Interactivity, vividness and richness in user interfaces

Richness in user interfaces is known to influence engagement. This study examines how the level of interactivity and vividness affect the experienced richness of a user interface. An experiment was conducted in which participants explored a game-like user interface under varying levels of interactivity and vividness. Twelve subjects with a background in industrial design participated in the experiment. Results showed that interactivity increased when the user interface allowed for multiple actions possibilities. Vividness increased when colour and detail were used more profoundly in the visual design. Raising the levels of both interactivity and vividness increased experienced richness. A stronger effect on experienced richness was found for interactivity as compared to vividness. Implications of these findings toward user interface design are discussed.