Exploring the effects of icon characteristics on user performance: The role of icon concreteness, complexity, and distinctiveness

Because icons, signs. and symbols are now widely used to communicate inform ation, it is essential for system designers to know what makes them easy to use and interpret. The authors report a series of studies that examine cha racteristics considered central to icon usability. After quantifying the pr operties of icon concreteness, complexity, and discriminability, the author s assessed each property's effects on user performance when user experience , task demands, and presentation context were systematically varied. Findin gs indicated that the effects of icon concreteness were primarily associate d with the initial grasp of meaning, whereas complexity effects were found to persist longer and to be associated with search efficacy. The affects of icon distinctiveness were complex, but distinctiveness was enhanced by usi ng both semantic and visual contrasts. The implications of these findings f or interface design are discussed.