Factors Impacting Animation in Icons for Visually Impaired Computer Users

Icons are commonplace in Graphical User Interfaces. These same components that are intended to make computers easy to use can make technology difficult to access for the visually impaired. Eliminating icons would be unrealistic, but re-examining icons is a starting point in increasing accessibility in GUIs. A project is underway where animation is being added to icons in order to assist visually impaired users who wish to access computing resources. Initially animated icons were not shown to be superior to static icons in terms of the size needed to identify them. This paper will present the analysis of some factors that influenced the results. The extent of the motion in the icons and the visual profile of the participants themselves contributed to the ability to identify animated icons. These insights will assist interface designers in developing more accessible Graphical User Interfaces.