Icon Types, Classical and Expressive Aesthetics, Pleasurable Interaction and Satisfaction with the Process of Semi-literate Users

The hedonic role of icons has been undermined in contemporary human computer interaction research, though users have specifically mentioned the importance of icons while performing aesthetic evaluation of user interfaces. Previous research has also neglected factors like aesthetics and pleasurable interaction while comparing efficiency of same interface elements. In this regard, current study investigates how different types of icons in mobile applications affect the aesthetics and pleasurable interactions of semi-literate users. This study also investigates the extent to which aesthetics and pleasurable interactions affect satisfaction with the process. The study addresses these issues from the theoretical perspectives of metaphor and aesthetics. Significant differences were observed for aesthetics and pleasurable interactions between two different types of icon sets, namely metaphoric and idiomatic. This study suggests that for higher evaluation of aesthetics and pleasurable interaction for semi-literate users, specific icon types are preferred

Complexity, design and culture: convergences for digital experiences

The design of digital experiences and sociotechnical solutions in the contemporary society is characterized by increasing complexity. More and more variables are present and unpredictable effects are observed. The complexity of systems calls for increased awareness and problem-solving abilities. In this survey, design in general, and design of the user experience in particular, is positioned in the scope of complexity. Moreover, the design reasoning and methods are framed by culturally determined factors and cognitive styles. This survey aims to converge complexity and complex problem solving, design of the user experience, and cultural variations, reviewing bodies of work to inspire and map interdependencies that shape future challenges in systems and experience design.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Engineering adaptive user interfaces for enterprise applications

The user interface (UI) layer is considered an important component in software applications since it links the users to the software’s functionality. Enterprise applications such as enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management systems have very complex UIs that are used by users with diverse needs in terms of the required features and layout preferences. The inability to cater for the variety of user needs diminishes the usability of these applications. One way to cater for those needs is through adaptive UIs. Some enterprise software providers offer mechanisms for tailoring UIs based on the variable user needs, yet those are not generic enough to be used with other applications and require maintaining multiple UI copies manually. A generic platform based on a model-driven approach could be more reusable since operating on the model level makes it technology independent. The main objective of this research is devising a generic, scalable, and extensible platform for building adaptive enterprise application UIs based on a runtime model-driven approach. This platform primarily targets UI simplification, which we defined as a mechanism for increasing usability through adaptive behavior by providing users with a minimal feature-set and an optimal layout based on the context-of-use. This paper provides an overview of the research questions and methodology, the results that were achieved so far, and the remaining work

A tone driven offline information kiosk

In this paper we introduce the concept of a low-cost, offline information kiosk that is controlled through a sound-based interface. More specifically, we will describe how we use a mobile phone to control a kiosk by communicating DTMF phone tones. Our main use-case is deployment within developing countries where we intend to examine issues related to cross-cultural interface design