ICT Design and Users’ Affect, Cognition and Creativity

Abstract: This study set out to investigate how ICT design relates to users’ affect, cognition and creativity in task performance. More specifically, the intent is to highlight how ICT design can elicit positive effective states and enhance cognitive abilities, including creative thinking in task activity within distance learning. In addition to this is to emphasize the synergies between ICT design, affect, cognition, and creativity from as well theoretical as empirical perspectives. To achieve the objective of this study, a qualitative empirical method was used. A survey questionnaire was chosen as a collection data technique. As far as analysis is concerned, phenomenology analytic strategy was espoused to explore how the participants perceive the phenomenon under inquiry. As for theory, central themes were selected for review given the synergy between them and their implication for the topic. They include: ICT; design; ICT design aspects: aesthetics, functionality, and usability; affect and cognition; and creativity; as well as the synergies between these concepts. Key findings highlight the role of affective quality of ICT design aesthetics in eliciting positive affective states among users when they acquire and use new ICT products or services regardless of their motivational needs. Most users consider aesthetics, usability, and functionality as design aspects but they tend to differ in ranking them depending on how they emotionally perceive them. Simplicity in ICT design is perceived as pleasurable aesthetic value. Further, natural colors are favored most by ICT users and positively affect their emotions so do the other aesthetical features associated with computers, software graphics, and web design. Using ICT inspire users creativity in task performance through what design affective qualities induce as positive affect in them in addition to software usability and functionality depending on the user. There are some synergies between design aesthetics, affect, cognition, and creativity. Moreover, ICT design can, depending on additional factors, ease and help users’ to carry out complex task and if software applications are skillfully used, they can help stimulate users’ creativity in task performance because of the built-in capabilities that are intended to enhance cognitive and emotional abilities of users. In addition, users differ on the elements they focus on when interacting with ICT depending on their inclination. Human attentional capacity and intensity can play a role in creativity. Crystallization of creativity can be triggered when various ICT design elements are perceived in a useful way.