Changing the color attributes of icons to inform of the application status

This study explores the relationships that exist between a change in the attributes of an icon´s color and the implicit message behind such a change. In a user study, we employed five well-known App icons and manipulated the color attributes to result in 16 color variations for each of the App icons. As color alterations, the HSV color system was used, and the hue, lightness, saturation, and opacity were independently manipulated to result in 16 variations. We collected six typical messages related to App usage and asked the participants to select any of the 16 color variations that match the given message. There were three important results: first, when an App is broken, the icon would become dark; second, when an App is used less, the icon would become translucent; last, when an App is used often, the hue of the icon would be shifted toward red.