DOI:10.6129/CJP.202106_63(2).0003
中華心理學刊 民110，63 卷，2 期，143-158
Chinese Journal of Psychology 2021, Vol.63, No.2, 143-158

Yi-Shiuan Chiu（Department of Psychology, Fu Jen Catholic University）；Xian-Hong Lan（Department of Psychology, Fu Jen Catholic University）

Abstract

This study compared two representative design styles (flat, skeuomorphic designs) to examine the effects of design style on the users’ preferences, visual search, and memory tasks. Furthermore, app familiarity and exposure experience with icons have been considered key factors across icon studies. In this study, app familiarity was determined through a questionnaire of familiarity ratings to categorize app functions on a scale from high familiarity to low familiarity. As participants gained experience with the icon stimuli in the search task, icon frequency referred to
participant performance before regular use in the first block (low frequency) and after regular use in the third block (high frequency). We investigated how app icon processing was affected by design style, app familiarity and icon familiarity. For the preference and memory tasks, we manipulated the design style (flat, skeuomorphic) and app familiarity (high, low). For the search task, design style, app familiarity, and icon frequency were manipulated. The target icon in each search trial was expressed through a spoken request to simulate users’ regular interactions with app icons. The results revealed that skeuomorphic designs were associated with higher subjective preference, visual search for highly familiar apps, and correct rejection for less familiar app functions. In contrast, flat designs were superior only when searching for less familiar app functions in the high icon frequency conditions. Accordingly, the familiarity/novelty of app functions, design styles, and possible processes should also be considered when choosing icons for user interfaces. 

Keywords: icon, interface design, flat, skeuomorphism, search task