Monday, April 6, 2020

Texture Icons for Seniors’ Ease

Ecommerce via smartphones benefits sellers when options are presented which are easy for shoppers to understand and quick to carry out. We might think that a way to do this is to design icons on the screen as simple two-dimensional graphics, each icon clearly representative of the action a click triggers.
     Studies at China’s Chongqing University do support this practice, but with a significant exception: As contrasted with those who are younger, older adults complete smartphone transactions better and are more comfortable when icons which represent options during the shopping are skeuomorphic, not flat. Skeuomorphic design uses textures, shadows, and highlights to portray depth, and this adds to the ease of recognition. The seniors want concrete rather than abstract representations. Younger adults learn to use the system faster with skeuomorphic than with flat representations. However, once they’ve learned, they prefer the simpler flat icons. This preference does not generally hold for older adults.
     Seniors seek simplicity. Flat icons are simpler than the three-dimensional skeuomorphic icons with all their textures, shadows, and highlights. But for seniors, the importance of simplicity in recognizing and remembering what each icon does outweighs the importance of simple icon design.
     Research studies in cultures other than the Chinese have provided similar results. Still, cultural trends of a sort other than national identity could influence the findings. At the time of the studies, many young adults worldwide prized minimalism in their lives as consumers. Once you’ve mastered distinguishing the functions, then perceiving flat icons takes a minimum of attention. Maybe social trends will change and ornate icons will be preferred. In the Chongqing study, younger adults, unlike the older adults, considered flat icons to be prettier than skeuomorphic icons. However, other studies produced different results.
     Simplicity helps when we speed. Still, we often would like ecommerce shoppers to linger a bit on the site, and complexity in icon design might achieve that. When user interfaces are aesthetically pleasing, the shopper should forgive us for the slight slowdown. Fundamental characteristics of aesthetically pleasing user interfaces include:
  • Symmetry. Shoppers like balance in design, with matching elements on the left and right and on the front and rear. 
  • Unifying themes. The different parts of the item appearance should be seen as fitting together into a group. Shoppers like repetition of themes. 
  • Familiarity. The shape should represent to the consumer a familiar story. Familiarity may come about because of a design common in the culture. 

Successfully influence the most prosperous & most loyal consumer age group. For the specific strategies & tactics you need, click here.

Click for more…
Segment Marketing of Ecommerce to Seniors
Sandbag Senior Swindles
Simplify the Shopping
Sketch Item Aesthetics If Appreciated

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