Ira Jhangiani

A Comparison of Cell Phone User Interface Design Preferences: Perspectives from Nationality and Disability Culture Ira Jhangiani

Barriers of language, distances and culture have created boundaries across nations. However, due to the rapid advancement of communication technology, we now live in a global marketplace. It is necessary to design localized products which are usable, useful, and appealing to culturally diverse users across the globe. This book provides an understanding of culture models, the influence of culture on user-interface design and techniques for analyzing and understanding user interface preferences. Using the cultural model developed by Hofstede as a foundation, this cross-cultural comparative study explores the possible relationships between nationality-culture, disability-culture and design preferences of cell phone user interfaces. This research uses quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the preferences of cell phones for users with and without disabilities in India and the United States. In addition, this book provides a set of guidelines and considerations for conducting international user research. The target audiences for this book are cell phone user interface designers, human factors specialists and design researchers with an interest in cultural ergonomics.