User Preferences for Icon Design Styles and Their Associations with Personality and Demographic

To gain a more comprehensive understanding of user preferences for icon design styles in different HCI interfaces, we investigated the associations between user preferences for icon design styles and the Big Five personality factors was investigated. 220 participants (100 males and 110 females) completed a questionnaire on icon design style preferences, personality traits, and background variables. The results showed that skeuomorphic and semi- skeuomorphic icons were more endorsed by those of higher age, and flat and semi-skeuomorphic icons were more endorsed by men than women. The remaining four personality factors (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness) and preferences for the three icon design styles were significantly correlated with each other, except for neuroticism. However, the correlations were low, indicating that user preferences for icon design styles are related to the user's personality traits or dimensions, and the correlation is low because there may be other factors that affect user preferences for icon design styles. It also indicates that these four personalities do not have aversive feelings toward icon styles. Overall, the results of the study confirm that icon design features are associated with user personality traits or dimensions and can help design appropriate icons and human-computer interaction interfaces to improve user satisfaction.