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HCI research has acknowledged the importance of aesthetics for user interfaces by examining its effects on users' attitudes and reactions. However, evidence for effects on task performance is mixed. By manipulating chat background colour in a within-subjects design, this study investigates the effects of a less attractive vs. attractive chat interf...
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... chat room colour design randomly changed between the rounds (see the next section for a detailed description). The colour manipulation consisted of either an attractive, dark blue background (html colour #59A2CF) or a less attractive, greenish blue background (html colour #00EEBB, see Figure 1) during the chat period. This colour manipulation was shown in prior studies on aesthetics to lead users to differ significantly in their perceptions of attractiveness (e.g. ...
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... Aesthetics refers to the pleasure elicited through sensory perception by a product, encompassing positive or negative sensations related to its aesthetic appeal, regardless of its visual or non-visual nature [71,72]. Aesthetics strongly influence users' perception of usability [73,74], and beauty has become a central objective in product design due to its strong correlation with aesthetic ratings [74]. Hedonic quality refers to a system's capacity to provide stimulation through novel and challenging features or by reflecting personal values [70]. ...
... Aesthetics refers to the pleasure elicited through sensory perception by a product, encompassing positive or negative sensations related to its aesthetic appeal, regardless of its visual or non-visual nature [71,72]. Aesthetics strongly influence users' perception of usability [73,74], and beauty has become a central objective in product design due to its strong correlation with aesthetic ratings [74]. Hedonic quality refers to a system's capacity to provide stimulation through novel and challenging features or by reflecting personal values [70]. ...
This study investigates the factors that drive users to sustain their usage of shared electric scooter (e-scooter) services in Taiwan, distinguishing itself from the conventional focus on predicting consumers’ initial adoption and behavioural intentions. It employs subjective rating questions, incorporating constructs related to user acceptance, attitudes and user experience (UX). Through hierarchical regression analysis of quantitative survey data, the study identifies key factors such as users’ modes of transportation, environmental attitudes, acceptance of shared services, attitudes towards private scooters, UX, total usage instances and age. However, reliance on private scooters as a mode of transportation and frequent usage of shared e-scooters negatively impact the sustained usage of these services. The research further highlights early development challenges in shared vehicle services, including concerns over personal data security, user-unfriendly system designs, lack of convenience, inadequate parking infrastructure and ineffective financial incentives. Based on these findings, the study provides recommendations for service providers and government entities to enhance service design and proactively address these challenges. Implementing these recommendations is expected to mitigate the impact of these challenges and potentially improve user acceptance, UX, and the overall sustainability of shared vehicle services.
... Some studies support a performance improvement when interacting with an aesthetically more appealing interface (Sonderegger and Sauer, 2010;Douneva et al., 2016;Baughan et al., 2020;Reppa et al., 2021), whereas others show a contrary effect (Sauer and Sonderegger, 2011;Sonderegger et al., 2014). In addition, several studies could not show any significant effect (Douneva et al., 2015;Gu et al., 2016;Thielsch et al., 2019a). Given these contradictory findings, various explanations have been made to understand aesthetics' effect on performance, summarized in the following section. ...
Past research has demonstrated that aesthetics affect users' experiences in various ways. However, there is little research on the impact of interface aesthetics on user performance in a smartphone app context. The present paper addresses this research gap using an online experiment (N = 281). Two variants of the same web app were created and manipulated in their aesthetics. Participants were randomly assigned to either variant and asked to explore the app before answering questions concerning the app's content. Results showed a significant positive effect of aesthetics on perceived usability and aesthetics. Furthermore, results point toward a positive impact of interface aesthetics on performance (i.e., the number of questions answered correctly). Thus, results indicate that a visually appealing smartphone web app increases users' subjective experience and objective performance compared to an unaesthetic app. This suggests that user interface aesthetics impact users' experiences and provide stakeholders with quantifiable value and competitive advantage.
... In addition, emotional design has revealed positive effects in several studies in learning contexts (e.g., [72], [97]). Yet, the emotions evoked from aesthetic design might be relatively weak or short-lived (e.g., [2], [7]). Furthermore, until now positive effects of attractive interface in creative tasks (as expected by Normans theory) have not been found in experimental research [20]. ...
... In sum, systematic investigations of these theories are mostly lacking, and it remains unclear which model best explains the observed findings. Moreover, numerous studies have reported that aesthetics neither positively nor negatively affect user performance (e.g., [2], [6], [7], [11], [21], [29], [34], [52], [94]). In order to gain an overview of the current state of research on aesthetic user experience and performance, Thielsch and Niesenhaus [88] conducted an initial literature review. ...
... Browser-based applications ( [2], [9]), company websites [3], search engines [7], online shops [5], [76], intranet sites [25], software [77], [80], ATM applications [94], mobile phones [14], [15], [16], [18], [46], portable digital audio players [22], and electronic map displays in driving simulators [58] are only some of the interactive systems that have been investigated in previous studies. So far, the moderating influence that type of interaction medium has on how aesthetics affects performance has only been discussed cursorily in research (e.g., [14], [11], [10]), which is why the present meta-analysis will examine this as a potential moderating variable. ...
Aesthetics has become a central construct in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and it has clear beneficial effects on users' perceptions and attitudes. Yet, do attractive interfaces actually enhance user performance? In the light of the importance of the construct and the mixed findings in various studies on the matter a systematic approach is urgently needed. Thus, the present meta-analysis examines in detail the effects of visual interface aesthetics of websites, software and other interactive systems on objective user performance. A systematic literature search yielded 25 eligible studies with 101 observed effects and a total of 3,025 participants. The conducted meta-analysis revealed a small significant overall effect of interface aesthetics on user performance (g = 0.12), while a high heterogeneity of effects was observed. As potential moderators, we tested the type of used interaction medium, task, goal orientation, measure of performance, measure of aesthetics, and aesthetics manipulation. None showed a significant moderating influence. Thus, aesthetics can be considered to have a small but heterogeneous influence on user performance that so far cannot be further resolved by moderating variables reported in eligible studies. Therefore, the discussion sketches avenues for future research and encloses a call to action for the HCI community.
... In addition, emotional design has positive effects in learning contexts (e.g., Plass et al., 2014;Um et al., 2012). But evoked emotions might be relatively weak or short-lived (e.g., Douneva, Haines, & Thielsch, 2015;Katz, 2010) and Norman's theory still lacks validation. ...
This chapter explores difference between the indirect effect of an appealing design on learning and working performance and a more direct effect of motivating people with game-based concepts applied to working interfaces. Game-based approaches are an aspect of user experience capable of directly enhancing performance. Gamification can enhance productivity in classic online community environments and in production settings. However, more basic and applied research is urgently needed to investigate underlying processes and causes. The Internet and related technologies are moving and developing targets, and the same applies to user experience and gamification research. Moreover, user experience is a multifaceted construct influenced by several factors, such as design factors, interaction characteristics, and subjective appraisals. The components of user experience (CUE) model helpfully categorizes these factors by describing how interaction with a system and user and task/context characteristics might influence key user experience outcomes.
... Coding of the five levels of Unity-in-Variety following the three levels of respective manipulations from the pre-tested web pages in Study 1. Moshagen and Thielsch (2010) showed that colourfulness was judged as more important by participants than symmetry. However, a recent study by Douneva et al. (2015) did not find an effect of colourfulness on web interface aesthetics. In line with these authors, we argue that the strength of the manipulations themselves is likely the most important reason underlying their relative contributions. ...
This research experimentally investigates whether Unity-in- Variety can account for the aesthetic appreciation of websites. In a first study we designed two sets of web pages, differing in layout style and content, to systematically and independently vary on both unity and variety via the design factors contrast and symmetry (for unity) and dissimilarity of elements and colourfulness (for variety). It was demonstrated that only the sets based on symmetry and colourfulness resulted in independent manipulations of unity and variety, respectively. These two sets of web pages were tested in Study 2 showing that, as predicted, both unity and variety independently and positively influence aesthetic appreciation. Following the principle of Unity-in-Variety, simultaneously maximizing unity and variety leads to an optimal balance where aesthetic appreciation is highest. Our research lends further support to the principle of Unity-in-Variety, extends it to the domain of HCI, and provides directions on how to purposefully design for an optimal balance between unity and variety.
In many different kinds of complex forms (financial, job applications, etc.), information button widgets are used to give context-specific information to enable users to fill out forms completely. However, in longer forms, “decision fatigue” can set in, leading to the user not absorbing these helpful tips but rather rushing through and possibly making errors. This research seeks to identify if using a more engaging version of the traditional information button widgets will reduce decision fatigue, preventing errors and increasing information retention. The research experiment involved a user study asking participants to fill out a tax form with information provided to them about a fictional person, with one group of participants given a form with traditional information widgets and another group being given a form with more engaging information button widgets. The results of this experiment show that the information button has no effect on the completion of financial forms or in reducing decision fatigue associated with filling out forms.
In Human-Computer Interaction research, the positive effect of aesthetics on users’ subjective impressions and reactions is well-accepted. However, results regarding the influence of interface aesthetics on a user’s individual performance as an objective outcome are very mixed, yet of urgent interest due to the proceeding of digitalization. In this web-based experiment ( N = 331), the effect of interface aesthetics on individual performance considering three different types of tasks (search, creative, and transfer tasks) is investigated. The tasks were presented on an either aesthetic or unaesthetic website, which differed significantly in subjective aesthetics. Goal orientation (learning versus performance goals) was included as a possible moderator variable, which was manipulated by using different task instructions. Both aesthetics and goal orientation were a between-subject factor, leading to a 2 × 2 between subject design. Manipulation checks were highly significant. Yet the results show neither significant main effects of aesthetics and goal orientation on performance regarding both accuracy and response times in each of the three tasks, nor significant interaction effects. Nevertheless, from a practical perspective aesthetics still should be considered due to its positive effects on subjective perceptions of users, even as no substantial effects on user performance occurred in the present experiment.
Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is a common condition found in adolescents. A rigid brace is often prescribed as the treatment for this spinal deformity, which negatively affects user compliance due to the discomfort caused by the brace, and the psychological distress resulting from its appearance. However, the latter, which is the impact of visual aesthetics, has not been thoroughly studied for scoliosis braces. Therefore, a qualitative study with in-depth interviews has been carried out with 10 participants who have a Cobb angle of 20°–30° to determine the impact of visual aesthetics on user acceptance and compliance towards the brace. It is found that co-designing with patients on the aesthetic aspects of the surface design of the brace increases the level of user compliance and induces positive user perception. Therefore, aesthetic preferences need to be taken into consideration in the design process of braces.
Practitioner Summary: The impact of visual aesthetics on user acceptance and compliance towards a rigid brace for scoliosis is investigated. The findings indicate that an aesthetically pleasing brace and the involvement of patients in the design process of the brace are important for increasing user compliance and addressing psychological issues during treatment.
