title: The effects of user factors and symbol referents on public symbol design using the stereotype production method.
abstract: This study investigated the influence of user factors and symbol referents on public symbol design among older people, using the stereotype production method for collecting user ideas during the symbol design process. Thirty-one older adults were asked to draw images based on 28 public symbol referents and to indicate their familiarity with and ease with which they visualised each referent. Differences were found between the pictorial solutions generated by males and females. However, symbol design was not influenced by participants' education level, vividness of visual imagery, object imagery preference or spatial imagery preference. Both familiar and unfamiliar referents were illustrated pictorially without much difficulty by users. The more visual the referent, the less difficulty the users had in illustrating it. The findings of this study should aid the optimisation of the stereotype production method for user-involved symbol design.
authors.affiliation: School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. sdannie@polyu.edu.hk
authors.forename: Annie W Y
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Kin Wai Michael
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Siu
authors.forename: Chetwyn C H
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003142:Communication; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008123:Location Directories and Signs; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012737:Sex Factors; D013240:Stereotyping; D013561:Symbolism