Expressive and classical aesthetics: two distinct concepts with highly similar effect patterns in user-artefact interaction

This study examined the utility of the concept of expressive aesthetics by testing websites that did or did not match this concept. A website scoring highly on this concept was created and was then compared to websites that either was non-aesthetic or corresponded to the concept of classical aesthetics. 60 website users of a broad age range (18 60 yrs) were allocated to three experimental groups (expressive, classical, and non-aesthetic) and asked to complete a series of information search tasks. During the experiment, measures were taken of performance, perceived usability, perceived aesthetics, emotion, and trustworthiness. The results showed that expressive aesthetics can be considered a distinct concept. It also emerged that the website scoring high on expressive aesthetics shows a similar pattern of results to classical aesthetics. Both aesthetically appealing websites received higher ratings of perceived usability and trustworthiness than the non-aesthetic website. The effects of website aesthetics on subjective measures were not moderated by age.