When Dullscreen is Too Dull

Abstract

Dullscreen as an interface design concept suggests minimizing colors to avoid interface confusion and clutter. Dullscreen designs have been applied in several of the author’s efforts to modernize legacy control rooms in nuclear power plants with digital upgrades. A study on system overviews revealed an unexpected finding. One set of screens followed a vendor’s human-computer interface style guide, which featured a series of colorful elements on the screens. Another set of screens followed an in-house style guide that adhered to dullscreen principles. The discovery that the colorful elements were more visually salient, especially when seen across the control room, pointed to a need to reconsider strict adherence to dullscreen design principles.