Aesthetics Design

• Questions
  • Is the look of a web the most important thing?
  • What are the evolved aesthetic traditions on the Web?
  • How do visual traditions develop and work?
  • Are aesthetics and navigation separate concerns?
  • Are there unique aesthetic sensibilities for the Web as a medium?
• Design
  • Page: Look and Feel Template layout grid
  • Visual metaphor
    • Cues
      • Images
      • Background and textures
      • Links and Browser features
      • Media: text, graphics, images, video, sound
    • Affordances
    • Mapping
  • Thematic design - repetition for integration
  • Feedback
  • Negative space/sound
  • Fusion of sensory, emotion, and artistry
• Testing
  • Page Level: User experience of grid + visual metaphor
    • Does eye roam off grid?
    • Contrast?
    • Clarity?
    • Unintended space?
    • Emotional message of design?
  • Package Level: User experience of pages in relationship
  • Web Level: User experience of packages as a "whole"
  • What is your metric for effective aesthetic design?