Facets of simplicity for the smartphone interface: A structural model

Motivated by the need to develop an integrated measure of simplicity perception for a smartphone user interface, our research incorporated visual aesthetics, information design, and task complexity into an extended construct of simplicity. Drawn from three distinct domains of human–computer interaction design and related areas, the new development of a simplicity construct and measurement scales were then validated. The final measurement model consisted of six components: reduction, organization, component complexity, coordinative complexity, dynamic complexity, and visual aesthetics. The following phase aimed at verifying the relationship between simplicity perception of the interface and evaluations of user satisfaction. The hypothesis was accepted that user satisfaction was positively affected by simplicity perception and that the relationship between the two constructs was very strong. The findings imply that a simplified interface design of the task performance, information hierarchy, and visual display attributes contributes to positive satisfaction evaluations when users interact with their smartphone as they engage in communication, information search, and entertainment activities.

Highligths
► Measurement scale of smartphone interface simplicity perception consisted of six components.
► Visual aesthetics appeared as a very strong component of simplicity perception.
► User satisfaction was positively affected by simplicity perception.