Do we really need to make a beautiful design?

Does it really matter?

While creating a product, we seek to make it not only comfortable, but also great-looking. “To make a design beautiful” is the default attitude in our minds. We are driven by this idea subconsciously, without even thinking. That a design must be made appealing seems quite obvious to us. But does a product’s appearance really matter? Is it not true that usability is the most important thing about design and we shouldn’t focus too much on aesthetics because a design must first and foremost help the user solve problems?

And yet aesthetics is important. This is explained by the Aesthetics-Usability Effect.

The idea is simple — people find an aesthetically attractive product more usable than an unattractive one. A correlation between a product’s aesthetics and its perceived usability has been confirmed by researchers more than once. It was first discovered in 1995 when Japanese researchers Masaaki Kurosu and Kaori Kashimura conducted an experiment in which they tested options for various ATM user interfaces. Although all the tested options were identical in their functionality, the participants rated the more attractive interfaces as easier to use.

Interestingly, Israeli scholar Noam Tractinsky was baffled by the findings of the study conducted by the Japanese researchers. He suggested that in this particular case the findings were culturally biased because Japanese people allegedly value aesthetics. He redid the experiment with the same ATM interfaces, involving participants from Israel, who, according to Tractinsky, do not care about appearances because they are action-oriented. The findings surprised him as they confirmed the conclusions of the Japanese researches.

Because attractive products are perceived to be easier to use, users are more likely to prefer them, regardless of whether they are really more user-friendly or not. So it is especially important to opt for an aesthetically appealing design, if the product already has its competitors. Oddly enough, the first impression is hard to change. Studies have shown that first impressions of a product influence a further long-term relationship with it. So an appealing design makes people more lenient and tolerant of some usability problems.

In addition, an appealing design is not only perceived better by users, but also works better. This was mentioned by Donald Norman in his book Emotional Design. The fact that an appealing design works better is explained by emotions. Emotions influence decision-making. Psychologist Alice Isen and her colleagues have shown that positive emotions expand cognitive processes and foster creative thinking. It is easier for a person to solve a problem if, before facing it, they experience positive emotions, which do not have to be very intense.

This explains why an appealing design works better. A user sees an appealing product and experiences positive emotions whereby their cognitive processes are expanded. This, in turn, makes it easier for them to solve problem they face while using the product.

This principle also works the other way around: if a person experiences negative emotions, their thinking narrows, and their creative impulse is suppressed. So they find it harder to cope with difficulties.

However…

Such an effect does not mean that we should focus most of our efforts on visual design. A beautiful design will only blind users to minor problems. This effect does not work with serious usability flaws. For instance, if a user cannot find a product, they will not purchase it. Visual design and usability must work together. There is a rule in interface design, which also applies to life — good clothes open all doors. The Aesthetics-Usability effect will only work if aesthetics is a supporting factor in the content and functionality of the development.

Photo by Alvaro Reyes on Unsplash

Answering the titular question of this article, we absolutely should seek to make our designs appealing because it helps attract the user and somewhat facilitate their interaction with the system. However, visual design should always be preceded by a quality UX. Therefore, when designing interfaces, it is worth to take this effect into consideration, but obviously you should not use it as a cure-all.