Using Ratings and Response Latencies to Evaluate the Consistency of Immediate Aesthetic Perceptions of Web Pages

Using explicit (subjective evaluations) and implicit (response latency) measures, this study replicated and extended the findings by Fernandes et al (2003), who found that immediate aesthetic impressions of web pages are remarkably consistent. Forty participants evaluated 50 web pages in two phases. The degree to which web pages were regarded, on average, as attractive after a very short exposure of 0.5 sec. was highly correlated with attractiveness ratings after an exposure of 10 seconds. Extreme attractiveness evaluations (both positive and negative) were faster than moderate evaluations, providing convergent evidence to the hypothesis of immediate impression. Overall, the results provide direct evidence in support of the premise that aesthetic impression of the IT artifacts are formed quickly. Indirectly, the results suggest that visual aesthetics can play an important role in users\u27 evaluations of the IT artifact

Effects of Aesthetics and Playfulness on Web Usability – An empirical investigation

Limited empirical research exists on the explicit relevance of hedonic dimensions (aesthetics and playfulness) of humancomputer interaction design to usability. This research aims to determine the effects of color temperature on the perceptions of websites aesthetics, playfulness, and in turn usability. A Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis of data collected from 328 participants in a four-group between-subject research design involving the use of a mock hotel website offered support for all nine hypotheses proposed. ‘Cooler’ colors (e.g. blue) were found to favorably impact perceptions of classical aesthetics, which in turn influenced perceptions of efficiency positively, while also correlating with perceptions of expressive aesthetics. The latter, on the other hand, were affected favorably by warmer colors (e.g. red), and had a positive effect on perceptions of playfulness. In line with prior usability studies, positive relationships between efficiency and effectiveness respectively and satisfaction with the Website were supported, and by considering the shown positive relationship between playfulness and satisfaction 60% of the variance in satisfaction was explained. Implications for theory and practice are also discussed

Theorizing the Relationship between Affect and Aesthetics in the ICT Design and Use Context

With an increasing interest in both affect and aesthetics in the context of information and communication technology (ICT) design and use, there is a timely need to provide a theory based understanding of these concepts and their relationships. In this paper, we point out some confusion as shown in the literature and provide a theory based understanding of the concepts and their relationships. Such an understanding can eventually provide practical suggestions on researching affect and aesthetics in the ICT context and suggest researchers to expand the coverage of aesthetics concept from focusing primarily on pleasantness or positivity to a broader coverage indicated by affect’s structure

Conceptualization, Measurement, and Nomological Validity of Visual Organization Grammar for Design: An Analysis of Website Design

The aim of this paper was to provide an operational definition, to develop and to validate a measurement tool for assessing visual aesthetics—specifically contrast, rhythm, balance, and proportion (CRBP)—proposed by Stebbing (2004). A 12-item scale was developed to measure CRBP. In a pilot study with over 300 responses, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed on the items. This research-in-progress paper showed that the final 12 items had adequate convergent and discriminant validity. Implications for practice and research derived from the paper are also discussed. Future study is proposed to look at the relationship between the CRBP and other related constructs

Web Aesthetics: How Does it Influence the Sales Performance in Online Marketplaces

Web aesthetics is advocated as one of the key factors influencing consumers’ attitude and behavior in the websites they visited. However, its real effects on the sales performance of websites remain largely unknown. This study is one of the first empirical studies to evaluate web aesthetics quantitatively and directly measure its effects on sales performance by using real-life transaction data. In this study, we identify the representative factors of three primary determinants of web aesthetics (unity, complexity, and intensity) in online marketplaces. Drawing on cognitive dissonance and confirmation bias theory, we further investigate how the influence of web aesthetics on sales performance is contingent on different levels of the seller’s reputation. A set of interaction relationships are proposed and will be tested using real-life transaction data collected from Taobao.com (the largest online marketplace in China). Potential theoretical implications are discussed and potential practical implications are offered for practitioners

User's web page aesthetics opinion: a matter of low-level image descriptors based on MPEG-7

Analyzing a user's first impression of a Web site is essential for interface designers, as it is tightly related to their overall opinion of a site. In fact, this early evaluation affects user navigation behavior. Perceived usability and user interest (e.g., revisiting and recommending the site) are parameters influenced by first opinions. Thus, predicting the latter when creating a Web site is vital to ensure users’ acceptance. In this regard, Web aesthetics is one of the most influential factors in this early perception. We propose the use of low-level image parameters for modeling Web aesthetics in an objective manner, which is an innovative research field. Our model, obtained by applying a stepwise multiple regression algorithm, infers a user's first impression by analyzing three different visual characteristics of Web site screenshots—texture, luminance, and color—which are directly derived from MPEG-7 descriptors. The results obtained over three wide Web site datasets (composed by 415, 42, and 6 Web sites, respectively) reveal a high correlation between low-level parameters and the users’ evaluation, thus allowing a more precise and objective prediction of users’ opinion than previous models that are based on other image characteristics with fewer predictors. Therefore, our model is meant to support a rapid assessment of Web sites in early stages of the design process to maximize the likelihood of the users’ final approval

A New Method to Evaluate Good Design for Brand Recognition in the Digital World

Visual aesthetics has become a crucial element in strengthening brand experience. In the digital era, however, designers need to approach aesthetics from a holistic standpoint where both traditional and more modern factors are taken into consideration. In this paper we present digital BrandUX, a new method to improve brand consistency through the evaluation of aesthetic features. It builds on the Design Format Analysis (DFA) of Warell(2001) with the addition of a structured step-by-step approach.To test the method we analysed twoweb sites using both DFA and digital BrandUX. The results showed that digital BrandUX is a promising advance in aesthetic evaluation, assisting designers in identifying a greater number of visual aesthetic features. Moreover, the method ensured that the designers exploredand identified all types of factors,with the exception of language. Future lines include the development of a handbook to improve ease of use of the method

Facets of Visual Aesthetics of Mobile Website

With the advent of the era of mobile commerce, user browse mobile website on mobile devices is in the majority. The current literature focused on the web aesthetics. However, there is no related visual aesthetics scale for mobile website. Our purpose in this study was to verify the essential characteristics of aesthetics by conceptualizing, constructing, refining, and testing a multiple-item scale, VisMWA, designed to measure aesthetics in the mobile environment. The results showed that five factors and 26 key indicators of VisMWA. The VisMWA scale developed by present study will be able to provide enterprise the standard when they are designing mobile website; and makes it become high-aesthetics mobile website to increase the visitors

Development of an instrument for accessing quality of a Convention and Visitors Bureau Web site

The continuing growth of the Internet and its associated technology has created a new type of market for meeting managers and Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs), and has become a viable alternative to traditional communication media and service delivery tools. As Internet and web site usage by meeting managers\u27 increase, CVBs should enhance and upgrade their web sites to keep in step with customers\u27 needs and expectations; The purpose of this study is to identify general usage and overall perceptions of CVB web sites and CVB web sites\u27 content items and design attributes that are most important as perceived by meeting planners. In addition, this study developed a valid instrument for measuring the quality of CVB web sites, as perceived by meeting planners. Instrument development was based the content analysis of the CVB web sites of the top 10 US convention cities and an extensive literature review of the major studies on web site evaluation criteria and web site success. Data was collected from 202 meeting planners via an on-line survey; The results of comparison of perceived importance of content items suggested that meeting managers perceived Hotel and meeting facilities information to be the most important content items followed by Area map and Transportation information . The results of the instrument refinement and the instrument validation show that effective CVB web site design includes four design concepts: information quality, navigation and accessibility, experience, and service quality; The findings of the study provide guidelines for CVB web site developments and quality strategies. CVBs can ensure that they develop sites that rank high on all aspects of content items as perceived by meeting planners. In addition, utilizing the instrument developed by this study, CVBs can monitor the quality of their web sites over time

The impact of e-servicescape on the flow and purchase intention of online consumers: Quantitative analysis of B to C e-commerce stores in Morocco

In the context of e-commerce, one of the first effective points of contact with the customer is the website. E-commerce is growing at an exponential rate and the corresponding web pages, called e-servicescape, now have a significant presence in driving loyalty and attracting new customers online. Nevertheless, the understanding of the attributes of e-servicescape remains unclear, due to the limited empirical evidence that has been obtained and reviewed. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate a conceptual model of the e-servicescape, flow, and purchase intentions. Using the S-O-R (Stimulus-Organism-Response) model, Bitner's model, flow theory, and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as theoretical foundations. This study stems from the successful operationalization of a comprehensive multi-item (48 items in total), multi-scale (five scales), multi-dimensional (three) measure of e-servicescape, namely aesthetic appeal, layout/functionality and financial security, through a survey administered to 498 respondents residing in Morocco. The results of this study reveal the history of consumers' online flows and their purchase intentions. Similarly, the study shows that consumers' interpretations of the e-servicescape dimensions have a significant impact on the flow. As a result, we found that the e-servicescape positively influences the flow, which in turn influences consumers' behavioral intentions. This paper aims to give new impetus to the clarification of the concept of the e-servicescape of Moroccan e-commerce sites and to uncover the fundamental issue inherent in the relationship between the e-servicescape and consumer behavior. Finally, the results provide valuable insights into the factors on which theorists and practitioners should focus their efforts to better adapt their approaches.In the context of e-commerce, one of the first effective points of contact with the customer is the website. E-commerce is growing at an exponential rate and the corresponding web pages, called e-servicescape, now have a significant presence in driving loyalty and attracting new customers online. Nevertheless, the understanding of the attributes of e-servicescape remains unclear, due to the limited empirical evidence that has been obtained and reviewed. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate a conceptual model of the e-servicescape, flow, and purchase intentions. Using the S-O-R (Stimulus-Organism-Response) model, Bitner's model, flow theory, and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as theoretical foundations. This study stems from the successful operationalization of a comprehensive multi-item (48 items in total), multi-scale (five scales), multi-dimensional (three) measure of e-servicescape, namely aesthetic appeal, layout/functionality and financial security, through a survey administered to 498 respondents residing in Morocco. The results of this study reveal the history of consumers' online flows and their purchase intentions. Similarly, the study shows that consumers' interpretations of the e-servicescape dimensions have a significant impact on the flow. As a result, we found that the e-servicescape positively influences the flow, which in turn influences consumers' behavioral intentions. This paper aims to give new impetus to the clarification of the concept of the e-servicescape of Moroccan e-commerce sites and to uncover the fundamental issue inherent in the relationship between the e-servicescape and consumer behavior. Finally, the results provide valuable insights into the factors on which theorists and practitioners should focus their efforts to better adapt their approaches