BaLOReS: A Framework for Quantitative User Interface Evaluation

Nowadays, graphical user interfaces (GUI) are expected to be more than mere shop windows for their applications. In fact, if the users’ interactive expectations are not reasonably satisfied by the GUI, any functional capability of the software may be ignored. In order to improve satisfaction through aesthetically well-designed interfaces, we present a suite of five structural principles known as BaLOReS, together with five aesthetic metrics. These principles help designers to structure their mockups which are later assessed through the metrics. A complementary prototyping tool, BGLayout, has also been provided to automate the calculation of these measurements. Finally, a full case study is given to illustrate how to use the proposed tool to apply these metrics to an entire interface.