Evaluation of a mood-based graphical user interface for accessing TV archives

This paper describes a quantitative user study of a mood-based graphical interface, designed to access a large archive of BBC TV programmes. Programmes were automatically classified on two mood dimensions, ranging from serious to humorous and from slow to fast-paced. More than 3200 people participated in the trial over a time period of three months, having access to 2400 different TV programmes. Direct feedback was positive but very limited. An analysis of the user behaviour however showed that about one third of all users seemed to like the experience, as they accessed the GUI multiple times. The analysis also revealed that users interacted more with the graphical interface than with the text-based searches. Behavioural patterns were consistent with a use for entertainment purposes rather than professional research, indicating the suitability of the interface for its intended purpose of providing archive access for non-professional users.