affected when the insight was presented as a footnote. For imagery, adding an adjacent image reduced visual attention to the visualization itself, without a corresponding increase in perceived climate threat. Together, the results suggest that designers should treat text placement and adjacent imagery as attention-shaping interventions: integrated annotations can foreground key points, while footnotes may encourage deeper examination of evidence without competing for attention.
