Abstract: Most of the previous interface icon design evaluation methods are based on aesthetic
evaluation or usability, lacking of researches on icons and elements in series icon designs. In this
paper, an interface icon design evaluation method based on factor analysis method to study the
relationship between icons and the elements of icon design is proposed. The method in this article
chooses six design variables of icon design, developing imagery evaluation statistics and setting up its
mean value matrix. Then use the factor analysis method to calculate, analysis and evaluate its
outcome. Finally, the influence factors of icon design are extracted into two main factors: the shape of
the icon and the interior of the icon, which helps the researchers to evaluate the visual effect of the
icon design and the influence of each component. This icon design evaluation method is reliable, and
is consistent with the visual performance and occupancy performance of in the existing markets. The
most important outcome is that the influence of the external factors on the icon design is greater than
the internal factors.

Key words: icon design, design variables, quantitative analysis, factor analysis method