Culture and HCI
Cultural Dimensions in Usability and Design
Project Overview
This research explores the critical but often overlooked role of culture in human-computer interaction and usability evaluation. We investigate how cultural preferences and practices influence website design, user expectations, and evaluation methodologies. Our work aims to create more inclusive, culturally-aware design practices and evaluation methods.
Key Publication: "Comparison of cultural preferences and cultural practices in website design in Pakistan" (Accepted, 2025)
Impact: IEEE, Springer, and multiple conference publications
Research Area: Long-term focus spanning multiple years
Research Questions
- How do cultural preferences influence website design expectations?
- What gaps exist between cultural preferences and actual practices in web design?
- How can we create culturally-appropriate heuristic evaluation methods?
- What role does culture play in usability perceptions and judgments?
- How can designers better account for cultural diversity in global products?
Key Research Contributions
Cultural Preferences vs. Practices
Our research (accepted in Universal Access in the Information Society, 2025) reveals important distinctions between stated cultural preferences and actual design practices in Pakistani university websites. This work highlights the complexity of implementing culturally-sensitive design in real-world contexts.
Domain and Culture-Oriented Heuristics
Published in Behaviour & Information Technology (2022), our methodology for creating and validating domain and culture-oriented heuristics provides a systematic approach to developing culturally-appropriate evaluation criteria.
Comparative Evaluation Methods
Our work in IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication (2022) compares heuristic evaluation with guideline scoring for domain-specific usability assessment, providing insights into the strengths and limitations of each approach.
Methodology & Approach
- Cross-Cultural Studies: Comparative research across different cultural contexts
- User Testing: Empirical evaluation with culturally diverse participants
- Heuristic Development: Creating culturally-informed evaluation criteria
- Expert Evaluation: Engaging domain and cultural experts in assessment
- Design Analysis: Systematic examination of cultural elements in interface design
Focus Areas
- Educational Websites: Universities and higher education institutions
- Visual Design: Color preferences, imagery, and layout across cultures
- Information Architecture: Cultural influences on navigation and organization
- Language & Content: Multilingual interfaces and culturally-appropriate content
- Interaction Patterns: Cultural variations in expected user interactions
International Collaborations
This research involves extensive collaboration with institutions in Pakistan and other regions, including:
- University of Sindh, Pakistan
- University of Mirpurkhas, Pakistan
- Multiple universities for comparative studies
- International HCI research community
Impact on Practice
Our research has practical implications for:
- Global Design Teams: Guidelines for creating culturally-appropriate interfaces
- Usability Professionals: Methods for conducting culturally-sensitive evaluations
- Educational Institutions: Best practices for designing inclusive web presence
- HCI Education: Teaching cultural awareness in design curricula
Selected Publications
- "Comparison of cultural preferences and cultural practices in website design in Pakistan" - Universal Access in the Information Society, Springer (Accepted, 2025)
- "A methodology for domain and culture-oriented heuristics creation and validation" - Behaviour & Information Technology, 41(8), 2022
- "Heuristic Evaluation vs. Guideline Scoring" - IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 65(4), 2022
- "Exploring the Impact of Cultural Preferences in Website Design" - ICT4M Conference, 2018
- "Cultural preferences of Pakistan for the university website design" - ICT4M Conference, 2018
Future Directions
Ongoing and future work includes:
- Expanding research to additional cultural contexts and regions
- Investigating cultural factors in mobile and emerging interfaces
- Developing AI-assisted tools for cultural usability evaluation
- Creating open educational resources on cultural design considerations
- Building frameworks for culturally-adaptive interfaces
Recent Presentation
Our work was recently presented at the CHCI Weekly Seminar (February 2025) in a talk titled "Reimagining Cultural Exploration in Human-Computer Interaction," which outlined new directions for cultural HCI research and practice.