“They don't look real; they are not nice.” : Skeuomorphic vs. Flat Design Icons – Ease of use, Recognition and Preference of Children Aged 7-9

Sammanfattning: Icons are an important part of the user interface design. By representing objects and actions, they can quickly and efficiently convey information as well as make an interface more aesthetically pleasing for the user. Nowadays, the flat design is used as the industry standard while skeuomorphic icons fade away. In this study, we aimed to examine the value of both icon styles for a segment of users aged 7-9 years old. We tested the ease of use, recognition, and preference for skeuomorphic and flat design icons with twenty pupils from a Swedish primary school (N=20), using three experiments to measure these parameters. In the first experiment, participants completed simple tasks in an educational application prototype. The second experiment involved selecting icons with certain meaning from a grid. Lastly, the participants were presented with five pairs of icons and asked to choose which one they liked better. Although our results did not find a statistically significant difference in the ease of use or recognition for this age group, we found that the children had a strong preference towards the skeuomorphic design. Therefore, we suggest that skeuomorphic icons should be used in interfaces specifically designed for children, as they are more aesthetically pleasing for the users and do not affect the ease of use or recognition in a negative way.