Designing Direct Writing Pen Interface for Improving Usability

Abstract

Conventional handwriting interface on pen computers uses two parts of the screen. Users must put a text cursor where they want to insert the text and then write on the separate pop-up window that recognizes ink. The separation of the two spaces may cause fatigue and discomfort to the user because it causes additional gaze and hand movement, which may cause a decrease in text editing efficiency and cause an additional cognitive burden. As an alternative to alleviate these potential problems, we revisited the concept of the direct writing interface used in the past. In this thesis, we defined the directness of the handwriting interface, presented a list of possible usability issues of the direct writing interface, and selected design options to handle them. Next, we designed and implemented an instance of the direct writing interface in a form-filling and text editor environment where the directness of handwriting text input is expected to be the most effective. After that, we conducted experiments to compare the usability in two settings. Based on these iterative design processes, empirical results, and observations, we discussed the differences that the directness in handwriting interface made, and whether selected design options helped to resolve possible usability issues. Lastly, we provided guidelines for designing the direct writing interface in the future.