Is Anthropomorphic Design a Viable way of Enhancing Interface Usability

Some interface designers believe that giving a computer human characteristics is wrong, as it may confuse or mislead users. However it has been repeatedly proven that many users do interact with their computer socially, as if it were another ‘person’. If anthropomorphism is inevitable – should we embrace it? And if we insist on giving our computer a human personality, which personality is best? This report examines the existing arguments for and against the use of anthropomorphism in interface design and explores why the application of humanlike interfaces in real-world situations has historically been doomed to failure. It describes how the results of a web-based questionnaire were used to establish that many users do anthropomorphise their own computers, and to help choose a ‘celebrity personality’, which was then applied in user tests. The tests compared an anthropomorphic interface with a non-anthropomorphic one. Results indicated that most users preferred the anthropomorphic interface, whilst the non-anthropomorphic interface appeared more usable. The report concludes that until direct manipulation technology is mature enough to cope with user demands anthropomorphism may be viable if applied responsibly and within the right context.