ABSTRACT
The use of animation to represent instructions is considered a facilitator of the visualization and understanding of information, and aspects of users’ experience are of importance to promote successful design of graphic artifacts. In the scope of health, animation may, then, be beneficial for communicating instructions on medicine usage when aspects of user experience are considered in their design. On this assumption, a study about the effectiveness of and satisfaction with animations representing four types of medicines usage (insulin injection, vaginal cream, nasal spray and inhaler) was conducted with user-patients and health professionals (physicians and pharmacists) in Brazil. For that, initially their perception of the importance of the information provided in medicines leaflets was investigated to decide on the contents of the animations. Following, four animation prototypes were produced for testing on comprehension and performance of simulated tasks, considering aspects of user experience. Overall, the results suggested that the participants found their experience with the animations positive but had difficulties in carrying out several steps of the tasks. It is concluded that users’ positive perception about their experience with animations may not imply a full understanding of information and a successful performance of tasks on medicine usage.
