The effects of color combinations, luminance contrast, and area ratio on icon visual search performance

Abstract The visual search of icons in a digital interface plays an important role in human-computer interaction. In this behavior study about the visual search of graphic symbols, the effects of the color combination, luminance contrast, and icon area ratio were investigated. A total of 28 participants (12 men and 16 women, ages ranging from 20 to 28 years, Mean = 22.4, SD = 1.7) were asked to perform an icon search task. Participants’ icon search accuracy and response times were measured as a function of the following independent variables: three levels of area ratios, four background colors, four foreground colors, and three levels of luminance contrast. The results showed that although there was no significant main effect of luminance contrast on the icon search accuracy, participants responded more quickly to medium luminance contrast than low or high luminance contrast. Similarly, the medium or low area ratio was more conducive to the participants identifying icons. Moreover, a strong interaction was observed between the effects of luminance contrast and icon area ratio. The icon search performance of the high luminance contrast improved significantly as the figure/background area ratio decreased. Icon color combinations also significantly affected visual search performance. White on black, yellow on black, turquoise on black, white on red, yellow on red, and white on purple resulted in better performance than other color combinations. The findings of this study provide useful guidelines for designing more efficient and user-friendly icons and interfaces in the future.