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A Formal Language For Specifying Visual Interface Signifiers

User interfaces are often designed with signifiers that support end-users in understanding the function and meaning of device components. Formal methods have been successfully applied to support computational usability analyses early in the interface design cycle, without the need for a physical interface prototype. However limited support exists for applying formal methods to the analysis of signifiers. This paper presents the XML-based language of Browser-Integrated Guidance for Specifying Interface Signifiers (BIGSIS), a new approach that supports such an analysis. We employ BIGSIS-XML in a smart phone alarm clock case study to provide insight into the use of formal signifier specifications to inform the design of visual interface properties that operate as signifiers.