The Impact Of Culture On Visual Design Perception

This paper questions the concept of universal users, taking a first step in looking at design perception differences between cultures, opening a discussion about culture in the context of HCI and more specifically interface interaction. This is done through a short study assessing participants from 3 cultures and their perception of interface by looking at 3 mobile payment applications with the help of remote eye-tracking technology (iMotions), and AI predictive analysis software (EyeQuant). Results show considerable differences between the two software solutions as well as between cultures, diverging in preference over text vs icons, with little consistent patterns as ground for speculation further than what the data shows.