The Effects of Smart Home Interface Touch Button Design Features on Performance among Young and Senior Users

Na Yu, Ziwei Ouyang, Hehe Wang, Da Tao and Liang Jing
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Na Yu: College of Furnishings and Industrial Design, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Ziwei Ouyang: College of Art and Design, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Hehe Wang: College of Furnishings and Industrial Design, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Da Tao: Institute of Human Factors and Ergonomics, College of Mechatronics and Control Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
Liang Jing: User Experience Testing Center, China Household Electric Appliance Research Institute, Beijing 100053, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 4, 1-15

Abstract: Touch technology-based smart homes have become increasingly prevalent, as they can help people with independent daily life, especially for the elderly. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of button features (i.e., button size, graphics/text ratio, and icon style) in smart home interfaces on user performance across two age groups. Participants in the young group ( n = 15) and senior group ( n = 15) completed a clicking task. Button size ranged from 10 mm to 25 mm with 5 mm increments. The three levels of graphics/text ratio were 3:1, 1:1, and 1:3, while icon style was either flat or skeuomorphic. Results showed that button size and graphics/text ratio had significant effects on user performance in both groups, whereas icon style only had an effect in the senior group. It was observed that the elderly were fond of buttons with a larger size of 20 mm with larger texts and skeuomorphic icons, whereas the young preferred a button size of 15 mm with equal-sized graphics and text. These results may help to improve the accessibility and usability of smart home interface design.

Keywords: smart home; interface design; touch button; user performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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