This Institutional Review Board (IRB)-Approved Graduate Research Study at the University of San Francisco focused on improving the user experience for new gamers navigating the PlayStation 5's menu. The study, conducted to evaluate the system's information architecture and communication, employed a mixed-methods approach to understand how novice users perceive and interact with the console's icon-based interface. The research identified key areas where the system's design diverged from user expectations, particularly regarding the labeling and grouping of social and system-related features. The findings led to data-driven recommendations for redesigning ambiguous icons and relabeling menu options to enhance clarity and accessibility for a broader audience.
Introduction
This project was a graduate-level research study to evaluate the information architecture (IA) and technical communication of the PlayStation 5's icon-based menu for new gamers. The study used a mixed-methods approach, including a two-part closed card sort and thematic analysis, to assess how novice users interpret and navigate the system's iconography and labels. The goal was to identify disconnects between the users' mental models and the console's structural design to improve the overall user experience and reduce cognitive friction.
The problem
Novice gamers, defined as users with minimal prior experience with modern console interfaces, consistently struggled to locate functions within the PS5's menu. The primary challenges stemmed from semantic ambiguities in icon interpretation and a lack of clear conceptual grouping for social-related features. For example, terms like "Game Base" and "Switcher" lacked clarity, and icons for "Broadcast," "Network," "Voice," "Mic," and "Sound" were often visually interchangeable or confused with one another.
The solution
Based on the research findings, a series of evidence-based recommendations were proposed to enhance the menu's usability and semantic clarity. The recommendations focused on redesigning ambiguous icons and relabeling key menu items. For instance, it was suggested that "Game Base" be rebranded to a more intuitive term like "Friends Hub" or "Social Center," and that its iconography be revised to better reflect interpersonal communication. For features with high confusion, such as "Switcher," the recommendation was to redesign the visual metaphor to evoke concepts of "multi-tasking" or "recent activity".
The outcome
This study identified critical usability concerns for new users and provided a framework for improving the clarity and navigability of the PS5 menu. The research confirmed that while certain universal symbols were effective, many of the system's labels and icons suffered from a misalignment with user mental models, especially in the areas of social interaction and system tools. The project's findings underscore the value of mixed-methods research in diagnosing interface breakdowns and generating empirically backed solutions that lead to a more inclusive and intuitive gaming experience for all players.
Redesign recommendations
Based on the IRB-Approved Graduate Research Study, the following recommendations for redesigning PlayStation 5 menu icons are grounded in data from a mixed-methods card sorting study with novice users. The redesigns are aimed at improving semantic clarity, reducing cognitive load, and aligning the iconography with user mental models, which showed an average icon-to-menu accuracy of between 56% and 75%.
1. Switcher
Reason for Redesign: The current "Switcher" icon, typically two overlapping rectangles, failed to effectively communicate its function of switching between recent games and applications. Participants consistently showed confusion and misclassified this icon, sometimes mistaking it for "Game Base". A participant's quote highlights this ambiguity: "I don't know what Switcher means. Switch what? Games? Profiles?". The average accuracy for this category was low.
Redesign Recommendation: The visual metaphor should be redesigned to better evoke concepts of "recent activity" or "multi-tasking". This could be supplemented with a dynamic preview or a tooltip to provide additional context for new users.
2. Game Base
Reason for Redesign: The "Game Base" icon and label caused significant cognitive dissonance, as participants often miscategorized social functions like Friends, Messages, and Parties under other menus. The term "Game Base" lacks semantic clarity and was not consistently interpreted as a hub for social communication, leading to low accuracy in this category.
Redesign Recommendation: The icon and label should be rebranded using a term that aligns with common mental models, such as "Social Center" or "Friends Hub". The iconography should be revised to depict interpersonal or networked communication to improve affordance.
3. Downloads/Uploads
Reason for Redesign: Participants struggled to interpret the current downward arrow icon, often confusing its function with "Save," "Install," or general system updates. This ambiguity is a result of the overuse of arrow-based metaphors in digital interfaces, which obscures distinct system functions.
Redesign Recommendation: To improve clarity, the icon design should prioritize action-specific metaphors over minimalism. The study suggests incorporating directional cues, such as paired arrows for both upload and download, or leveraging established metaphors from file transfer applications.
4. Broadcast
Reason for Redesign: The "Broadcast" icon, represented by radiating waves, was frequently misinterpreted as an audio, wireless, or network-related setting. This confusion stems from a lack of shared metaphorical grounding for live streaming among novice gamers, contributing to it being a common point of failure in the study.
Redesign Recommendation: The icon should be redesigned to more explicitly convey the concept of live streaming or content broadcasting, possibly using a video camera symbol or a "LIVE" tag. Onboarding cues should also be enhanced to reinforce its affordance.
5. Network
Reason for Redesign: The term "Network" and its associated signal bar icon created semantic ambiguity for participants, who often confused it with social networks rather than internet connectivity. This misinterpretation highlights the icon's insufficiency in differentiating between network types.
Redesign Recommendation: The label should be refined to "Wi-Fi & Connectivity" or "Internet Settings" to remove ambiguity. The icon should be replaced with a universally recognized symbol for internet connectivity, such as a Wi-Fi tower or a globe, to distinguish it from social menus.
Summary of Findings
The study found that while universally recognized icons like "Power," "Home," and "Notifications" performed well , those with non-literal or ambiguous metaphors led to a significant decrease in user comprehension and an increase in cognitive load for novice users. The quantitative data showed that icons were more challenging to sort correctly than text labels, with a lower average accuracy score. Redesigning these icons based on the principles of semantic clarity and established metaphorical mapping will enhance the overall usability and learnability of the PS5 menu for new users.