Research On The Usability Of Software User Interface Based On Icon Design

Except for the research on function, software technology exploitation put more attention to theusability studies of operations. As the medium between soft and user, the icon plays an important rolein Software User Interface. But the research on icon just base on a concrete creation process of it. It isobviously that we need a systematic study on why we should do this and how we should do. Not onlythe usability studies of icon could solve the problem of design criteria but also increase the softwareusability.This article begins from the basic content of Software User Interface design. It introduces thehistory of Software User Interface and the development trend in the future. It makes a whole researchabout Software User Interface design from interface layout, user’s analysis and design principleswhich based on cognitive psychology, the ergonomics and semiotics etc.Then it draws out the conceptof Software User Interface icon. It analyzes the effect and the role classification of Software UserInterface icon which contains multimode icon, multiform icon and a series of tools which could makeicon.The research on usability design starts with its sketch and the realization way of usability design.It builds a design methodology of usability design which based on users that imports design methodsuch as reusability, cognitive and general. The usability design of Software User Interface iconestablishes a design process of icon’s reusability which analysis the cognitive process of users,graphics and text elements.In order to discuss the reusable design of icon and analysis the affection ofuser reorganization which caused by size and number of icon, we need to conduct the reuse of verticaltype icon experiment and the reuse of horizontal type icon experiment by the method of user surveyfurther.It conducts an overall thinking of icon design which based on the former study and putsforward the design principles of integral design, color design and metaphor design of the icon. At thesame time it discusses the design process and evaluation method of icon. The last target is design a setof icon software which applicate the process and principle of design in actual design.