Using early memories for inclusive design –Image Schemas and their Metaphorical

Extensions

Jörn Hurtienne04.09.2007

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„Intuitive interface designed to make searching fast and easy“

http://www.hurricanesoft.com/hsearch.jsp

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Intuitive use

• Intuitive use is unconscious application of pre-existing knowledge IUUI

• Sounds like expert knowledge…• For larger user groups it must be different knowledge

– early learning, frequent encoding and retrieval, shared

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Image Schemas in User Interfaces

• Physical Mapping • Metaphorical Mapping

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Image Schemas: metaphorical extensions

• Quantity: MORE IS UP

– Speak up please. Keep your voice down please.

• Quality: GOOD IS UP

– We hit a peak last year, but it’s been downhill ever since

• Quality: VIRTUE IS UP

– She is an upstanding citizen. That was a low-down thing to do.

• Power and Control: HIGH STATUS IS UP

– He’s climbing the career ladder. He’s at the bottom of the social hierarchy.

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Image Schemas

• FORCE– attraction, balance, blockage, compulsion, counterforce, diversion,

enablement,momentum, restraint removal, resistance

• SPACE– center-periphery, contact, front-back, left-right, near-far, path, rotation,

scale, up-down

• CONTAINMENT– container, in-out, content, full-empty, surface

• PROCESS– iteration, cycle

• MULTIPLICITY– merging, collection, splitting, part-whole, count-mass, linkage, matching

• ATTRIBUTE– straight, warm-cold, big-small, bright-dark, fast-slow, hard-soft, heavy-

light, strong-weak, rough-smooth

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Metaphorical Extensions

• FORCE– attraction, balance, blockage, compulsion, counterforce, diversion,

enablement,momentum, restraint removal, resistance

• SPACE– center-periphery, contact, front-back, left-right, near-far, path, rotation,

scale, up-down

• CONTAINMENT– container, in-out, content, full-empty, surface

• PROCESS– iteration, cycle

• MULTIPLICITY– merging, collection, splitting, part-whole, count-mass, linkage, matching

• ATTRIBUTE– straight, warm-cold, big-small, bright-dark, fast-slow, hard-soft, heavy-

light, strong-weak, rough-smooth

SIMILAR IS NEAR

IMPORTANT IS CENTRAL

GENERAL IS UP

CONSIDERED IS NEAR

DIFFICULTIES ARE HEAVY

GOOD IS BRIGHT

EVENTS ARE PATHS

GOOD IS STRAIGHT

AFFECTION IS WARMTH

COMPARISON IS BALANCE

PROBLEMS ARE BLOCKAGES

TIME IS A CONTAINER

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Testing Image Schema Theory

1. Does it make valid claims for the design of user interfaces?

2. Does it support the UI design process?

3. Does it lead to new insights about designing user interfaces? Does it contributes to the understanding in the field of designing user interfaces?

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Experiments, e.g. UP-DOWN, LEFT-RIGHT

• Violation and Respectation of metaphors

• Buttons and Sliders

• Quality and Quantity Metaphors

• Measuring response time and subjective judgment

300

0

0

300

Staff

friendly

unfriendly

Staff

unfriendly

friendly

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600650700750800850900950

10001050110011501200

QUAL* QUAN* UP*

comp

incomp

Performance in the slider experiment

• Reaction Time (ms, N=40, vertical)

-6%

-6%

-11%

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-2

0

2

QUAL* QUAN* UP*

comp

incomp

• How well suited is this design for entering this specific information? (N=40, vertical)

Preference in the slider experiment

+/-

- -

+/-

++

+

-

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ISO 13407: Human-centred design process

Plan for HCD

Specify context of use

Specify requirements

Produce design solutions

Evaluate designsProduct meetsusability and

business goals

Success!

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Redesign for Intuitive Use

+

=

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Image Schema Database

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Testing Image Schema Theory

1. Does it make valid claims for the design of user interfaces?

2. Does it support the UI design process?

3. Does it lead to new insights about designing user interfaces? Does it contributes to the understanding in the field of designing user interfaces?

• We have some support for each of these requirements, but this is just the beginning…– More research must follow