The Subjective and Objective Nature of Website Aesthetic Impressions

This paper explores the possibility to predict positive aesthetic impression and user preference of website design through a combination of objective and subjective factors. The objective factors used are symmetry, order, balance, complexity while the subjective ones include familiarity novelty ratings. The advantages of such an approach is the reduction of user involvement since the ratings of objective factors may be provided by a small number of design experts. We found indications that balance between certain factors maximize the possibility of users having a positive aesthetic impression.