Creative Drawings as Intuitive Probes for Evaluating Interface Preferences

Abstract:

Achieving a balance between visual aesthetics and usability to enhance user experience has enjoyed an increasing popularity in Web design. This study combines creative drawings as intuitive probes to investigate users’ emotional reactions and needs. The basic purpose of these creative exercises is to inspire design researchers and practitioners into applying a strategy in practicable design research to probe real user experiences and create an enjoyable and effective user environment. Emotional engagement with design is vital in design research. Unfortunately, laboratory usability tests often involve complex technical and mechanical tools that discourage user participation, thus limiting the opportunity to receive feedback. The research exercise in this study includes a series of intuitive practices that engaged the participants as target users to sketch an imagined garden layout, a library landscape layout, and a personal home page. We hypothesized from their drawings that a connection exists among the users’ sketches, Web interface preferences, and a classification of personality types. Significant results were obtained: (1) Creative drawing is an effective tool in understanding the personality of a user; (2) Three graphic practices establish emotional connections with the users’ Web interface preferences and product design; and (3) User personality categorization reveals preferences in Web interface and product design. This study focused on the effect of visual aesthetics and user-friendly methods on usability assessments in response to the increasing emotional conciliation of human-computer interaction design. These findings are beneficial in keeping abreast with the developments in design creativity and the qualitative contributions of design inspiration.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volume 311)
• Pages: 360-365
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.311.360
• Online since: February 2013
• Authors: Tsen Yao Chang
• Keywords: Action Research, Color, Cultural Color, Culture Observation

References

[1] A. N. Badre, Shaping Web Usability: Interaction Design in Context. Boston, U.S.A.: Addison-Wesley, Pearson Education Inc. (2002).

[2] C.Eccher, E.Hunley, & E. D.Simmons, Professional Web Design: Techniques and Templates (2nd ed.). Rockland, MA, USA: Charles River Media (2004).

[3] D. K. v.Duyne, J. A.Landay, & J. I. Hong, The Design of Sites: Patterns, Principles, and Processes for Crafting a Customer-Centered Web Experience: Addison-Wesley Professional (2002).

[4] M.Goatman, Can personality categorisation inform the design of products and interfaces ? In D. Mcdonagh, D. Gyi, P. Hekkert& J. V. Erp (Eds.), Design and Emotion: the experience of everyday things (Design and Emotion, the experience of everyday things ed.). London: Taylor & Francis(2004).

DOI: 10.1201/9780203608173-c15

[5] M.Massironi,The Psychology of Graphic Images: Seeing, Drawing, Communicating (N. Bruno, Trans.). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates (2002).