This study investigated the effect of layout order on the complexity of the dashboard interface based on screen-based eye trackers. By simplifying and abstracting dashboard interfaces and incorporating subjective ratings (symmetry and unity calculations), we successfully manipulated the levels of complexity and layout order of the interface materials. Using four types of eye movement data (total fixation count, total gaze duration, scanning paths, and hotspot maps) and behavioral data, we compared participants’ visual search behavior on interfaces with different layout orders and complexity levels. Experiment 1 revealed a significant interaction between layout order and interface complexity, with participants performing significantly better in the high-level layout order condition. Experiment 2 confirmed that the position of the core chart plays a crucial role in users’ visual search behavior and that the optimal layout order for the dashboard is to place the core chart on the left side of the interface’s horizontal axis, with partial symmetry in the no-core chart areas. This study highlights the effectiveness of eye-tracking techniques in user interface design research and provides valuable insights into optimizing dashboard interface design. Designers should adopt the design principle of “order is more” in addition to “less is more” and consider designing the core chart in the left-center position.

In the field of visual graphic design, complexity plays a crucial role in visual information processing, and it is assumed to be an absolute quantity based on the number of the presenting features and components. However, it remains unclear whether the visual order of the constituent elements in graphical symbol complexity affects cognitive processing, especially memory processing. Our research innovatively generated four groups of novel, meaningless graphical symbols (complex and ordered, complex and disordered, simple and ordered, and simple and disordered) and experimentally manipulated the level of complexity and order in these stimuli. Before the formal experiment, a five-point scale was used to further rule out differences between objective and subjective definitions of these graphical symbols on ratings of complexity, order, concreteness, and familiarity. Then, we used a cue-recall task to compare subjects’ memory performance of those four graphical symbol groups. The analytical results showed a significant interaction between visual order and graphical symbol complexity, with the complexity effect appearing only when the stimuli were in disordered condition and disappearing once the stimuli were ordered. In addition, this study conducted a practical application validation to confirm that increasing the level of visual order is an effective way to improve user experience while maintaining the same level of complexity. The findings can serve as a reference for graphical symbol design, graphic design, and visual communication design.

The interaction patterns are constantly changing as the rapid development in technology. The non-contact interaction system using gestures is becoming important in human-computer interaction nowadays. This paper illustrates a design framework of a non-contact interaction system using gestures, which fully considers the approach to fit non-contact gestures into the system. The corresponding user requirements were investigated by surveys, and the universal design guide of non-contact gestures was summarized by statistical analysis. A case study was illustrated for key points of the developed design framework. The scheme, including interaction architecture, gesture definition, and user interface design, was described. The rapid prototyping was built. Evaluations, including eye-tracking measurements and tests of system usability, were implemented and analyzed by statistical methods to present suggestions of iterative design. The feasibility of the developed framework was verified. By statistical methods, the relationship between the interaction usability and the user’s perception for information was discussed, and the user’s perception for the display of dynamic and static gestures was analyzed. The results provide a clear approach to satisfy user’s preferences and improve the interaction quality for non-contact interaction systems using gestures, and furnish empirical grounding for sustainably devising similar interaction systems.