The impact of neglecting user-centered information design principles when delivering online information
Cyber security awareness websites as a case study
Information design principles are overlooked in cyber security awareness websites. An Information Design Process
Model has been devised to help frame and interpret how online information is processed and the role information design principles
play in facilitating that processing. Two websites have been compared, and results show significant differences in terms of
performance, behavior and perception. The results also show that in situations where serious information is at stake, such as
cyber security, a more accessible design does not seem to be sufficient to project a sense of trust and security among users. All
these findings have led to original insights regarding the design of online information in terms of lasting impression and
user-centered design approaches.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 1.1Context
- 1.2Aim and hypothesis
- 2.Information processing: A theoretical model
- 2.1
start task
- 2.2
continue task
- 2.3
find & extract information
- 3.Evaluation: Design principles
- 4.User testing
- 4.1Participants
- 4.2Stimuli
- 4.3Procedure
- 5.Results
- 5.1Time
- 5.1.1Summary and discussion
- 5.2Behavior
- 5.2.1Passwords
- 5.2.2Software
- 5.2.3Shopping
- 5.2.4Video
- 5.2.5Summary and discussion
- 5.3User perception
- 5.3.1Description of the website
- 5.3.2Feelings after using the website
- 5.3.3Design preferences
- 5.3.4Summary and discussion
- 6.Discussion and conclusion
- Lasting impression
- User-centered design approaches
- Acknowledgements
-
References
References
Ashford, W.
(
2017)
Raising cyber security grasp is biggest challenge, says GCHQ chief.
ComputerWeekly.com. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Bernard, M., Lida, B., Riley, S., Hackler, T., & Janzen, K.
(
2002)
A comparison of popular online fonts: Which size and type is best? Usability News. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Beukes, W. et al.
(
2016)
Why designers responsible for websites of large organisations disregard basic web design principles.
CONF-IRM 2016 Proceedings. International Conference on Information Resources Management.
Cabinet Office
(
2012)
Digital Landscape Research. [Online]. [Accessed February 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Cardello, J.
(
2013)
Four dangerous navigation approaches that can increase cognitive strain. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Choo, C. W.
(
1999)
Closing the cognitive gaps: How people process information.
Financial Times of London,
March 22.
Cyr, D., Head, M., & Ivanov, A.
(
2009)
Perceived interactivity leading to e-loyalty: Development of a modelf or cognitive – affective user responses.
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 671, 850–869.
Eurostat
(
2017)
E-commerce statistics for individuals. [Online]. [Accessed July 2018]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Farkas, D. K. & Farkas, J. B.
(
2000)
Principles for designing Web navigation.
Technical Communication, 73(3), 341–358.
Fessenden, T.
(
2017a)
Five user requirements for online ads. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Fessenden, T.
(
2017b)
The most hated online advertising techniques. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
HM Government
(
2016)
National Cyber Security Strategy 2016–2021. [Online]. [Accessed November 2016]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Hartley, J.
(
2004)
Designing instructional and informational text. In
D. H. Jonassen (Ed.),
Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (2nd ed.). New York: Macmillan, 917–947.
Hornof, A. J. & T. Halverson
(
2003)
Cognitive strategies and eye movements for searching hierarchical computer displays.
Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), ACM, 249–256.
Howarth, F.
(
2014)
The role of human error in successful security attacks.
Security Intelligence. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Hoyer, W. D. & McInnis, D.
(
2001)
Consumer behaviour (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Karlsson, M.
(
2007)
Expressions, emotions, and website design.
CoDesign, 3(S1), 75–89.
Leavitt, M. O. & Shneiderman, B.
(
2006)
Research-based web design and usability principles. US Department of Health and Human Services.
Lee, S. H. & Boiling, E.
(
1999)
Screen design principles for motivation in interactive multimedia instruction: A survey and framework for designers.
Educational technology, 391: 19–26.
Leyden, J.
(
2013)
UK’s Get Safe Online? No one cares’ – run the blockbuster ads instead.
The Register. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Li, Y. & Yeh, Y.
(
2010)
Increasing trust in mobile commerce through design aesthetics.
Computers in Human Behavior, 261, 673–684.
Lindgaard, G., Fernandes, G., Dudek, C., & Brown, J.
(
2006)
Attention web designers: You have 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression! Behaviour & Information Technology, 25(2), 115–126.
Lipton, R.
(
2007)
The practical guide to information design. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Loeber, S. & Cristea, A.
(
2003)
A WWW information seeking process model.
Educational Technology & Society, 6(3), 43–52.
Lonsdale, M.
(
2014a)
Typographic features of text. Outcomes from research and practice.
Visible Language, 48(3), 29–67.
Lonsdale, M.
(
2016)
Typographic features of text and their contribution to the legibility of academic reading materials: an empirical study.
Visible Language, 50(1), 79–111.
Lonsdale, M., Dyson, M. C., & Reynolds, L.
(
2006)
Reading in examination-type situations: The effects of text layout on performance.
Journal of Research in Reading, 29(4), 433–453.
Loranger, H.
(
2016a)
The same link twice on the same page: Do duplicates help or hurt? [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Loranger, H.
(
2016b)
The negativity bias in user experience. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Loranger, H.
(
2016c)
Minimize design risk by focusing on outcomes not features. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Loranger, H.
(
2017)
Homepage links remain a necessity. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Martin, A.
(
2017)
That government Cyber Aware website has cost £ 6.37 per visit since it launched. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Meyer, K.
(
2016)
Using the microsoft desirability toolkit to test visual appeal. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Nielsen, J.
(
1999a)
10 good deeds in Web design. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Nielsen, J.
(
2001)
113 design principles for homepage usability. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Nielsen, J.
(
2004)
The need for Web design standards. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Nielsen, J.
(
2008)
How little do users read? [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Nielsen, J.
(
2010a)
Alphabetical sorting must (mostly) die. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Nielsen, J.
(
2010b)
Mega menus gone wrong. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Nielsen, J.
(
2010c)
Scrolling and attention. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Nielsen, J.
(
2011)
How long do users stay on Web pages? [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Nielsen, J.
(
2016)
Tabs, used right. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Nielsen, J. & Li, A.
(
2017)
Mega menus work well for site navigation. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Olmstead, K. & Smith, A.
(
2017)
What the public knows about cybersecurity. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Pettersson, R.
(
2010)
Information design – principles and principles.
Journal of Visual Literacy, 29(2), 167–182.
Travis, D.
(
2016)
247 web usability principles.
User Focus. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Schriver, K.
(
2016)
Reading on the Web: Implications for online information design. In:
C. P. Oven &
C. Pozar (Eds.).
On information design. Ljubljana: The Museum of Architecture and Design. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Sherwin, K.
(
2015)
“Learn more” links: You can do better. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Sherwin, K.
(
2014)
Breaking Web design conventions = ]Breaking the user experience. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Silvennoinen, J. M. & Jokinen, J. P. P.
(
2016)
Appraisals of salient visual elements in Web page design. Advances in Human-Computer Interaction, 2016(3676704), 1–14.
Tetlan, L. & Marschalek, D.
(
2016)
How humans process visual information: A focused primer for designing information.
Visible Language, 50(3), 65–88.
Travis, D.
(
2016)
247 web usability principles. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Waller, R.
(
2011)
What makes a good document? The criteria we use.
Technical paper 2. Reading, UK: Simplification Centre, University of Reading.
Whitenton, K.
(
2015)
Menu design: checklist of 15 UX principles to help users. [Online]. [Accessed December 2017]. Retrieved from:
[URL]
Cited by
Cited by 2 other publications
Lonsdale, Maria dos Santos, Xiaoxiao Qin, Yun Chen, Heather Green, Maha Algethami & Jiawen Xu
Mofokeng, Thabang Excellent
2022.
An empirical study stepping towards ethnographic research for e-commerce websites: A perspective of user-centred design.
African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development 14:5
► pp. 1337 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 31 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.