چكيده لاتين
Abstract
In the digital age, applications are recognized as crucial tools for service delivery and task facilitation. Users of these apps decide within seconds whether to engage with a particular app or switch to a functionally similar alternative. Consequently, given the vast array of functionally similar apps and the intense competition among them, it is essential that app design, beyond mere functionality, also focuses on aspects like appearance and graphics to establish differentiation and attract users. Usersʹ motivations and emotions significantly influence their thoughts and behaviors; therefore, understanding these aspects before design provides app developers with a valuable advantage. In this regard, Kansei Engineering and User Experience (UX), by considering usersʹ emotions and experiences throughout their interaction with an app and translating them into design elements, contributes to enhancing user quality, engagement, and satisfaction. This research examines the features influencing various user emotions and contributing to app appeal. The study aims to explore the ideal app from usersʹ perspectives based on Kansei Engineering and user experience dimensions, seeking to address the challenge of low user adoption of Iranian apps, especially in the medical and health sectors, through scientific methods. Furthermore, by providing the findings of this research to stakeholders in this field and by offering an ideal app appearance that reflects usersʹ emotional and functional needs, this study seeks to significantly contribute to user attraction and sustainable growth in the Iranian app market. This research is applied and exploratory in terms of purpose, employs mixed-method in terms of the nature of data, and its method is descriptive-survey. The statistical population in the qualitative phase includes app design professors and experts from universities in Isfahan and Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, while the quantitative phase encompasses all users of social networks and Iranian apps. In the qualitative section, purposive sampling was conducted, and 10 individuals were selected. In the quantitative section, convenience non-probability sampling was used, and 238 individuals were selected. The theoretical framework of the research was established through library research, and data were collected via interviews and questionnaires. Seven Kansei terms related to usersʹ emotions towards applications were identified and presented to users using a semantic differential scale. The reliability of the quantitative questionnaire was confirmed with a Cronbachʹs Alpha of 0.925, and the inter-coder reliability of the qualitative interview data was established with a Cohenʹs Kappa coefficient of 0.815. Face validity was used to assess the questionnaireʹs validity. Data analysis was performed using Excel and SPSS24 software. The research findings indicate that the Kansei terms "dynamic," followed by "lovely" and "convenience," were identified as the preferred terms from the usersʹ perspective. Additionally, the emotional design of applications through visual elements such as color, icons, and style significantly influences various user emotions. These visual elements primarily affect the utility, accessibility, and usability dimensions of user experience, while their impact on the credibility dimension is less pronounced. Moreover, users prefer health and medical applications with warm colors, concrete icons, and a more classic style.
Keywords: Kansei engineering, User Experience, Emotional design, Usability
