Visual Features and Interference in Pressure Widget

Pressure widgets are user interface elements that exploit the capabilities of pressure-sensing technology present in digitizer tablets and interactive pen-based display devices. They provide users with a visual indication of the amount of pressure being applied, as well as meaningful feedback as to the consequences of varying pressure in these widgets. We present empirical work that investigates how changes in key visual design dimensions of pressure widgets affect their usability. Our results indicate that variations in visual design, including changes in pressure to visual attribute mappings, can have significant impact on a pressure widget's usage speed, accuracy, and interference between the pressure and the spatial x-y movement components of the stylus. Our results can be used to refine the design of pressure widgets.