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A Study on Activity Visualization for Smart Watches

Zhouxuan Xia, Yu Liu, Fabiola Polidoro

TL;DR

This study addresses how smartwatch activity data are visualized and perceived by users. It combines a market survey of 80 JD.com best-selling models with a user survey of 41 participants to map prevalent visualizations and preferences. The findings show radial bar charts are the dominant visualization, especially on round displays, but familiarity may bias preferences, while donuts are more common on square displays; most watches display three activity types. The authors propose future work to examine the impact of display shape on perceived effectiveness and to empirically evaluate radial bars against alternatives, informing design guidelines for smartwatch activity visualization.

Abstract

This paper investigates the use of visualization to display activity data on smartwatches by surveying the data visual presentations proposed by 80 smartwatch models currently available on the Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com and, later, surveying the preferences of 41 users concerning these visualizations. The results show that despite radial bar charts are the most popular visualization for activity data on smartwatches, the users' preferences might be influenced by their familiarity with these charts. These findings from this survey will be valuable for designers, developers, and researchers who are interested in creating innovative and effective solutions for activity visualization on smartwatches.

A Study on Activity Visualization for Smart Watches

TL;DR

This study addresses how smartwatch activity data are visualized and perceived by users. It combines a market survey of 80 JD.com best-selling models with a user survey of 41 participants to map prevalent visualizations and preferences. The findings show radial bar charts are the dominant visualization, especially on round displays, but familiarity may bias preferences, while donuts are more common on square displays; most watches display three activity types. The authors propose future work to examine the impact of display shape on perceived effectiveness and to empirically evaluate radial bars against alternatives, informing design guidelines for smartwatch activity visualization.

Abstract

This paper investigates the use of visualization to display activity data on smartwatches by surveying the data visual presentations proposed by 80 smartwatch models currently available on the Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com and, later, surveying the preferences of 41 users concerning these visualizations. The results show that despite radial bar charts are the most popular visualization for activity data on smartwatches, the users' preferences might be influenced by their familiarity with these charts. These findings from this survey will be valuable for designers, developers, and researchers who are interested in creating innovative and effective solutions for activity visualization on smartwatches.
Paper Structure (4 sections, 3 figures)

This paper contains 4 sections, 3 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. ACTIVITY DATA ON SMARTWATCHES
  3. QUESTIONNAIRE ON ACTIVITY DATA VISUALIZATION
  4. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Figures (3)

  • Figure 1: Visualizations on square and circular smartwatches: donut chart and radial bar chart are the most popular ones on squared and round-shaped screens, respectively
  • Figure 2: Activity data visualizations on smartwatches classified into five categories (bar chart, radial bar chart, donut chart, multi-donut chart and radar chart) and displayed by data volume, data arrangement and by type of data, i.e. stand, move, exercise. The progress bar under each visualization is the percentage of the share in the market.
  • Figure 3: Ranking of the four intentions and four charts: \ref{['fig:intentions']} user interests with regards to the visualizations: time spent standing, moving, exercising (c) is the most favoured option; \ref{['fig:preferences']} user preferences for data visualization: radial bar chart (b) is the most preferred visualization type. 1st means the chosen choice is the most preferred. The more red the bar for an option contains, the more users consider it to be just the most important of all options.