Aesthetics and usability of in-vehicle navigation displays

This research evaluates the aesthetics and usability of various in-vehicle electronic navigation map configurations Study 1 adapted the aesthetics scale (Lam and Traotinsky 2004) to accommodate evaluations of map displays Study 2 examined map displays that vary in the amount of data presented, their abstraction level and color schema using objective and subjective usability measures Maps with minimal detail produced best performances and highest evaluations Abstractions were found to be advantageous when combined with reduced amount of detail and specific color schemas Moderate abstractions were sufficient for obtaining the desired benefits The color schema mainly affected the objective measures pointing to the importance of good contrast between the cursor and the map colors Study 3 further examined map schemas Color schemas again had no effect on the perceptions of aesthetics and usability Overall similar results and high correlations were found for the perceived aesthetics and usability scales, indicating the connection between perceived aesthetics and usability Lower correlations were found between the actual usability (performance) and the aesthetics scale Finally, users' usability evaluations were not always in line with their actual performance, pointing to the importance of using objective usability measures (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved