Visual Aesthetics of E-Commerce Websites: An Eye-Tracking Approach

This study adopts four facets of visual aesthetics (i.e., simplicity, diversity, colorfulness, craftsmanship) to explain how they relate with users’ gaze patterns, based on how much they fixate on certain points, as well as how fast and how much distance their eyes cover. On a sample of 23 experienced users in online shopping, we collect eye-tracking data while looking at high, neutral, and low appealing websites, and then register their perceptions on visual aesthetics towards those websites. Findings show different patterns of gaze behavior related with users’ perceptions on visual aesthetics. Short fixations with high saccade show high simplicity, while high fixation variance and high backtrack shows high diversity. Short fixations with high backtrack show high colorfulness. Low saccade velocity with high skewness shows high craftsmanship. We contribute towards the need of automatizing the process of understanding users’ perceptions of visual aesthetics, as we might be able to predict the user behavior in real time in the future

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

Affective graphs: the visual appeal of linked data

The essence and value of Linked Data lies in the ability of humans and machines to query, access and reason upon highly structured and formalised data. Ontology structures provide an unambiguous description of the structure and content of data. While a multitude of software applications and visualization systems have been developed over the past years for Linked Data, there is still a significant gap that exists between applications that consume Linked Data and interfaces that have been designed with significant focus on aesthetics. Though the importance of aesthetics in affecting the usability, effectiveness and acceptability of user interfaces have long been recognised, little or no explicit attention has been paid to the aesthetics of Linked Data applications. In this paper, we introduce a formalised approach to developing aesthetically pleasing semantic web interfaces by following aesthetic principles and guidelines identified from literature. We apply such principles to design and develop a generic approach of using visualizations to support exploration of Linked Data, in an interface that is pleasing to users. This provides users with means to browse ontology structures, enriched with statistics of the underlying data, facilitating exploratory activities and enabling visual query for highly precise information needs. We evaluated our approach in three ways: an initial objective evaluation comparing our approach with other well-known interfaces for the semantic web and two user evaluations with semantic web researchers

Maastikumeetrika ja ökosüsteemi kultuuriteenused – ressursipõhine integreeriv lähenemine maastikuharmoonia kaardistamisele

A Thesis for applying for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Protection.The overall idea of PhD thesis was to explain with objective evidence and using mapping techniques, why and how people value particular visual landscapes. Mainstream mapping research usually refers to uniqueness, diversity and naturalness of landscapes as the main factors for landscape values and preferences. These variables can be easily measured using satellite imagery and cartographic materials: for example, the diversity of landscape elements can be assessed with a function of Shannon information entropy, and naturalness – as the share of relatively natural land cover within the region of interest. However, psychological background suggests other important attributes of landscape experience – harmony, unity or coherence of the scene. Mentioned aspects are usually measured subjectively with questionnaires and surveys. Measuring landscape preferences is also quite a challenging task, requiring many people involved in assessment of photographs or even having a nature trip (with obvious drawbacks in spatial coverage and replicability with other evaluators). Therefore, the PhD research was designed to make all assessments as objective, as possible. Overall landscape coherence, for the first time, was measured as the extent to which total diversity of digital landscape model (composed of landforms and land cover) exceeds the added diversity of landforms and land cover alone. In this way, coherence was directly related to system properties of landscape, making it legible and understandable. Also, for the first time colour harmony of land cover was evaluated with remotely sensed data (satellite imagery). Retrieved map-based indices were examined with geo-located photographs of landscapes and outdoor recreation, uploaded to social media, such as Flickr, VK.com and former Panoramio. The study contributes to the operationalisation of landscape beauty and, therefore, more advanced landscape management, nature protection and sustainability of land use practises.Doktoritöö eesmärk on kaardistustehnoloogiad kasutades tõenduspõhiselt selgitada, miks ja kuidas inimesed väärtustavad teatud maastikke visuaalsest seisukohast. Peavoolu kaardistusuuringud tavaliselt keskenduvad maastiku väärtuste ja eelistuste hindamisel unikaalsusele, mitmekesisusele ja looduslikkusele. Neid muutujaid saab satelliitpiltide ja kartograafilise materjali põhjal lihtsalt mõõta, näiteks maastikuelementide mitmekesisust saab hinnata Shannoni entroopiavalemiga ning looduslikkust vastava iseloomuga maakatte osakaaluga uuritaval alal. Psühholoogilisest vaatepunktist lähtudes on maastikukogemusel veel teisi olulisi omadusi, nagu vaate harmoonia, ühtsus või kooskõla sidusus. Uuringute puhul mõõdetakse neid muutujaid tavaliselt subjektiivselt. Maastikueelistuste teaduslik hindamine on tõsine metoodiline väljakutse, mis nõuab paljude hindajate osalemist näiteks maastikufotode hindamisel või vahetult looduses, kus tuleb arvestada piirangutega ruumilisel esindatusel või hinnangute replikatiivsusel. Arvestades eelnimetatud asjaolusid, on dissertatsiooni eesmärgiks seatud leida võimalikult objektiivseid teid tavaliselt subjektiivsetena käsitletavate maastikumuutujate hindamisel. Uudne on üldise maastiku kooskõla mõõdetmine digitaalse pinnavorme ja maakatet hõlmava maastikumudeliga, võrreldes nende komponentide eraldi mõõtmisega. Selliselt menetledes on koherentsus otseselt seostatav maastiku struktuursete parameetritega ja seega muudab hinnangud loetavamaks ja arusaadavamaks. Esmakordselt on kaugseire andmete (satelliitpildid) alusel hinnatud ka maakatte värviharmooniat. Määratletud kaardipõhiseid indekseid kontrolliti kohtseotud fotodega maastikuvaadetest ning välirekreatsiooni tegevustest sotsiaalmeedias (nt Flickr, VK.com ja varasem Panoramio). Uuring aitab paremini mõista ja rakendada maastiku ilu hindamise käiku ja seeläbi kasutada esteetilist kvaliteeti maastiku planeerimisel ja korraldamisel, looduskaitses ja teistes säästva maakasutuse praktilistes valdkondades.Publication of this dissertation has been supported by the Estonian University of Life Science

Aesthetics in the Adoption of Information and Communication Technology

Borrowing from Davis’ (1989) Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Venkatesh and Morris (2000) TAM2 and Kant’s (1790) Theory of Aesthetics; we aim to expand on the contributions and frameworks provided by the literature by testing the nomological relationships between aesthetic judgment, user’s personality and the adoption of innovation in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). This study contributes an exploratory scale for the measurement of aesthetics in ICT. Survey data is utilized to explain perceived aesthetics, moderated by aesthetic centrality of a user, in addition to perceived usefulness, as dimensions of an ICT product that influence adoption intent. Preliminary results also show a weakening influence of social norms, non-significant ease of use indicators. We propose a shift in the paradigm of adoption of ICT innovation in which design, brand affinity and usefulness define the competitiveness of an ICT device in today’s market

An Empirical Study on Web Usability

This project aims to better utilize the World Wide Web as a sociotechnical capital by improving web usability and user experience. Grounded in human-computer interaction literature, four hypotheses were formed and tested via two task-oriented studies: an online survey and an eye tracking study. Subjective assessments and objective measurements were taken. The results provided insight on designing websites that facilitate a more effective and pleasant user experience. Implications for improving the World Wide Web as social capital are discussed

Rehabilitation and renewal of mediterranean structures: the utopic landscape of Algarve

One of the remarkable features of Mediterranean landscapes is the terraced land frame, usually supported by dry stone walling. The terraces, property division walls, pathways and traditional paths design a network compartmentalization that defines landscape identity. The informational content, aesthetic quality, ecological and cultural values allowed by this articulated construction are particularly important at coastal zones with intense human impact. On the Algarve, the hills displayed by such structures form the background scenario of an urban-touristic system. This paper aims to interrelate ecological, aesthetic, symbolic, socio-economic and political aspects that influence the spatial distribution and image of the terraces. The values that local people may assign to their landscapes will determine the acknowledgement of the structural elements under analysis, but the role of tourists must be seriously take into account. Beyond nostalgic solutions, one must prospect the future of the dry stone walling structure into the diversity of possible solutions for a sustainable landscape development, which enhances the living part of an inseparable unit that includes the densest urbanized areas with less ecological functions. We call such unit the urban-touristic region of Algarve and, therefore, we try to use landscape as an instrument of knowledge and acknowledgement of regional spaces