Visual aesthetics and the user experience

This paper describes the outcomes of a project that focused on the integration of non-instrumental qualities like aesthetic and symbolic aspects and emotional user reactions with traditional, instrumental-focused approaches to users’ experience of interaction. A research framework is described that conceptualizes user experience as a phenomenon consisting of instrumental and noninstrumental quality perceptions as well as emotional user reactions. Methodological consequences are discussed in particular for the measurement of visual aesthetics of interactive systems. Selected results of two studies are reported that addressed the influence of perceived usability and visual aesthetics on emotional user reactions and consequences of user experience and studied the effect of user characteristics and contextual parameters on these relations. Author