The Seven Modern Icons

This is an art-based research project that explores the effects of poverty. The Seven Modern Icons are influenced by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Rita Irwin’s A/R/tography, and Ruby Payne’s A Framework for Understanding Poverty. The study resulted in the creation of the Seven Modern Icons; the icons have their origins in my observations in the psychology and behaviors of poverty. I have established the seven main categories of poverty: safety, family, shelter, school, food, clothing, and transportation. Each of these seven main categories has an icon that represents that category. The icons are intended to represent what I feel is worshiped or what is taking precedence in the lives of people in poverty. This project has also brought back suppressed memories from my own past and has flavored my opinions and feelings towards poverty. This project has bestowed a gift of empathy and a belief that education is the way out of this cycle

Chinese users’ preference for web browser icons

This paper compares the perspicacity, appropriateness and preference of web browser icons from leading software providers with those of a culture-specific design. The history and future direction of web browsers is outlined, together with the implications for the future growth of Chinese internet users. China, with its rapidly expanding young netizens has now overtaken the USA in terms of the number of internet users (253 million) and we predict it will reach saturation (?70% internet penetration rate) by 2012. If correct, this will have a dramatic effect on the use of English as the ‘Lingua Franca’ of the Internet. This online study was conducted in Taiwan and involved 103 participants (mean age 21 years), who were given three sets of web browser icons to review, namely Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0, Macintosh Safari 3.0, and culturally specific icons created using the Culture-Centred Design methodology. The findings of the study show that all three sets have generally high recognition rates, but that some icon functions (e.g. Go/Visit and Favourite) in all three sets have poor recognition rates and are considered inappropriate. Furthermore, some significant differences were found when we analysed the level of user experience amongst several icon

Ecological IVIS design : using EID to develop a novel in-vehicle information system

New in-vehicle information systems (IVIS) are emerging which purport to encourage more environment friendly or ‘green’ driving. Meanwhile, wider concerns about road safety and in-car distractions remain. The ‘Foot-LITE’ project is an effort to balance these issues, aimed at achieving safer and greener driving through real-time driving information, presented via an in-vehicle interface which facilitates the desired behaviours while avoiding negative consequences. One way of achieving this is to use ecological interface design (EID) techniques. This article presents part of the formative human-centred design process for developing the in-car display through a series of rapid prototyping studies comparing EID against conventional interface design principles. We focus primarily on the visual display, although some development of an ecological auditory display is also presented. The results of feedback from potential users as well as subject matter experts are discussed with respect to implications for future interface design in this field

Recognition of animated icons by elementary‐aged children

This paper describes a study to investigate the recognizability of and preference for animated icons by elementary‐aged aged children. Fourteen typical computer‐related tasks (e.g., copy, move) were viewed by 60 school‐children in two iconic formats: animated and static. The content of the icons and the computer process or action they mimicked were drawn from a previous study in which a similar group of children was asked to depict gesturally their interpretation of the 14 tasks. Results indicated that the animated version of the icons was more recognizable and that the children greatly preferred the animated icons over the static icons. Implications for the design of enhanced user‐interfaces for children are noted

Like a hawk among house sparrows: Kauto star, a steeplechasing legend

The concept of ‘icon’ has been applied to numerous athletes as a result of their sporting achievements, likeable public personas, and stories of triumph, resilience and courage. The cultural role of the horse as icon, hero, celebrity and national luminary, however, is lacking within the literature. In this article we extend this human concept to apply to the racehorse Kauto Star, who was heralded by many as the saviour of British racing in the early twenty-first century. We argue that the narrative surrounding Kauto Star had all the essential ingredients for the construction of a heroic storyline around this equine superstar: his sporting talent; his flaws and ability to overcome adversity; his ‘rivalry’ with his stable mate; his ‘connections’ to high profile humans in the racing world; and, the adoration he received from the racing public. Media representations are key elements in the construction of sporting narratives, and the production of heroes and villains within sport. In this paper we construct a narrative of Kauto Star, as produced through media reports and published biographies, to explore how this equine star has been elevated beyond the status of ‘animal’, ‘racehorse’ or even ‘athlete’ to the exalted position of sporting icon