Affect of Color of Interface on Accuracy and Speed of Operations

The relationships between colors and operations on electronic devices, e.g., Web browsers and ATM consoles, are discussed. Two experiments were carried out in order to test the effects of colors on the accuracy and speed of operations. In these experiments, a problem was displayed on the screen with several different color push buttons. Subjects had to select the correct answer from three alternatives and push the answer panel which indicated the answer. The problems changed one after another, and subjects had to push the answer panel quickly. The data, e.g., the time required to answer all problems and the correct answer ratio, was analyzed. We found that the blue one was better than red ones, and formal coloration is better than the other coloration from the viewpoints of accuracy and speed of operations. The authors study aimed to elucidate primitive rules of how color is used in the design of human interfaces.