As I started to research about different ways that UX research is conducted and how I can incorporate that into my intervention and my project overall, while I looked at many academic papers, and there were many things from them which interested me and here’s that:

Paper: Design and Evaluation of a Mobile User Interface for Older Adults: Navigation, Interaction and Visual Design Recommendations

Since most interactive devices require that users be able to read in order to use them, many of today’s seniors have the basic skills that allow them to use most interactive devices, and thus, are more likely to already be familiar with computers, mobile devices, and related technology.

It is known that older adults often experience difficulties in interacting with technology, namely
smartphones, and that designers should place special care in how User Interfaces (UIs) are designed, so that they are accessible, usable and inclusive.

UIs should undergo thorough testing for validation amongst the intended audience. While there are older adult specific guidelines for general graphical user interface (GUI) elements, content display or for specific devices, literature is still scarce on examples of and recommendations for smartphone use interfaces for older adults.

Recommendations:

Provide generous spacing between items. Generous spacing between actionable items is recommended, in particular if the page allows scrolling. Our tests suggest that, on long pages with several actionable items, additional spacing between items prevents indeed accidental presses.

Use icons along with text when designing buttons. In possible, make use of icons next to textual labels in order to improve the affordance of elements. Given the results from our evaluation with users, we can conclude that older adults prefer to tap the icon even when both the icon and text work as a button.

Be cautious about the positioning of interactive elements towards the edge of the screen. When positioning elements on the screen take into account how older adults interact with the device, and how that can lead to unnecessary problems.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187705091400043X

Paper: The Effect of UI/UX Design on User Satisfaction in Online Art Gallery

System Usability Scale (SUS) : In the form of a questionnaire to get the evaluation usability of the currently existing online art gallery from 12 random respondents who are interested in art. 

ArtStation better than DeviantArt. First, DeviantArt has a web appearance that tends to be darker than ArtStation, which makes ArtStation more attractive than DeviantArt. 

We found out that: (i) web system must be simple, (ii) web system must be consistent, (iii) web system must work properly, and (iv) web system must fulfill the user requirement.

(i) People tend to like dark website since it makes the web more attractive, (ii) Responsiveness of a website make user easier is using the website, (iii) Features of a web that can support the user in their work.

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9609764

Paper: UX Design for start-ups: UX PIN

User experience design lies at the crossroads of art and science. It’s a magical mixture of visual art, hardboiled psychology and numbers.

Economic and behavioral metrics
• Google Analytics
• KissMetrics
• MixPanel
Usability Testing
• Silverback
A/B testing
• Visual Website Optimizer
• Optimizely

https://www.tirop.com/up/ux-design-for-startups-marcin-treder.pdf

As I started to think more about where I could see more about my research question I thought about the word “Digital Literacy”, when I first started out with this project I was focused on another group itself, which was the illterate, and I feel throughout the progress of this project, the aim remains the same, which is focused around digital literacy, to know more about this I decided to look at artworks based around the same topic.

Studio A: Sydney-based Studio A supports professional development pathways for artists living with intellectual disability. In 2022, 2 of Studio A’s artists – Thom Roberts, and Catherine McGuiness – were finalists in Australia’s most prestigious portrait prize, the Archibald. As a champion of “digital fluency”, Studio A in collaboration with Meeum is determined to remove the “geekery superiority” associated with technology – and has a clear message for other arts organisations looking to replicate Studio A’s success. “The Digital Strategist-in-Residence program proves that tech and digital is for everyone.”

Thom Roberts with his painting A Portriff of Adam (Shane Simpson AM) hanging in the 2021 Archibald Prize. Photo: Studio A, which aims to make people look through a different lense, and look at digital literacy witth a different lense.

Another work which I looked at was not an artwork but an experiment, Teaching Digital Literacy in the Context of AI Text-to-Art Generators by Neil Dixon, AI text-to-art generators democratize the creation of images and art. To generate an image, the user simply enters a text string that describes the content of the image, along with the style, resolution, and features. Softwares include, DALL E, Midjourney, Stable diffusion. To be better-informed about the role of AI text-to-art generators in society, digital literacy can promote consideration of the technology’s risks, capabilities, and limitations. Digital literacy means a person has sufficient knowledge and education to operate in the digital world, These technologies and their relationships are so complex that the way they function is outside most people’s understanding—we can only evaluate AI on the outputs it creates. Providing time to experiment with the technology is another way to develop or enhance digital literacy. We can improve our understanding of the capabilities and limitations, which means we can see the technology from the perspectives of artists, legislators, or developers. 

References:

https://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/jan23/Dixon–Teaching-Digital-Literacy-in-the-Context-of-AI-Text-to-Art-Generators.shtml

http://www.meeum.com/articles/case-study/studio-a/

As I started to look more into how I can incorporate Klondike Solitaire into my interventions, I came across “card sorting”. Card sorting is a UX research method which is a qualititative process. Study participants group individual labels written on notecards according to criteria that make sense to them.  

This method uncovers how the target audience’s domain knowledge is structured. It also can be a quantitative process as The main quantitative data output from a card sort is a set of similarity scores that measures the similarity of how users grouped their sets of information. If all users sorted two cards into the same pile, then the two items represented by the cards would have 100% similarity. If half the users placed two cards together and half placed them in separate piles, those two items would have a 50% similarity score. 

In short in Klondike Solitaire, you aim to sort a deck of cards by using attention, strategy, and memory: Seven piles of cards are in the middle of the table, the tableau, with each top card revealed. The goal is to assemble 13 cards of a suit, in ascending sequence from ace through king, on top of a pile.

In both cases, there’s an element of organizing cards. In Klondike solitaire, you organize cards into piles based on suits and ranks. In card sorting, participants organize cards into categories based on their own criteria. Solitaire often requires recognizing patterns and sequences to move cards effectively. Similarly, card sorting involves participants recognizing patterns and relationships between items to group them logically.

I had heard the term Silver Surfers, but I was too brainwashed by marvel that I forgot about it and started thinking about the Fantastic 4 Villian/Hero Silver Surfer. “Silver surfers” is a term commonly used to refer to older adults, typically aged 50 and above, who are active users of the internet, particularly for browsing, communication, and various online activities. The term is often used to highlight the contrast between the traditional image of surfers as young individuals riding waves on the ocean and the older generation embracing technology and the digital age.

As I researched more about designing for this age range, I came across  A 2017 Forbes article states that 96% of baby boomers (aged 56-74 years) use search engines regularly, with 92% using the internet to buy products and services online rather than in-store.  Making up a third of the population in the UK, the over 50s are a huge market for businesses. Whilst Google remains the dominant player in the search engine sector, Bing is often overlooked by business owners who predominantly focus on Google. Bing accounts for 10% of all UK searches and this statistic has continually grown over recent years. The over 50s age category is extremely valuable for businesses. Whilst they shouldn’t be overlooked, there are a few trends to consider when planning marketing for this age group 1) Use of Bing. 2) Eliminate bias in customer personas. 3) Site Security is essential. 4) Change writing in ecommerce pages for over 50s.

Another Article I looked at was “Silver Surfers & eTourism: Web Usability and Testing Methods for the Generation 50+” by the Management Center Innsbruck, Austria. The thing that interested me most about this article was that, they has used very out of the ordinary testing methods, almost like MAAI interventions, instead of using extremely technical methods. Such as “Thinking Aloud” and “Retrospective Review”. For the method of “Thinking Aloud” test-subjects are urged to speak their thoughts out loud, which allows for insights into the personal thoughts of a person, and therefore insights into their thinking processes. The “Retrospective Review” or “Retrospective Think Aloud” is a method that collects the thoughts on the task of the user after this task is over. According to Nielsen (2000) a Usability Test does not need more than five participants to give accurate results. Hence a tester user-group consisting og ten Silver Surfers is adequate when it comes to usability testing.

Articles Mentioned:

Five Things You Need To Know About Marketing To Baby Boomers:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2017/09/26/five-things-you-need-to-know-about-marketing-to-baby-boomers/?sh=4618b7a34e55

Silver Surfers & eTourism: Web Usability and Testing Methods for the Generation 50+: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-7091-0503-0_7

References:

Silver Surfers, E-government and the Digital Divide: An Exploratory Study of UK Local Authority Websites and Older Citizens: https://academic.oup.com/iwc/article-abstract/25/6/417/1124713

https://eprints.qut.edu.au/93335/: Silver surfers: proposing an e-servicescape framework for active ageing

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/106480460401200107: The Silver Surfer: Making the Internet Usable for Seniors

On researching more about the apps that are used by the 55 – 70 age range, I stumbled upon Klondike Solitaire, and what makes it so special that a very huge population of this age range plays this particular video game. There have been various studies with this particular game in mind, as Solitaire can be used as an assessment tool for cognitive impairment, and digital biomarkers can be derived from the game play. By using ‘meaningful play’, games older adults already enjoy and play, adherence will be better compared to other serious games. This works as a neuropsychological tool, an unobtrusive way of monitoring the patient’s psyche, giving them better insight in their cognitive profile. As I started to think about the way that this information can be used in my question, I started looking at the different ways this game is being used to study older adults, with respect to interfaces.

I looked at a paper by the International Conference on Web-Based Learning, which talks about  “Designing a User-Friendly Educational Game for Older Adults”. To identify the ergonomic requirements to be considered during the interface design process to ensure that the game be adapted to the characteristics of seniors. It shows a high degree of satisfaction with game navigation, the display mode and gameplay equipment. Recommendations are presented to guide the development of online educational games for seniors. 

There were many findings from this study, that could be taken forward when thinking about the design of interfaces such as: 1) To make a game environment intuitive for seniors, designers should ensure that players can easily access all components (cards, navigation buttons, instructions/tutorials and score) needed for the game to run smoothly. 2) To facilitate navigation within the game, the game elements and question content should be limited to one screen page. 3) It is also important to minimize the use of superimposed windows during the course of a game. Because some older users are less likely to notice page changes, 4) Game equipment, such as a laptop, tablet, keyboard, or joystick, must be used with some constraints to make them comfortable for seniors, 5) integrated buttons with words and symbols to make it easier for seniors who were not born in the digital age. 6) Avoid player confusion, organize gameplay information into zones and reduce as much as possible the number of controls necessary to accomplish a task.

Reference Papers:

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-35758-0_4

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/154193129403800424

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8904511

I tested my first intervention with one of the audience members from my target group which is adults aged 55+, the first intervention was just based around getting intial thoughts of the user about normal everyday interfaces that one might stumble upon, picked from the mobile apps used by the stats which show the type of apps used by adults aged 55+

While this intervention did give me some insights into the type of interfaces that might be preferred by this audience group as I asked them to give me an explanation about why they prefer one over the other, it also made me realise that it doesnt specifically point out the issues of these interfaces and might have, thus I decided to try another set up, which made users choose the same type of design in different layouts.

With this type of interface, there might be issues, as the person might just end up choosing the one which looks easier, rather than the one that might be better functionality wise. As the project progressed I have now decided to look at these from another perspective, which was via using principles of Art in design. Each question of the intervention tackles one of the principles of art, namely as Balance, Proportion, Contrast, Emphasis, Unity, Movement, & Harmony.

As I started to look more into places where I could see more divergence of art and UX design I started looking at literature such as books.

“Universal Principles of Design” by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, and Jill Butler: This book covers 125 design principles, including many that apply to both art and UI design. It explores concepts such as balance, contrast, harmony, and proportion, offering practical examples and applications in different design fields. The books explains 5 questions and answers them with the help of different design and art concepts. The 2 questions which jumped out to me most where I coukd find some convergence surrounding my research question where, 1. How can I enchance the usability of a design? and 2. How can I make people learn from a design?

How can I enchance the usability of a design?

80/20 Rule – All elements in a design are not created equaL Use the 80/20 rule to assess the value of elements, target areas for redesign and optimization, and focus resources efficiently.

Consistency – According to the principle of consistency, systems are more usable and learnable
when similar parts are expressed in similar ways. Consistency enables people to efficiently transfer knowledge to new contexts, learn new things quickly, and focus attention on the relevant aspects of a task.

Fibonacci Sequence – A Fibonacci sequence is a sequence of numbers. Patterns exhibiting the sequence are commonly found in natural forms, such as the petals of flowers, spirals of galaxies, and bones in the human hand. Patterns based on the Fibonacci sequence are intrinsically aesthetic and, therefore, worthy of consideration in design.

Golden Ratio – The golden ratio is found throughout nature, art, and architecture. Such as in Pinecones, seashells, and the human body, used by Piet Mondrian and Leonardo da Vinci. It results in a more fundamental, subconscious aesthetic preference.

How can I make people from a design?

Advance Organizer – An instructional technique that helps people understand new information ill terms of what they already know. Advance organizers are brief chunks of information- spoken, written, or lIlustratedpresented prior to new material to help facilitate learning and understanding.

Chunking – A technique of combining many units of information into a limited number of units or chunks, so that the information is easier to process and remember. By breaking a 10 word list into multiple, smaller chunks, results in recall performance that is essentially equivalent to the single list of five words.

Mental Model – People understand and interact with systems and environments based on mental representations developed from experience. Design with people’s interaction models in mind.

As I started to more about the direction that I wanted to take this project in, I started to think about more areas that I could connect my research with, as I thought about UX design and design in general I started thinking about Art. As there are several topics where art and UX design converge, the idea which came to mind where bringing the two topics together landed on the principles of art, and how they can be used when it comes to designing interfaces. Applying principles of art in UX design can greatly enhance the user experience by making interfaces visually appealing, engaging, and easy to use. 

1. Balance: Balance refers to the distribution of visual weight in a design. A balanced interface creates a sense of stability and harmony, making it easier for users to navigate and understand the content.
2. Proportion: Proportion deals with the relationship between different elements in a design. In UX, proportion can be used to emphasize important elements and create hierarchy. By giving proper visual weight to key elements such as headings or call-to-action buttons, designers can guide users’ attention and help them focus on the most important aspects of an interface.
3. Contrast: Contrast involves using differences in color, size, shape, or other visual attributes to create visual interest and make elements stand out. In UX design, contrast can be employed to highlight important information, such as clickable buttons or error messages, by making them visually distinct from the rest of the interface. This helps users quickly identify interactive elements and improves usability.
4. Emphasis: Emphasis is about drawing attention to specific elements or areas in a design. In UX, emphasis can be used to guide users through a flow or to highlight key features. By employing techniques like color, size, or whitespace, designers can direct users’ attention to important information and help them understand the structure of the interface.
5. Unity: Unity refers to the coherence and consistency of a design. In UX, achieving unity involves creating a consistent visual language throughout the interface. This can be accomplished through the use of consistent typography, colors, icons, and other design elements. A unified design helps users feel comfortable and confident in navigating the interface, as they can easily recognize familiar patterns.
6. Movement: Movement refers to the visual flow and dynamic aspects of a design. In UX, movement can be applied through animation and transitions to provide feedback, guide users’ attention, or indicate changes in state. Thoughtful and purposeful use of movement can enhance the overall user experience and make interactions feel more natural and intuitive.
7. Harmony: Harmony is the overall sense of cohesion and visual agreement in a design. In UX, harmony can be achieved by ensuring that all design elements work together in a cohesive and coherent manner. This includes maintaining a consistent visual style, aligning elements properly, and creating a balanced composition. A harmonious interface creates a pleasant and enjoyable experience for users.

The above shown activity is an activity I personally had done as a student of visual design in my bachelors. This Idea led me think of an activity where I can get people involved and understand more abut the way that people view this principles of design and maybe use it in context with UX design elements, and almost make a game with a collage of elements. .