Skeuomorphic or flat icons for an efficient visual search by younger and older adults?

The debate around skeuomorphic and flat designs has been long lasting and inconclusive, in part because of the lack of empirical evidence supporting the superiority of one or the other icon style from the perspectives of function and aesthetics. Therefore, this study investigated whether older and younger users perceive the aesthetics of icon styles in the same manner as designers and which style results in the most efficient visual search. Using an experimental system that we developed, 24 older and 24 younger participants rated and searched application icons belonging to the two styles. The results indicated that there was generally a notable difference between participants' and designers' perceptions of icon design styles, even after training, and that the perceived icon design styles further influenced the visual search time and accuracy of the participants as well as their evaluation of the icons' beauty. The results imply that the younger participants could use the skeuomorphic icons more efficiently than they could use the flat icons and that they had an advantage over older participants in terms of this ability; however, aesthetically they appreciated flat icons more. In contrast, older participants searched skeuomorphic icons more quickly and accurately than they did flat icons, and aesthetically they appreciated skeuomorphic icons more.