Affective Aspects of Interface Design

Affective aspects of interface design are aspects that are concerned with the way in which interactive systems cause people to respond in emotional ways.

The key to the success of an interface design is to invoke positive emotions from users and avoid negative ones at all costs. Positive emotions include motivation, learning, creativity and positive social and persuasive influences.

There are 2 methods that help to invoke positive emotions from users:

1. Expressive interfaces
2. Anthropomorphism

For expressive interfaces, designers make use of colours, animations, sounds and dynamic icons to give interfaces an appealing look and feel, which could create a sense of interactivity and feedback. However, when using these elements, special care has to be taken as they could affect users' emotions negatively instead when incorrectly chosen. Take colours for example, colours such as red, orange and yellow are attention grabbing, warm and cheerful. However, colours such as black, gray and blue could give users a cold, sad and unexcited feeling.

A well developed expressive interface can affect users' perception of the interface's usability. Users' are also likely to put up with less desirable aspects of an interface if the end result is appealing. This is due to 2 reasons:

1. Aesthetically pleasing objects appeal to users' sensually
2. Users' usually form an emotional connection with the object that appeals to them

Anthropomorphism is a technique in which inanimate objects are given human-like qualities. It serves to give users an enjoyable experience, reduce anxiety and enhances motivation. Research into anthropomorphism has shown that users have tend to have more positive feelings toward interfaces that give positive feedback to users.

One method of anthropomorphism is to use virtual characters. Virtual characters serve to give users a feeling of welcome and makes them feel involved. For example, students are much more willing to participate in online exercises where a virtual character gives them positive, encouraging feedback like "You have showed deep understanding on this topic. Good job!" than those which give negative or no feedback.

However, anthropomorphism also has it's limitations. Because it gives inanimate objects human-like qualities, these would inevitably result in negative feedback given to users. Most people do not wish to have characters on the screen shaking their heads at them as it makes them feel stupid or inferior.

References:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interaction_design
2. http://undergraduate.csse.uwa.edu.au/units/CITS3201/LecturesPDF/Chapter_5_ID2e_slides.pdf