Cultural Aspects for the User Interface Design of Health and Fitness Apps

Zheng, Fiona; Hermawati, Setia

Abstract

Cultures influence preferences towards user interface (UI) which prompted the emergence of the culture-based UI design approach. Hofstede’s cross-cultural theory identified Hong Kong as having a unique culture orientation in comparison to western countries or mainland China. This study aimed to investigate Hong Kongese preference on the UI of health and fitness apps. Three human factors experts systematically analysed two comparable apps designed by mainland Chinese and Western companies. The results were then used to guide an online survey (n=103) exploring the preferences of Hong Kongese. The systematic analysis showed that UI differences observed between the two apps corresponded well with cultural dimension differences between the United States and Mainland China; suggesting an unmet need for culturally sensitive UI. The online survey showed that UI preferences are also significantly affected by age and gender (p < 0.05); suggesting the culture-based UI design approach alone was insufficient to guide UI design.

Citation

Zheng, F., & Hermawati, S. (2021). Cultural Aspects for the User Interface Design of Health and Fitness Apps.

• Conference Name: Ergonomics & Human Factors 2021
• Conference Location: Online
• Start Date: Apr 19, 2021
• End Date: Apr 22, 2021
• Acceptance Date: Dec 7, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Apr 8, 2021
• Publication Date: Apr 19, 2021
• Deposit Date: Mar 2, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 8, 2021
• Series Title: Ergonomics & Human Factors Conference
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5363463
• Publisher URL: https://publications.ergonomics.org.uk/publications/cultural-aspects-for-the-user-interface-design-of-health-and-fitness-apps.html
• Related Public URLs: https://conference.ergonomics.org.uk/