Congruent and Hierarchical Gesture Set Design

The typical approach to gesture set design, which relies on one-to-one mappings between gestures and system functions, often presents challenges for users in terms of gesture discoverability, learnability, and memorability. In this paper, we examine the hypothesis that semantically related system functions can benefit from the use of congruent gestures, whereas functions structured in the form of parameterized action may be better supported by hierarchical gestures. We report the results of a gesture elicitation study conducted with n1=24 participants, who proposed stroke gestures for a multi-display touchscreen to effect file-related manipulation referents either locally on a central display or remotely on a lateral display. In a follow-up study, an original mixed method combining elicitation and identification, another sample of n2=24 participants was instructed to focus on congruent and hierarchical gestures for the same referents. Our results reveal higher agreement and an increased perceived goodness of fit between gestures and system functions in the second study.