The effects of icon internal characteristics on complex cognition

The interaction between humans and digital interfaces is a complex cognitive process which has a high demand on working memory resources. However, most previous research on icon perception seems to focus only on the influences of an icon's internal characteristics (e.g. visual complexity, concreteness and familiarity) on simple tasks such as visual search and recall tasks. The study reported here applied a math task to simulate the complicated process of human-computer interaction and investigated the effects of icon internal characteristics on the performance of complex cognition. First, we created and filtered 80 novel icons of 4 different types (simple & concrete, simple & abstract, complex & concrete, complex & abstract). Subsequently, participants were required to perform an icon-meaning recall task, during which icon familiarity was manipulated by different exposure frequencies. Finally, after viewing random icon-digit associations, participants' abilities to solve algebraic equations involving icons were tested. The results indicated that participants performed significantly better when the icons were simple, concrete or familiar and these beneficial effects increased as the task became more complex. Additionally, strong evidence was found to show that it was easier to encode and maintain familiar icons and associated information in working memory. The findings of this study provide useful information for the icon design and interface design of human-computer interaction.     

Influence mechanism of icon semantics on visual search performance: Evidence from an eye-tracking study

Explicit icon semantics can reduce the difficulty of understanding complex visual information. Optimizing the icon semantics and text semantics of icons can effectively improve the cognitive performance of digital interfaces. This paper adopts visual search tasks to study the effects of different combinations of icon semantic familiarity and the presence or absence of text on icon search performance under horizontal and vertical layouts. The behavioral experiment results show that under two layouts: 1. The main effect of icon semantics is significant, and the search performance increases with the increase of semantic familiarity. 2. The main effect of text is significant, and the search performance is negatively correlated with the addition of text. The eye movement experiment found that the semantic familiarity of icons had a significant impact on average fixation time. Furthermore, the number of fixation points changed significantly after the text variable was added. Therefore, there was no significant difference in the number of fixation points in the horizontal layout, and icon semantics was the main influencing factor in visual search. In the vertical layout, there was no significant difference in average fixation time, and text was the main influencing factor of visual search. The results show that the semantic familiarity of icons and different combinations with or without text significantly affect visual search performance in horizontal and vertical layouts. This paper provides a theoretical reference for the combination of icons and text in interface design.     

The effects of color combinations,luminance contrast,and area ratio on icon visual search performance

The visual search of icons in a digital interface plays an important role in human-computer interaction. In this behavior study about the visual search of graphic symbols, the effects of the color combination, luminance contrast, and icon area ratio were investigated. A total of 28 participants (12 men and 16 women, ages ranging from 20 to 28 years, Mean = 22.4, SD = 1.7) were asked to perform an icon search task. Participants’ icon search accuracy and response times were measured as a function of the following independent variables: three levels of area ratios, four background colors, four foreground colors, and three levels of luminance contrast. The results showed that although there was no significant main effect of luminance contrast on the icon search accuracy, participants responded more quickly to medium luminance contrast than low or high luminance contrast. Similarly, the medium or low area ratio was more conducive to the participants identifying icons. Moreover, a strong interaction was observed between the effects of luminance contrast and icon area ratio. The icon search performance of the high luminance contrast improved significantly as the figure/background area ratio decreased. Icon color combinations also significantly affected visual search performance. White on black, yellow on black, turquoise on black, white on red, yellow on red, and white on purple resulted in better performance than other color combinations. The findings of this study provide useful guidelines for designing more efficient and user-friendly icons and interfaces in the future.     

基于因子分析法的图标设计评价方法

现有的图标设计评价方法大多基于审美评价或可用性而展开,缺少对图标间的关 系及设计因素的研究。为此,提出了一种基于因子分析法的界面图标设计评价方法,通过选取 图标设计中的6 个设计元变量,对其展开意象评价统计并建立均值矩阵,使用因子分析法对其 进行计算分析及评价。最终将图标设计的影响因子提取为图标外形和图标内部两个主要因子, 从而方便研究人员评价系列图标设计中各图标之间的关系和各构成要素的相互作用。该方法具 有可靠性,评价结果与现有系列图标设计的视觉表现及其市场表现相符,并得出图标外形因子 对于图标设计效果的影响作用大于图标内部因子这一主要观点。     

移动端应用软件中启动图标的设计方法探究

移动设备的智能化为人们的生活、工作提供了一个新的媒介平台,大量的、具有各种功能性的应用软件出现在这一领域。启动图标是应用软件的主要入口,能直接引导用户下载并使用应用程序。而且图标的外观会影响该应用软件的下载量,甚至会导致平台所有者拒绝发布该产品,所以对启动图标进行研究是十分必要的。文章通过分析目前国内外移动设备中应用软件的图标呈现的现状,探讨科学的设计方法和设计流程,为应用软件的图标设计提供可行性参考。     

Effects of smartphone icon background shapes and figure/background area ratios on visual search performance and user preferences

Smartphones are becoming increasingly popular, users are provided with various interface styles with different designed icons. Icon, as an important competent of user interface, is regarded to be more efficient and pleasurable. However, compared with desktop computers, fewer design principles on smartphone icon were proposed. This paper investigated the effects of icon background shape and the figure/background area ratio on visual search performance and user preference. Icon figures combined with six different geometric background shapes and five different figure/background area ratios were studied on three different screens in experiments with 40 subjects. The results of an analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that these two independent variables (background shape and figure/background area ratio) significantly affected the visual search performance and user preference. On 3.5-in (1 in=0.025 4 m) and 4.0-in displays, unified backgroundwould be optimal, shapes such as square, circle and transitions between them (e.g., rounded square, squircle, etc.) are recommended because backgrounds in these shapes yield a better search time performance and subjective satisfaction for ease of use, search and visual preference. A 60% figure/background area ratio is the most appropriate for smartphone icon design on the 3.5-in screen, while a 50% area ratio could be a suggestion for both relatively optimized search performance and user preference on 4.0-in. In terms of the 4.7-in, icon figure is used directly for its better performance and preference compared with icons with background.     

基于图标相似性分析的恶意代码检测方法

据统计，在大量的恶意代码中，有相当大的一部分属于诱骗型的恶意代码，它们通常使用与常用软件相似的图标来伪装自己，通过诱骗点击达到传播和攻击的目的。针对这类诱骗型的恶意代码，鉴于传统的基于代码和行为特征的恶意代码检测方法存在的效率低、代价高等问题，提出了一种新的恶意代码检测方法。首先，提取可移植的执行体（PE）文件图标资源信息并利用图像哈希算法进行图标相似性分析；然后，提取PE文件导入表信息并利用模糊哈希算法进行行为相似性分析；最后，采用聚类和局部敏感哈希的算法进行图标匹配，设计并实现了一个轻量级的恶意代码快速检测工具。实验结果表明，该工具对恶意代码具有很好的检测效果。     

图标认知实验定量研究综述

图标作为人机界面的重要组成部分之一,长期以来受到用户界面研究人员和设计人员的关注,对图标视觉效果,生成机制,附加因素等的研究与探讨层出不穷。文章以一定程度的定量综述的方式,研究分析自2000年以来,在图标认知的实验方面的研究中,研究人员重点关注的实验变量和研究目的与方法,找出其中的相关性,为此领域的进一步研究提供参考。研究表明,研究涉及较多的变量包括图形因素,图标属性,图标隐喻和触觉听觉元素四类,主要研究目的包括视觉搜索,认知识别和用户偏好。且两者之间存在一定程度的相关性。     

Matching performance of vehicle icons in graphical and textual formats

The current research classified 82 vehicle icons into seven categories (image-related, concept-related, semi-abstract, arbitrary, abbreviation, word, and combined) for their matching accuracy, matching sequence, and matching time. These data can be compared and used as a framework for future icon development. Forty participants, all with a university degree, took part in this experiment. Half of the participants had intensive driving experience, while the other half never driven a car. The results indicated that on average, word icons had a significantly greater matching accuracy than the other icon formats; ranging from 4.7 to 20.8% difference. Regarding the matching sequence, participants matched image-related icons before other icon formats. Arbitrary and combined icons took significantly longer to match than other icon formats by 1.4–6.2 s. Based on the high matching accuracy (86.3%) and high ratings on subjective design features, word format can be used for functions describable using simple English for users with English reading ability. Confusion matrices showed that 63.2% of the misunderstandings were caused by similarity in format or function.     

Iterative process of design and evaluation of icons for interactive TV menu

This paper shows an iterative process of design and evaluation of icons for future interactive TV services. In doing the RNRT (French National Network of Research in Telecommunications) iTV project, we tried to generate icons easy to identify, associate and memorise for 32 categories and services of our iTV system.

Through an iterative process, the Multiple Index Approach was applied until an acceptable icon set was achieved. In addition to existing evaluation criteria such as the intuitiveness, associativeness, preference and suitability with subjective certainty of users, we emphasised the importance of the learnability measured by recall tests.

As a conclusion, we propose a methodology of icon design and evaluation for information appliances that integrate unfamiliar features with common users.     

Iterative process of design and evaluation of icons for interactive TV menu

This paper shows an iterative process of design and evaluation of icons for future interactive TV services. In doing the RNRT (French National Network of Research in Telecommunications) iTV project, we tried to generate icons easy to identify, associate and memorise for 32 categories and services of our iTV system.

Through an iterative process, the Multiple Index Approach was applied until an acceptable icon set was achieved. In addition to existing evaluation criteria such as the intuitiveness, associativeness, preference and suitability with subjective certainty of users, we emphasised the importance of the learnability measured by recall tests.

As a conclusion, we propose a methodology of icon design and evaluation for information appliances that integrate unfamiliar features with common users.     

Macular degeneration and visual icon use: deriving guidelines for improved access

The objective of this study was to derive empirical knowledge of the visual search strategies of computer users who suffer from age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This was accomplished by recording eye movement during the use of feature-enhanced software. The results from this study show that there are differences between users who have AMD and users who are fully sighted (FS). Detailed analyses confirmed the hypotheses that there would be performance differences between the AMD and FS participants, and that specific features of the interface, namely icon size, background color, and the number of icons on a display, would significantly affect the search strategies of users. Published online: 29 January 2002     

Design and evaluation of an adaptive icon toolbar

As information systems become increasingly important in many different domains, the potential to adapt them to individual users and their needs also becomes more important. Adaptive user interfaces offer many possible ways to adjust displays and improve procedures for a user's individual patterns of work. This paper describes an attempt to design an adaptive user interface in a computer environment familiar to many users. According to one classification of adaptive user interfaces, the adaptive bar described in this paper would be classified as a user-controlled self-adaptation system.At the user's convenience, the adaptive bar offers suggestions for adding or removing command icons, based on the frequency and probability of specific commands. It also implements these changes once the user has agreed to them. Beyond the adaptive bar, the general behavior of the whole user interface does not change, thereby allowing the user to maintain a clear general model of the system. This paper describes the decision-making algorithm implemented in the bar. It also describes the bar's self-adaptive behavior of displaying the frequency of each icon's use through the icon's size. Finally, we present some encouraging preliminary results of evaluations by users.     

Effects of visual field,exposure time,and set size on icon search with varied delays using an LCD monitor

Abstract— This study investigated the effects of visual field (left or right), exposure time, and set size on icon search with varied delay times. Nineteen women and 17 men, who were Taiwanese graduate students aged 24–40 years, participated. Participants were told to search for a target icon in a circular stimulus array, which had a diameter of 7 cm and included five, seven, or nine items. The results indicated that set size significantly affected search time. Search time was significantly longer for a nine‐icon set than for five and seven icons. Search times were significantly longer for 5‐sec delays than for 3‐and 1 ‐sec delays. However, exposure time and visual field did not significantly affect search time. Results showed that set size significantly affected accuracy. The accuracy for the five‐icon condition was greater than that for the seven‐ and nine‐icon conditions. Moreover, accuracy was greater for 1 ‐ than for 3‐ and 5‐sec‐delay conditions. However, no significant effect on accuracy was found for visual field or exposure time. Finally, search times for correct and incorrect responses were analyzed separately. The results are applicable to graphics‐based interface design.     

Using HCA and TOPSIS approaches in personal digital assistant menu–icon interface design

Mobile electronic products have recently become very popular because of their portable convenience and versatile functions. The personal digital assistant (PDA) can even access the Internet. However, there is still plenty of room for improvement in the PDA interface. This research proposes a systematic approach to analyze, generate and evaluate a PDA integrated menu–icon interface design for the DigitHub Company based on customer requirements.Hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) is incorporated with the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to identify and categorize functional PDA menus and their corresponding icons. We evaluate the importance of each of the different functional menus and categories. We generate five PDA menu–icon interface design alternatives that meet the proposed design guidelines, and we evaluate each for their respective feasibilities. The technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method is applied to measure the overall operating performance of the five PDA menu–icon interface design alternatives. The evaluation results show that the preferred design is option PDA₅, a hierarchical and separated menu–icon layout style that features a two-layer menu structure.We expect that the proposed development procedure for the generation and evaluation of PDA menu–icon design alternatives based on customer requirements will be of interest to interface designers who wish to focus on mobile products.

Relevance to industry

This paper proposes an integrated procedure for designing PDA menu–icon interfaces. Our methodology should help in the creation and optimization of screen layouts for mobile phones, global positioning system (GPS) navigation devices, digital cameras and related screen interfaces.     

Impact of spatial auditory feedback on the efficiency of iconic human–computer interfaces under conditions of visual impairment

This paper investigates the addition of spatial auditory feedback as a tool to assist people with visual impairments in the use of computers, specifically in tasks involving iconic visual search. In this augmented interface, unique sounds were mapped to visual icons on the screen. As the screen cursor traversed the screen, the user heard sounds of nearby icons, spatially, according to the relative position of each icon with respect to the screen cursor. A software prototype of the design was developed to evaluate the performance of users in the search of icons within the proposed interface. Experiments were conducted with simulated visual impairments on volunteer participants to evaluate if the addition of spatial auditory feedback makes the interface more accessible to users with impaired vision. Results demonstrated that spatialization of icon sounds provides additional remote navigational information to users, enabling new strategies for task completion. Directions for future research are discussed and prioritized.     

Effects of computer icons and figure/background area ratios and color combinations on visual search performance on an LCD monitor

This study investigated the effects of figure/background color combinations, the type of computer icon and the figure/background area ratio on visual search performance on a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen. Participants had to search for the target item in a circle stimulus array, which had a diameter of 20 cm and included one target and 19 distracters. Results showed that these three independent variables significantly affected the visual search performance. The search times for EMAIL and SAVE computer icons were significantly shorter than that for a PRINT computer icon. Visual search performance was better for computer icons with a 90% figure/background area ratio than for a 70% ratio. However, no difference in search time between 90% and 50% ratios or between 70% and 50% ratios was observed. Color combinations also significantly affected the visual search performance and white/yellow and white/blue color combinations for the figure/background resulted in better performance than black/blue and black/yellow combinations. However, no difference in search time was observed for participants with and without esthetic training. The implications of the results are applicable to design icons for the interfacing of computers and communication information.     

Interacting with VDL-based structured icons on crisis map for emergency coordination: Interactive design and experimental demonstration

Accurate and timely information sharing among multiple participants is one of the crucial factors for collaboration in crisis management. The icon-based map was frequently applied as an effective means for crisis interaction and collaboration. However, former studies only regarded the icons as supplementary visualization components during the whole crisis collaboration process. In this paper, the concept of a structured-icon-relied interactive method was proposed to directly integrate all kinds of crisis and coordination information through icons on the crisis map. Moreover, structured icons are supposed to explicitly show the correlation among crisis information and to improve the interactive experience of information search. The effectiveness of this interactive method was verified by a controlled experiment with three sub-tasks for simulated crisis rescue. The results of the experiment showed that the design of the crisis map based on structured icons had a positive impact on collaborative decision-making and crisis interaction. The dynamic characteristics of the structured icon could represent the temporal and spatial attributes of crisis information and enhance users’ crisis coordination ability. The study aims to enrich the theory of crisis information visualization and interaction based on structured iconic representation. In practice, this research could optimize the design of a crisis collaboration system based on the icon as well as the interaction between people, crisis information, and collaborative system, which in turn provides accurate and timely rescue decisions.     

How do app icon color and border shape influence visual search efficiency and user experience? Evidence from an eye-tracking study

Icon color and icon border shape are two key factors that affect search efficiency and user experience but have previously been studied separately. This study aimed to ascertain their separate and combined effects on smartphone interfaces. We conducted an experiment using eye tracking in addition to performance and experience measures to understand the effects of app icon color and border shape on visual efficiency and user experience. The results identified both features as essential attributes with interactive effects in the process of searching app icons on a smartphone interface. The study confirmed that varied colors across icons and a rounded square border shape helped to improve search efficiency, decrease cognitive effort, and lead to a more positive user experience.Relevance to industryUsers of smartphones are often confronted with the problem of selecting a single app from a great number of apps. Visual design of app icons plays a key role in influencing visual search efficiency and user experience. The results of this study have implications for designing app icons on the interface of smartphones to improve search efficiency and elicit positive user experience.     

Icon-based human-computer interaction

This paper is concerned with the use of icons in human-computer interaction (HCI). Icons are pictographic representations of data or processes within a computer system, which have been used to replace commands and menus as the means by which the computer supports a dialogue with the end-user. They have been applied principally to graphics-based interfaces to operating systems, networks and document-processing software.The paper attempts to provide a more systematic treatment of icon interfaces than has hitherto been made, and to create a classification which it is hoped will be of use to the dialogue designer. The characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of icon-based dialogues are described. Metaphors, design alternatives, display structures and implementation factors are discussed, and there is a summary of some icon design guidelines drawn from a variety of sources. Some mention is also made of attempts by researchers to measure the effectiveness of icon designs empirically.