Seventeenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

This study compares the effectiveness and accuracy of touch pen-based (direct) and computer mouse-based (indirect) inputs in Adobe Illustrator, a popular design software application. A pilot study was conducted to test the feasibility of the key steps for the main study, and three tasks were performed for both touch pen and computer mouse inputs to evaluate the accuracy and efficiency of Pen Tool, Shape Builder, and Brush tool. The study found that Apple Pencil input was more accurate because of its direct interaction, while the mouse input showed fast interaction when combined with keyboard input. Participants experienced with Adobe Illustrator relied on keyboard shortcuts to assist them in all tasks. These findings highlight the need to examine the application interface combination between computer mouse or touch pen input to improve computer-human interaction for design applications. The results of the pilot study have practical implications for designers, developers, and researchers. They can be used to inform the development of future design software applications, making them more intuitive and user-friendly. The study also provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of touch pen and computer mouse input in design applications, and it is a significant contribution to the field of computer-human interaction.