An interactive guide to design animated visual instructions in Brazil

Abstract

Animated visual instructions have been increasingly produced to support the industry of assembling products. Despite the growing demand for this type of instruction, in Brazil, little has been investigated on how animated instructions should be graphically presented to promote communication effectiveness. This paper discusses a research-based interactive guide to aid the design process of animated instructions in Brazil from user-centered design approach. First, to develop the guide, the graphic presentation of information of a sample of 23 animated instructions was assessed. Then, an experimental study on understanding and preference of narrative times (slow, spontaneous and accelerated) was investigated with 25 participants for an animation representative of the sample analyzed: the 3D puzzle assembly. Based on the results of the studies, guidelines were proposed to the interactive digital guide which usability was validated with 05 experts through checklist with heuristics, and with 10 potential users through post-interaction interviews. The results were generally positive about the content and graphic interface, but pointed to the need of improvements in navigation and menu hierarchy. Accordingly, adjustments were then made in the interactive guide in its final version.