The influence of induced positive affect and design experience on aesthetic responses to new product designs

This experiment found that positive affect, induced by a gift of a small bag of candy (not consumed), enhanced ratings of the visual appeal of a set of six digital cameras by male participants untrained and trained in principles of design theory, as compared to control groups who did not receive candy (N=10 per group). The number of participants' reactions to the cameras' features, the affective quality of their reactions (positive, negative, or neutral), and the time taken to evaluate each camera were obtained from participants' think aloud procedure verbalizations recorded as they examined each camera. Analyses of these cognitive process measures revealed that, consistent with the Affect Infusion Model proposed by Forgas (1995), training in design differentially influenced the cognitive processing styles responsible for positive affect's influence on the judgments; design students engaged in substantive processing whereas untrained students employed heuristic processing to arrive at their ratings. Results demonstrate that induced positive affect can influence aesthetic evaluative judgments, a heretofore neglected aspect of cognition in the literature describing the effects of induced mood on behavior

Implementing perception-action coupling for laparoscopy

This chapter discusses implementation aiming at restoring perception-action coupling with respect to visual information by linking the point of observation or the point of illumination directly to the head movements of the surgeon. This restores the perception-action coupling and allows the surgeon to obtain spatial information through exploration. However, two problems arise. First, manipulation and making explorative movements conflict with each other. Although observation tasks do invite the observer to move, manipulation tasks, for example, putting a wire through the eye of a needle, do not. Second, there are technical constraints such as size and shape; for example, the mechanism must be small enough to be used during laparoscopy, or the mechanism may not harm the patient. Implementation aimed at restoring perception-action coupling during laparoscopy is explored within the framework of the ecological approach to visual perception as described by Gibson (1979

Spatial balance of color triads in the abstract art of Piet Mondrian

We examined the interactive contribution of the color and size of the three areas occupied by the primary colors red, yellow, and blue in adaptations of abstract compositions by Mondrian to the perceived weight of the areas and the location of the balance centers of the compositions. Thirty-six art stimuli were created by experimentally changing the colors in the three areas of six original works so that the resulting five variations and the original constituted the six possible spatial arrangements of the three colors in the three locations. In experiment 1, design-trained and untrained participants determined the location of the balance center of each composition seen on a computer screen and rated the apparent weight or heaviness of each color area. In experiment 2, untrained participants determined the location of the balance centers of the compositions when projected to their actual size. It was found that, for both trained and untrained participants, the perceived weight of a color, especially red and yellow, varied as a function of the size of the area it occupied. Furthermore, participants in both experiments perceived shifts in the locations of the balance centers between the originals and their altered versions. Only the trained participants, however, perceived significant shifts in balance centers among the five variations of the compositions, demonstrating their superior sensitivity to the contribution of color to balance structure. Taken together, the findings demonstrate the existence of a color - area - weight relationship among color triads in abstract displays and the influence of this relationship on color balance in abstract compositio

An empirical evaluation of the visual rightness theory of pictorial composition

This research tested the visual rightness theory of pictorial composition's assertion that the induced organizational structure of a visually right (i.e., good ) design is perceptually salient and judged superior by anyone viewing it regardless of his or her training in the visual arts. Stimuli for Experiments 1 and 2 consisted of 16 reproductions of paintings by renowned artists and an experimentally reconstructed less-well-organized version of each art stimulus. It was found that design professionals (Experiment 2) were significantly more successful at detecting the original versions than were participants untrained in the visual arts (Experiment 1) (hit RATES=64% and 55%, respectively). In Experiment 3 participants replaced a major structural element removed from each of six pictures of the stimulus set at the location where they thought it appears in the original. A significant number of untrained participants and those with training in design theory were in agreement as to the location of each element within its pictorial field; the location chosen conformed to its compositional structure but not its actual location in the original. Findings demonstrate that the ability to detect the induced structural skeleton of a painting resulting from a visually right design does not require expert knowledge of design principles whereas the ability to discriminate between several articulation possibilities of the same composition does require formal training

Augmenting fun and beauty: a pamphlet

In this article we describe how the augmented reality and product design communities, which share the common interest of combining the real and the virtual, might learn from each other. From our side, we would like to share with you some of our ideas about product design which we consider highly relevant for the augmented reality community. In a pamphlet we list 10 sloganesque points for action which challenge the status quo in product design. Finally, we present some projects which show how these points could be implemented. We hope this approach will inspire those involved in augmented reality design and help them to avoid the pitfalls that the product design community is now trying to crawl out of

Eindhoven designs volume one

No abstrac

The role of balance as an organizing design principle underlying adults' compositional strategies for creating visual displays

This study had two interrelated purposes, namely, to determine if balance influences the way adults create visual displays and to subject theoretical notions of pictorial balance to experimental scrutiny. Adult volunteers made four designs, one each from circles, squares, rectangles, or leaves of different sizes. A videotape recording of the development of each design from start to completion was used to create a digitized record of its image at 10% intervals of the time taken for its completion. It was found that, regardless of element type or phase of construction, the center of a design was closely aligned with the geometric center of the pictorial field demonstrating the power of the center of a square field to function as an anchor or balancing point about which a design's structural skeleton is organized. The ordering strategy used by participants to organize the elements of a composition about its balancing center was influenced by their shape characteristics and orientation potential. Structural weight was evenly distributed (balanced) about the center of the circle designs throughout their construction; an imaginary horizontal–vertical grid served as the structural skeleton for the creation of designs composed of squares and rectangles, and participants manipulated directionality of leaf elements to create an organized global design within the pictorial field. Finally, evidence of the visual salience of dynamic balance is provided by the finding that viewers were able to perceive subtle differences measured quantitatively in the distribution of physical weight about the axes of balanced compositions. Theoretical speculation concerning the nature of pictorial balance is discussed in light of the present findings