Mobile-application performance and ultimately bounce rate are influenced by many factors, with wait-time duration proven to be the most important influencing factor. It is therefore important to optimize loading-time perception and performance to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience. This research investigates the influences of loading-animation design, motion speed, and semantics, as well as the graphics format used for creation, on time perception. These research aims were (1) to identify the key factors that influence the quality of the user experience in the design of animated loading indicatorsand their perceived dimensions, (2) to find out what impact animation meaning has on perceived time duration, and (3) to identify loading-animation-design decisions’ influence on application performance. Research activities from the fields of human–computer interaction, psychology/neuroscience, and networking/telecommunications have addressed understanding the user’s wait-time experience. In this experiment, we confirmed that the perceived wait-time duration of a loading indicator is positively related to nontemporal properties, such as the processing principle, but we also reviewed the influence of the semantic structure of perceptual time representation. The specific meaning of an animation metaphor and its narrative sequence is related to information extraction and processing of novel and repeated stimuli and, consequently, to the experienced delight and duration judgment of an end user.

Nowadays, the attention in many industries is shifting towards the problem of waste overproduction and production of the waste in general. This study aimed to find an alternative approach to the production of packaging which will be environmentally friendly and at the same time optimal in terms of the print quality. This was accomplished by using the minimal needed amount of material for the production of packaging and adjusting the parameters of the flexographic printing process to achieve the desired visual impression of the print. The designed motive for the packaging was printed on five different recycled papers, following the guidelines of sustainable design. Printing was performed on each recycled paper with different printing pressures (50N, 150N, and 400N). Smoothness was measured on each paper; and for every printed sample, colorimetric measurements and thickness of the lines in positive and negative were measured. Print contrast for each print was calculated, and microscopy of fine printed elements was performed. All chosen papers except one had average smoothnes of up to 3.2 s (the smoothest paper had the average smootheness value of 54.72 s). Smoothness results influenced the printed line widths. Specifically, when increasing the printing pressure, a significant deformation of the line width has occured on all papers except the smoothest one (deformations of the lines printed in positive were up to 400 μm for rough papers compared to maximum of 60 μm for lines printed on the smoother paper). Similar results were obtained for the lines printed in negative. Furthermore, legibility of the printed typographic elements of 4pt size was significantly influenced by the smoothness of the paper. Elements printed on the smoothest paper have displayed the negligible deformations when changing the printing pressure. For other papers, elements in positive were optimally printed by 50 N pressure, and elements in negative by the pressure of 400 N. The results of this research have enabled the optimization of the flexographic printing process when using each of the five types of recycled papers. Furthermore, the presented qualitative and colorimetric parameters of the prints enabled the assessment of the applicability of used papers as printing substrates for ecologically favorable packaging.

Google’s Material Design, created in 2014, led to the extended application of floating action buttons (FAB) in user interfaces of web pages and mobile applications. FAB’s roll is to trigger an activity either on the present screen, or it can play out an activity that makes another screen. A few specialists in user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design are sceptical regarding the usability of FAB in the interfaces of both web pages and mobile applications. They claim that the use of FAB easily distracts users and that it interferes with using other important functions of the applications, and it is unusable in applications designed for iOS systems. The aim of this paper is to investigate by an experiment the quality of experience (QoE) of a static and animated FAB and compare it to the toolbar alternative. The experimental results of different testing methods rejected the hypothesis that the usage and animation of this UI element has a positive influence on the application usability. However, its static and animated utilization enhanced the ratings of hedonic and aesthetic features of the user experience, justifying the usage of this type of button.

It is well established that the consumers can often judge the qualities of enclosed products solely based on the information obtained from the packaging. The shape, size and weight of the container, materials, visual design, and information influence the consumer’s perception of the product and purchasing decisions. In the context of consumer’s browsing through store shelves, the appearance of the packaging container can be the crucial factor for selecting a specific product for closer inspection and, therefore, can have the major role in purchasing process and consumers’ decisions. The majority of chocolate bar packaging feature rectangular physical shape of the container. Therefore, using materials, finishing and, most importantly, visual design elements, the designers strive to differentiate the product from the competition on the store shelves while also communicating desired qualities of the product. The research in this paper is focused on the influence of colour and basic shape elements applied on packaging on the perception of quality attributes of chocolate products. In the first part of the research semantic differential questionnaire was used to evaluate perception of colours and basic shape elements in regard to pragmatic and hedonic quality aspects of confectionery products. For this part of the research, the stimuli were displayed outside of the context of packaging. For the main part of the research, both physical prototypes and digital simulations of the packaging were developed, with variations in dominant colours and basic shapes used for visual design of the packaging. AttrakDiff questionnaire was used for subjective evaluation of physical stimuli. Digital simulations, combined with eye-tracking equipment, were used to assess the visual inspection of stimuli when the participants were asked to search for a specific taste related property of the product. Fixation count and fixation duration were measured to establish which packaging designs gathered the most attention during the visual search for specific product traits.