The usability of metaphors with different degree of abstract in interface design

Ming-Chuen Chuang, Inglen Lo

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Recently, more and more devices everywhere are getting "smarter" with a multi-modal hierarchical menu and form interface. One of the main points of the menu or interface design is to provide users with ease-to-use operation environment. This make them not only learn efficiently but also feel fun (interested) in the process of learning. However, there is no one concept of design suit everyone because the needs and purposes of users are much different from individuals. To satisfy them, the varied design concepts have been suggested to fit for their distinct perceptions and experiences. Consequently, new assessment, called usability, is also required to estimate whether the design concepts are good or not. Therefore, this study attempted to investigate into the usability of 3D interface design. For that, 3 types of main menu of the mobile phone's interface metaphor design were developed as stimuli with different degree of abstract in this study. Then, a four-phase experiment was conducted to explore the usability evaluation of 3 types of metaphorical interface design with different degree of abstract, including: (1) to investigate users' opinions on a mobile phone's interface design; (2) to verify whether the simulated graphics and interactions corresponding to the metaphors intended (pilot study); (3) to measure the usability of 3 types of metaphorical interface design simulated in this study; (4) to compare the preference for any one of the 3 types of metaphorical interface design. The experimental procedures and the results of the analysis would be interpreted respectively according to different phases. Additionally, the degree of abstract in the metaphorical interface design was defined by the average ratings in phase 1: metaphor 3 were regarded as abstract interface design and metaphor I and metaphor 2 were regarded as concrete interface designs, but the degree of concrete in metaphor I was stronger than in metaphor 2.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationDigital Human Modeling
Subtitle of host publicationFirst International Conference on Digital Human Modeling, ICDHM 2007, Held as Part of HCI International 2007, Beijing, China, July 22-27, 2007. Proceedings
EditorsVincent G. Duffy
PublisherSpringer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
Pages343-352
Number of pages10
Volume4561
ISBN (Electronic)978-3-540-73321-8
ISBN (Print)978-3-540-73318-8
DOIs
StatePublished - 22 Jul 2007
Event1st International Conference on Digital Human Modeling held at the HCI International 2007 - Beijing, China
Duration: 22 Jul 200727 Jul 2007

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science
Volume4561
ISSN (Print)0302-9743

Conference

Conference1st International Conference on Digital Human Modeling held at the HCI International 2007
Country/TerritoryChina
CityBeijing
Period22/07/0727/07/07

Keywords

  • preference
  • metaphor
  • interface design
  • usability
  • SUS score

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The usability of metaphors with different degree of abstract in interface design'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this