DESIGNING INTERNATIONAL USER INTERFACES: A CROSS CULTURAL STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF COLOR ON USER PERFORMANCE

Abstract

An important determinant of user performance is the degree of fit between user interface (UI) attributes and user characteristics, moderated by cognitive and demographic variables. Culture is one moderating variable which is often overlooked by UI designers. This study evaluates the effect of the presence of color in the UI on user performance for two distinct cultural groups, Japanese and Americans. We report the findings of a laboratory experiment involving American subjects (N=12) and Japanese subjects (N=12) performing 40 elementary database retrieval tasks using an interface with 8 background colors. The results suggest that American subjects react more strongly than Japanese subjects do to color stimuli, Japanese subjects appear to be disrupted by the use of color in the user interface, and there is no relationship between color preferences and performance.