A study on the relationships between users and App interfaces through Kansei interface framework

Abstract

Application software (app) for smartphones and tablets has become a necessity in everyday life Up to now millions of apps have been released worldwide; meanwhile competition among app developers has intensified because of increasing demand For users an attractive interface design can get a good first impression Besides tens of thousands of applications have a feature in common; to be exact they are identifiable only by means of icons The aesthetic design of apps is greatly highlighted and so is the relationship between the user and the interface This study proposes the Kansei interface (KI) conceptual framework as a model to explore the abstract relationships between users and interfaces That is the model aims to emphasize the virtual user-interface links Through the KI framework the designer can clarify these abstract relationships turning them into concrete design elements The above-mentioned framework consists of two links (the attraction link and the motivation link) and Kansei (emotional) information Moreover Kansei information contains three key components: 1) enhancing the user’s positive emotions 2) strengthening the user’s motivation for operation and 3) achieving a balance between usability and aesthetics In this study the KI framework was used to construct the research methods; interface design elements were deconstructed by the qualitative KJ method and the evaluation grid method (EGM) of Miryoku Engineering; the relationships between users and interfaces were analyzed through Quantification Type I and Type III Finally an experiment was designed and conducted in which the participants operated the apps The experiment was observed and recorded with a questionnaire survey made thereafter Thus how the KI framework can assist interface designers in the design process is comprehensively explored The analytic results show that through deconstruction of the attraction link the visual design of app icons can be decomposed into design styles design categories and design elements Besides the motivation link can be divided into three parts: feelings/emotions perceptions and design elements Based on the above findings the KI model of apps can be employed to interpret the relationships between users and app interfaces This model and all the experimental data can be referenced by designers not only to discover Kansei information but also to create design values In addition to exploring the user-interface relationships the KI conceptual framework can be applied to explore the relationships between users and products as well as between users and services in the future

Date of Award	2017 Aug 8
Original language	English
Supervisor	Chun-Heng Ho (Supervisor)