Age-related difference in perception of aesthetics and visual complexity of graphical user interfaces
Visual complexity of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) is believed to be closely linked to their aesthetic perception. Today's image analysis technologies can automatically assess visual complexity, but the exact form of dependence between the two characteristics is being actively researched. The current article is a review of various approaches and algorithms for quantifying the aesthetics and complexity of graphical user interfaces. The role of the subjective assessment of GUI aesthetics and of instrumental assessment of the profile of the activation state and the amplitude of emotional reactivity to visual stimuli of different emotional valence and information complexity is considered. We also overview age-related particulars of visual perception and the neuropsychological mechanisms of the functional organization of neural networks in the brain, which underlies perception and decision-making about the visual complexity and aesthetics of images at different stages of ontogenesis and during sensory deprivation. A list of existing software tools for quantifying the visual complexity and aesthetics of graphical interfaces is presented. The article can be useful both for researchers in the field of image analysis and the creation of human-machine systems, and for designers of user interfaces of IT products for choosing their optimal complexity.