Testing the Quality of Icons
We announce the availability of an online test of the quality of icons used in TV Browser. Please participate!We just started an online-survey together with the guys from TV-Browser. The question we...
View ArticleIcon Test with TV-Browser
The development of a new test for the quality of icons reaches the final state. In our validation study more than 22000 tests have been conducted.Wow. Today we closed the Icon Test for TV-Browser. And...
View ArticleResults of TV-Browser Icon Usability Test
The development of a new testing methodology for icons has matured. The test of TV-Browser icons shows a varying quality of icons.The Icon Usability Test of the TV-Browser icons has been closed for...
View ArticleWhich are the best icons for Tine?
We announce the immediate start of an icon test for Tine 2.0. Please participate!We planned it for the Linux-Tag, but then there wasn’t a good Internet connection… So we ask you now: Which are the best...
View ArticleIcon Test Results Revealed
The results of the Tine 2.0 icon test show the problems when icons are chosen from a standard icon set and are not developed individually.To the nearly 200 (173, to be exact) participants in our icon...
View ArticleHello planet KDE!
From today our User Prompt blog is aggregated to planet KDE. We will be blogging about usability and user involvement in KDE.I am very happy that our blog is now aggregated on planet KDE! I am Björn,...
View ArticleParticipate: Icons of KDE SC put to the test – KMail, part 1
Today we announce the start of a new study to evaluate the quality of KMail icons. Please participate.Please invest 5 minutes of your precious time and participate in our little survey: Testing...
View ArticleSome thoughts on testing icons
Icons are used to visualise a term. An icon test evaluates the strength of this relationship based on subjective and objective indicators.It is really great to see how many of you already took part in...
View ArticleResults of KMail Icon Test #1
More than 3000 people took part in the KMail Icon Test. Most icons are working well, but some need attention. Interesting results are touching cutural aspects of the design of icons.It is great to see...
View ArticleAge distribution from last Icon Test
The age distribution of the last KMail icon test.This post only presents the age distribution of the last KMail icon test. This knowledge can be well used for creating e.g. Personas. All participants...
View ArticleParticipate: Icons of KDE SC put to the test – KMail, part 2
Please invest 5 minutes of your precious time and participate in our little survey to improve the quality of the oxygen icon-set!This time we are testing two small sets of 8 icons each used in the...
View ArticleResults of KMail Icon Test #2
The 2nd KMail icon test with almost 2000 participants revealed that most icons are working well, but there still is room for improvement for some.Today I closed the 2nd KMail icon test. This time 1945...
View ArticleParticipate: New LibreOffice Icon Test started
The LibreOffice design team announces the start of a new online icon test. You are invited to participate!After the great response to our last icon test with over 2000 people participating, we are now...
View ArticleMethodology of Testing Icons
On the occasion of the large scale usability test of the LibreOffice Writer icons, this article explains how subjective and objective measurements can help to understand the quality of an icon-term...
View ArticleWhat is a pencil used for?
Which function do you expect when you see a pencil? To draw something or perhaps fill the background... But in the context of a word processor?Functions with similar icons Instructions for icon design,...
View ArticleCan a direction in time be displayed by spatial signs?
It is common practice to assign left and right with sequential steps in processing. It might be surprising that these simple functions may cause problems, but it shows the relevance of psychological...
View ArticleWhere does the Navigator lead you?
We show on the example of the Navigator and two other functions that toolbars should not be toggled on and off by a button in the main toolbar.Seldom used functions: Data sources, Gallery, Navigator A...
View ArticleHow abstract can an icon be? About Copy & Paste in LibreOffice
Functions without natural pendant need special attention, even the well known copy / paste. Designers have to analyze intrinsic functionality instead of simply visualizing computer nomenclature.Several...
View ArticleAbout Antiquated Metaphors in Icons
A lot of the Tango and Oxygen icons that are used in the standard tool bar in LibreOffice Writer are based on the same metaphor. From the icons that differ in metaphor, the icons used for ‘Saving a...
View ArticleMore is worse: About Detail in Icons
It seems to be an easy truth: Too much detail in icons confuses the users. So we wondered whether we could find any evidence for this truth in the data of our large scale test of the LibreOffice Icons....
View ArticleSemiotics in Usability: Guidelines for the Development of Icon Metaphors
Semiotics is the study of signs and describes the perception, comprehension and communication of symbols. In the field of computer science, semiotics is especially relevant to the design of icons. A...
View ArticleParticipate: New LibreOffice Icon Test started
After the great response to our last icon test with over 3000 people participating, we are now testing the icons of the formatting toolbar. So the test is basically the same as last time, just with a...
View ArticleQuick wins: Conclusions of the Libreoffice icon test
Introduction In this article we want to provide suggestions to solve some of the mix-ups that we found in our LibreOffice icon test. We examined the standard toolbar icons of LibreOffice Writer. Over...
View ArticleActive seminar for user-centered development
How can I develop better products together with my users? Like any tool, software should simplify work. The road to success: put the users even more into the center of the development. Our active...
View ArticleUnderstanding Icons: Participate in survey (aka The Rising)
TL;WR: Please play this little game! (Closed) It is fun, takes a maximum of 5 minutes and helps us to better understand effects of icon design. For those with a little more time: The introduction of...
View ArticleUnderstanding Icons: Participate in survey no. 2
Please participate in our little game here! (Study closed) It is fun, takes a maximum of 5 minutes and helps us to better understand effects of icon design. For more information please check our...
View ArticleUnderstanding Icons: Participate in our 3rd survey
Please participate in our little game here! (Study closed) It is fun, takes a maximum of 5 minutes and helps us to better understand effects of icon design. For more information please check our...
View ArticleIntermediate results of the icon tests: Oxygen
Introduction The introduction of the new Breeze icon set in KDE let us again wonder, what aspects of an icon set actually takes what impact on the usability of it. We investigated Oxygen and Tango...
View ArticleUnderstanding Icons: Participate in fantastic fourth survey
Please participate in our little game! (Study closed) It is fun, takes a maximum of 5 minutes and helps us to better understand effects of icon design. For more information please check our initial...
View ArticleIntermediate results of the icon tests: Faenza
Introduction The introduction of the new Breeze icon set in KDE let us again wonder, what aspects of an icon set actually takes what impact on the usability of it. We investigated Oxygen and Tango...
View ArticleUnderstanding Icons: Participate in survey ‘Tango no. 5’
Please participate in our little game! (Study closed) It is fun, takes a maximum of 5 minutes and helps us to better understand effects of icon design. For more information please check our initial...
View ArticleIntermediate results of the icon tests: Nuvola
Introduction The introduction of the new Breeze icon set in KDE let us again wonder, what aspects of an icon set actually takes what impact on the usability of it. We investigated Oxygen and Tango...
View ArticleIntermediate results of the icon tests: Nitrux
Introduction The introduction of the new Breeze icon set in KDE let us again wonder, what aspects of an icon set actually takes what impact on the usability of it. We investigated Oxygen and Tango...
View ArticleUnderstanding Icons: Participate in 6th survey ‘Take a breeze’
Please participate in our little game! (Survey closed) It is fun, takes a maximum of 5 minutes and helps us to better understand effects of icon design. For more information please check our initial...
View ArticleIntermediate results of the icon tests: Tango
Introduction The introduction of the new Breeze icon set in KDE let us again wonder, what aspects of an icon set actually takes what impact on the usability of it. We investigated Oxygen and Tango...
View ArticleUnderstanding Icons: Participate in survey ‘7 of 9’ (or more)
Please participate in our little game! (Study closed) It is fun, takes a maximum of 5 minutes and helps us to better understand effects of icon design. For more information please check our initial...
View ArticleUnderstanding Icons: Participate in high contrast survey #8
Please participate in our little game! (survey closed) It is fun, takes a maximum of 5 minutes and helps us to better understand effects of icon design. For more information please check our initial...
View ArticleIntermediate results of the icon tests: Breeze
Introduction The introduction of the new Breeze icon set in KDE let us again wonder, what aspects of an icon set actually takes what impact on the usability of it. We investigated Oxygen and Tango...
View ArticleIntermediate results of the icon tests: Elementary
Introduction The introduction of the new Breeze icon set in KDE let us again wonder, what aspects of an icon set actually takes what impact on the usability of it. We investigated Oxygen and Tango...
View ArticleIntermediate results of the icon tests: Treepata
Introduction The introduction of the new Breeze icon set in KDE let us again wonder, what aspects of an icon set actually takes what impact on the usability of it. We investigated Oxygen and Tango...
View ArticleUnderstanding Icons: Participate in magic survey #9
Please participate in our little game! (Study closed) It is fun, takes a maximum of 5 minutes and helps us to better understand effects of icon design. For more information please check our initial...
View ArticleUnderstanding Icons: Participate in final survey
Please participate in our little game! (Study closed) It is fun, takes a maximum of 5 minutes and helps us to better understand effects of icon design. For more information please check our initial...
View ArticleIntermediate results of the icon tests: Humanity
Introduction The introduction of the new Breeze icon set in KDE let us again wonder, what aspects of an icon set actually takes what impact on the usability of it. We investigated Oxygen and Tango...
View ArticleIntermediate results of the icon tests: Crystal
Introduction The introduction of the new Breeze icon set in KDE let us again wonder, what aspects of an icon set actually takes what impact on the usability of it. We investigated Oxygen and Tango...
View ArticleHow do you want Libreoffice’s toolbar configured?
Libreoffice’s default toolbars haven’t been changed in 9 years, since OpenOffice 2.0. Based on statistics gathered from OpenOffice.org 3.1 Usage Data that was done in 2009 and our own previous surveys...
View ArticleParticipate: New LibreOffice Icon Test started
TL;DR: Please participate in this study (study closed on 07-Nov-2014) After the great response to our last icon tests for LibreOffice based on Tango and Oxygen, we now want to compare the results...
View ArticleExtracting the DNA of icons
TL;WR In the last weeks we ran a couple of tests on different icon sets with the question in mind: What aspects of an icon set actually take what impact on its usability? Ad hoc results were...
View ArticleFind the best Icon for ‘Save as…’
TL;WR: Play this game! (study closed on 2014-11-13 at 2pm UTC) Competition for a new ‘Save as…’ Icon The icons for ‘Save’ and ‘Save as…’ are frequently discussed. In the context of the World Usability...
View ArticleHow designers think about ‘Save as…’
The metaphor of a floppy for Save is one of the most controversially discussed and challenged icons. There are haters who argue that many younger people never have seen a floppy (except at the Save...
View ArticleAbout the performance of the Sifr icon set
Since the release of Libreoffice 4.2, the new flat and monochrome icon theme Sifr was introduced, which has received a lot of positive feedback from the community for its modern design. So in order to...
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