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A List Apart: Articles: In Defense of Eye Candy

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Saved by 49 people (-9 private), first by anonymouse user on 2009-04-21


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hat good designers base their choices strictly on matters of branding or basic design principles. Lost in these discussions is an understanding of the powerful role aesthetics play in shaping how we come to know, feel, and respond.

Highlighted by bswanson5

the powerful role aesthetics play in shaping how we come to know, feel, and respond.

Highlighted by joanvinallcox

Our language constrains visual design to mere styling and separates aesthetics and usability, as if they are distinct considerations

Highlighted by joanvinallcox

Yet, if we shift the conversation away from graphical elements and instead focus on aesthetics, or “the science of how things are known via the senses,” we learn that this distinction between how something looks and how it works is somewhat artificial.

Highlighted by bswanson5

“the science of how things are known via the senses,”

Highlighted by joanvinallcox

aesthetics is concerned with anything that appeals to the senses

Highlighted by trippwaller

how we perceive and interpret the world

Highlighted by joanvinallcox

how people respond to these elements. Our question becomes: how do aesthetic design choices influence understanding and emotions, and how do understanding and emotions influence behavior

Highlighted by joanvinallcox

Highlighted by bswanson5

how do aesthetic design choices influence understanding and emotions, and how do understanding and emotions influence behavior?

Highlighted by trippwaller

how do aesthetic design choices influence understanding and emotions, and how do understanding and emotions influence behavior?

Highlighted by bswanson5

Cognitive science studies how people know things and aesthetics plays a critical role in cognitive processing

Highlighted by bubba9er

Cognitive science studies how people know things and aesthetics plays a critical role in cognitive processing

Highlighted by joanvinallcox

Here, aesthetics communicates function. The example on the right resembles a physical button. The beveled edges and gradient shading remove any doubt about its function.

Highlighted by caitlin032118

these are characteristics of affordance, which are aspects of design that help a user to discover how they might interact with an object. Translation: if it looks like a button, it must be a button.

Highlighted by bubba9er

Translation: if it looks like a button, it must be a button.

Highlighted by trippwaller

Similarly, there’s a reason good confirmation screens have a check mark and are likely to involve some shade of green: Green is good. Red is bad. Yellow is something to think about.

Highlighted by trippwaller

When designing, we must consider how our brain interprets the meaning of color, shadow, and shading.

Highlighted by bubba9er

When designing, we must consider how our brain interprets the meaning of color, shadow, and shading. We rarely notice these aesthetic choices, except when people get them wrong:

Highlighted by joanvinallcox

When designing, we must consider how our brain interprets the meaning of color, shadow, and shading. We rarely notice these aesthetic choices, except when people get them wrong:

Highlighted by caitlin032118

how our brain interprets the meaning of things such as color, shadow, shading, and other natural occurrences.

Highlighted by joanvinallcox

research into attention, persuasion, choice, happiness, learning, and other similar topics suggests that the more attractive button is likely to be more usable by most people

Highlighted by bubba9er

However, research into attention, persuasion, choice, happiness, learning, and other similar topics suggests that the more attractive button is likely to be more usable by most people.

Highlighted by trippwaller

the more attractive button is likely to be more usable by most people

Highlighted by joanvinallcox

“...emotion is not a luxury: it is an expression of basic mechanisms of life regulation developed in evolution, and is indispensable for survival. It plays a critical role in virtually all aspects of learning, reasoning, and creativity. Somewhat surprisingly, it may play a role in the construction of consciousness.” [1]

Highlighted by joanvinallcox

it’s closer to the truth to say things that are enjoyable will be easy to use and efficient

Highlighted by bubba9er

Product personality influences our perceptions. Think about how quickly we form expectations about someone simply based on how they dress or present themselves.

Highlighted by caitlin032118

the UI design decisions we make affect the perceived personality of our applications

Highlighted by bubba9er

By making intentional, conscious decisions about the personality of your product, you can shape positive or negative responses

Highlighted by bubba9er

What kind of personality are you creating with your application? And what expectations does this personality bring with it?

Highlighted by bubba9er

According to a 2002 study, the “appeal of the overall visual design of a site, including layout, typography, font size, and color schemes,” is the number one factor we use to evaluate a website’s credibility.

Highlighted by trippwaller

According to a 2002 study, the “appeal of the overall visual design of a site, including layout, typography, font size, and color schemes,” is the number one factor we use to evaluate a website’s credibility.

Highlighted by christyinsdesign

According to a 2002 study, the “appeal of the overall visual design of a site, including layout, typography, font size, and color schemes,” is the number one factor we use to evaluate a website’s credibility.

Highlighted by caitlin032118

According to a 2002 study, the “appeal of the overall visual design of a site, including layout, typography, font size, and color schemes,” is the number one factor we use to evaluate a website’s credibility.

Highlighted by joanvinallcox

Attention to design details implies that the same care and attention has been spent on the other (less visible) parts of the product—which implies that this is a trustworthy product.

Highlighted by joanvinallcox

Researchers in Japan setup two ATMs, “identical in function, the number of buttons, and how they worked.” The only difference was that one machine’s buttons and screens were arranged more attractively than the other. In both Japan and Israel (where this study was repeated) researchers observed that subjects encountered fewer difficulties with the more attractive machine. The attractive machine actually worked better.

Highlighted by christyinsdesign

The only difference was that one machine’s buttons and screens were arranged more attractively than the other. In both Japan and Israel (where this study was repeated) researchers observed that subjects encountered fewer difficulties with the more attractive machine. The attractive machine actually worked better.

Highlighted by joanvinallcox

Another explanation: We want those things we find pleasing to succeed. We’re more tolerant of problems with things that we find attractive.

Highlighted by bswanson5

we can’t actually separate cognition from affect.

Highlighted by joanvinallcox

Separate studies in economics and in neuroscience are proving that:

“affect, which is inexplicably linked to attitudes, expectations and motivations, plays a significant role in the cognition of product interaction…the perception that affect and cognition are independent, separate information processing systems is flawed.”

Highlighted by joanvinallcox

In other words, how we “think” cannot be separated from how we “feel.”

Highlighted by bubba9er

We’re not nearly as in charge of our decisions as we’d like to believe.

Highlighted by joanvinallcox

In the early 1900s, “form follows function” became the mantra of modern architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright changed this phrase to “form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union,” using nature as the best example of this integration.

The more we learn about people, and how our brains process information, the more we learn the truth of that phrase: form and function aren’t separate items. If we believe that style somehow exists independent of functionality, that we can treat aesthetics and function as two separate pieces, then we ignore the evidence that beauty is much more than decoration. Our brains can’t help but agree.

Highlighted by holgerhubbs