(mis)understanding: icon comprehension in different cultural contexts

Abstract

Icons are frequently used in contexts where comprehension needs to be consistent across cultural and linguistic barriers. This paper reports on a study comparing the comprehension of 54 universal medical icons in rural Tanzania and the United States of America. It finds that most of the icons were not understood cross-culturally. The premise of the study was that this misunderstanding might have two causes: cultural distinctions and lack of knowledge. To test the premise we studied icon comprehension by those in two different cultures with two levels of medical knowledge:'standard' and 'advanced'. The results show that most (33 of 47) poorly comprehended icons failed due to lack of medical knowledge or unfamiliarity with technology, while few (5 of 47) poorly comprehended icons failed due to cultural differences. Analysis of icons that failed due to cultural differences suggests that primary drivers of cultural misunderstanding were the use of culturally sensitive metaphor and the incorporation of learned signs (non-representational symbols such as words) in icon design. Awareness of these causes of poor comprehension across cultures might help designers design effective universal icons by incorporating into the design process research methods that identity disparities of specific knowledge in the target people group and by avoiding use of metaphor and learned signs. These findings empower calls for cultural sensitivity in visual communication with guidance for implementation.