Consumer preference study for the interface design of traditional Chinese medicine applications using conjoint analysis method

The widespread use of mobile applications (apps) offers a new platform for sustaining traditional culture, yet insufficient focus on interface design has hindered user experience. This paper focuses on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) apps, examining user preferences for interface design elements and their combinations across four dimensions: visual effects, functional attributes, layout, and interaction modes. Utilizing Conjoint Analysis Method (CAM), this study quantitatively explores user preferences for the combination schemes of 18 orthogonal designs. The study collected 464 users' data through questionnaires and processed the data using CAM and Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA). The findings indicate that users have a high demand for theme colors (35.09%), text styles (27.32%), and icon styles (14.78%) in medical consultation apps. For health education apps, users exhibit preferences for text styles (24.95%), theme colors (24.58%), and functional architecture (16.30%). In professional learning apps, the preferred elements are theme colors (24.07%), text styles (18.54%), and icon styles (18.03%). Based on these results, the paper proposes corresponding design strategies for each type of TCM app. This study reveals the characteristics of user preferences for different categories of TCM apps, enriching the theories and methods of interaction design for similar mobile applications. Ultimately, this facilitates the integration of traditional Chinese medicine culture with modern digital technology, promoting the digital and sustainable transmission of traditional culture.