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Studying Depth in a 3D User Interface by a Paper Prototype as a Part of the Mixed Methods Evaluation Procedure. Early Phase User Experience Study

Authors:
Leena Arhippainen
Minna Pakanen
Seamus Hickey

Keywords: 3D UI; depth; touch screen tablet; paper prototype; user experience.

Abstract:
A principal characteristic of three dimensional user interfaces is that it contains information in the 3rd axis. Visually, this information is presented as being placed further away from the screen or having depth. A consequence of this is that information can be occluded. Determining the optimal amount of depth levels for specifically sized icons is important in the design of 3D user interfaces. This paper investigates the depth placement of objects of a three dimensional user interface on a tablet device at the early stage of the development process. We present mixed methods evaluation with a paper prototype with a focus on the users' subjective experiences. Users were presented with concepts of different depth levels, with and without 3D objects. The findings indicate that users' preference was for depth levels 3-5. We recommend designing 3D UIs with a controllable depth by starting with a few depth levels and increasing them automatically based on the amount of 3D objects. Also, it is important to give a user a possibility to customize depth levels when needed. This paper provides user preference information on depth for 3D UI designers and developers, especially in the context of a touch screen tablet device.

Pages: 35 to 40

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2013

Publication date: February 24, 2013

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-4138

ISBN: 978-1-61208-250-9

Location: Nice, France

Dates: from February 24, 2013 to March 1, 2013