A study of the recognitions and preferences on abstract and concrete icon styles on smart phone from Easterners and Westerners´ point of view

Smart phones are being used extensively by nearly every walk of life and its market is speedily growing. Design of icons for human-machine interface unavoidably needs to consider cultural differences between the users. This paper is a pilot study that involved 60 subjects, of which 29 are westerners and 31 Easterners. They participated in an icon recognition and icon preference test. The results show there was no difference in terms of icon recognition and preference between the participants from different cultures. The findings also imply that cultural gap may be gradually narrowed and it is suggested that icon designers should avoid using abstract symbols.