Abstract
With the advance of the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart sensor networks, accurate understanding of complex data via interface icons is critical for effective decision making, operation management and monitoring. In order to understand how the different domain experience among icon designers and users affects icon recognition and preference level among users, this paper takes environmental and operational sensors as a case study and organises two icon design workshops, in which icon recognition and preference tests are conducted based on the standard ISO 9186 methodology. Results reveal that differences in domain experience among designers and users do not impose a significant impact on users' icon recognition levels. However, users new to the domain significantly prefer icons created by designers who share similar levels of domain experience with them. It provides a little reference for future environmental and operational sensor Graphical User Interface icon designers, decision makers, scientists and engineers to improve the icon design process.