Title: Consistency one-to-many: an analysis of crossplatform visual consistency in the most accessed global sites

Authors: Ana Cristina Antunes; Jorge Souto; Inga Saboia

Addresses: Escola Superior de Comunicação Social, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Campus de Benfica do IPL, 1549-014 Lisboa, Portugal ' Escola Superior de Comunicação Social, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Campus de Benfica do IPL, 1549-014 Lisboa, Portugal ' Instituto UFC Virtual, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Campus do Pici, 60455-900, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil

Abstract: Users are accessing the same content on multiple platforms. From a user-centric perspective, these different platforms impose different constraints to web designers, namely visually, since the graphic elements of the interfaces need to be adapted and reconfigured to multiple contexts and screen sizes. In this context, visual consistency emerges as a relevant issue because of its impact on user experience across desktop and mobile screens. This study examines visual consistency on the world's most accessed 15 websites, in their smartphone and desktop versions. Our findings suggest that users perceive different levels of cross-platform visual consistency. There are visual elements, like image texture in logos, icons and photographs, where standards and conventions clearly emerge. But when we examined elements like image size, results indicate less perceived visual consistency.

Keywords: web design; interface design; responsive sites; multi-platform transition; cross-platform consistency; web graphic elements; consistency; perception of consistency; visual consistency; user-centric.

DOI: 10.1504/JDR.2020.118674

Journal of Design Research, 2020 Vol.18 No.5/6, pp.375 - 387

Accepted: 26 Apr 2021
Published online: 02 Nov 2021 *

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