Is there any evidence which shows whether users are more able to recognise another user's Photo over their Username or vice versa?
I am interested in understanding this from a usability perspective.
Lets say on a site such as this network, a user has both a username as well as a photo/avatar.
- On Sci-Fi.se DVK has a very recognisable avatar
- On StackOverflow.se Jon Skeet has a very memorable username
Which of these is more recognisable/memorable?1
i.e. If DVK was to change his picture2, would this throw users off (not quickly recognising who the post if from) or would there be more of an issue if Jon Skeet changed his username?3
1. Lets ignore rep points, as it is not relevant to my question.
2. The caveat here is that 'DVK' is also a memorable username, but for the sake of this example lets ignore that.
3. Please reference research where possible.
Answer
Some people have a great memory for words, other people a great memory for faces. Some have both or neither.
Some avatars can be completely generic and difficult to remember, such as Gravatar's autogenerated avatars.
Others can be very unique and memorable. Your DVK example is a good one.
Some usernames can be completely generic, such as this site's "user3216857". Others can be very unique and memorable. This is also very individual, since topics or references that impress me might not impress someone else (e.g. the username Gandalf wouldn't be especially memorable to someone unfamiliar with LoTR, but it's safe to assume that more SO newcomers would remember the name Gandalf than Jon Skeet - which is only memorable because he is Jon Skeet).
People process images faster than written words, even in their native language. Also, images contain more information and they are much more diverse. If you squint a little, all words will look pretty much the same, while you can still tell apart your average avatars. So they're usually easier to identify. This is separate from memorability.
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