Design standards for icons: The independent role of aesthetics, visual complexity and concreteness in icon design and icon understanding

R. Collaud; I. Reppa; L. Défayes; S. McDougall; N. Henchoz  et al.

Icons play an important role in modern interfaces and therefore recent empirical research has focused on enhancing icon processing — that is, icon perception and icon function understanding. However, in existing sets, icons vary simultaneously across different icon characteristics, confusing the contribution of each to icon processing. We developed icon design principles for aesthetics, complexity, and concreteness, and used them to create 64 icons that varied independently along each characteristic. Participants reported the icon function and rated each icon in terms of aesthetics, complexity and concreteness. The manipulated characteristics had independent effects on icon processing, with two exceptions, for which we propose evidence-based solutions. Based on these findings we propose guidelines for designing icons for research purposes.

Une apparente simplicité

R. S. Collaud

The influence of new UX principles for inclusive UI design: How older people perceive Facebook compared to a senior-dedicated social media platform

R. S. Collaud; A. Sonderegger; N. Henchoz

Contrary to preconceived ideas, the vast majority of older people have the necessary skills to use digital tools. Although they do not like to rely solely on digital solutions, they are willing to use digital tools to enhance their lives – but have specific needs with regard to the design of such tools. This study examined the effects of the application of specific design-heuristics in the development of a social media platform on several outcome-variables in UX tests. The resulting digital tool — Resoli — helps users create and publicize new events and share memories from past ones. The tool Resoli was compared to Facebook by 26 seniors (55-85 yrs.) who conducted similar tasks on both platforms. The goal was to determine the usefulness of the developed UX design-heuristics and their influence on typical measures of UX such as perceived usability, emotional state, aesthetic, and performance measures. The results showed that participants rated Resoli significantly more positive than Facebook on all UX-indicators and showed better performance. This indicates that the use of our UX design-heuristics is meaningful and useful for this group of users.

Designing for visual appeal, simplicity and concreteness: the development and evaluation of design standards to manipulate icon characteristics

R. S. Collaud; L. Défayes; S. McDougall; I. Reppa; N. Henchoz  et al.

Good icon design is now recognized as crucial in determining user experience with mobile, PC and other applications. However, research examining icon use and processing is based on the use of existing icon sets. This leaves many questions about how new icons can be created with specific characteristics. Based on extensive design research, specific design principles were established. In an experimentally controlled study, a set of 64 icons was then developed by designers applying these design principles to create 8 versions for 8 new icon-functions, differing with regard to visual appeal (appealing vs. unappealing), simplicity (complex vs. simple) and concreteness (concrete vs. abstract icons). Once created, participants (N = 276) were asked to rate visual appeal, simplicity and concreteness of 8 icons (from the 64 versions created) in order to ascertain the extent to which the design principles were effective in creating icon sets with different characteristics. Results demonstrated that an independent manipulation of each design dimension was successful, indicating that the suggested design principles provide valuable hints for the design of icons. These findings will be used to illustrate how experimental design can shed light on building guidelines for creating effective interaction designs.