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The design & aesthetic performance of web sites

This thesis investigates the visual aesthetic performance of Web sites.
An experiment was conducted in which a Web site, designed with three controlled levels
of 'visual enrichment', was evaluated on a number of measures by two subject groups.
The measures used represent facets of the Categorical-Motivation model of aesthetics,
plus others directly related to the performance of Web sites. The results of the experiment
indicate that the drivers of site evaluation were primarily exploratory variables that
represent 'novelty', 'interest' and 'fun'. This supports the argument that an important
question to consider when designing a Web site is not merely 'can the site's audience use
the Web site?', but also 'does the site's audience want to use the Web site?' Visual, audio
and interactive appeal are, as the findings show, very important design considerations.
This research adds to a body of knowledge that seeks to understand aesthetic
phenomena and develops a theoretical framework that will prove useful for the
investigation of visual interfaces.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/216568
Date January 2002
CreatorsHaig, Andrew, andrew@panghaig.com
PublisherSwinburne University of Technology.
Source SetsAustraliasian Digital Theses Program
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Rightshttp://www.swin.edu.au/), Copyright Andrew Haig

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