Plugin Aesthetics

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Beautiful Beings :Aesthetics in Design



Hierarchy of Customer Needs

Pleasure

Usability

Functionality

A hierarchy of Consumer Needs

• A product cannot be usable if it doesnot contain the functions necessaryto perform the tasks for which it isintended to – this will cause

dissatisfaction• Those involved in product creation –

must have an understanding of whatproduct will be used for and thecontext and environment in which itwill used

Level 1 : Functionality




Pleasure

Usability

Functionality


• People are used to product thatfunction well, but now they alsoexpect usability

• Having appropriate functionality – isa prerequisite of usability – but doesnot guaranteed usability

Level 2 : Usability




Pleasure

Usability

Functionality


• Having become used to usableproducts , it seems people will wantsomething more :

– Products that offer something extra

– Products that are not merely toolsbut ‘living objects’ that people canrelate to

– Products that bring emotionalbenefits

Level 3 : Pleasure



What is Aesthetics?

• The term design is often considered to be synonymous with style

• the term aesthetics concerns our senses and our responses to anobject

• If something is aesthetically pleasing to you, it is pleasurable andyou like it

• Aesthetics involves all of your senses – vision, hearing, touch,taste, smell and your emotions



Elements of Aesthetics

Vision• Colour

• Shape

• Pattern

• Line

• Texture

• Visual weight

• Balance

• Scale

• Movement

Hearing• Loudness

• Pitch

• Beat

• Repetition• Melody

• Pattern

• Noise




Touch• Texture• Shape• Weight

• Give

• Comfort• Temperature

• Vibration• Sharpness• Ease of use

Taste• Strength• Sweetness• Sourness• Texture

Smell

• Strength• Sweetness

• ‘Pleasantness’




Your opinion about product may also be influenced by certainassociations that are important to you, such as :

• how fashionable it is

• whether it is novelty, or an old favourite

• whether it is a symbol of wealth or love• how much danger or risk is involved

• if it provides a link with your past




• You might also take into accountwhether it is safe and reliable andfit for its purpose

• Consistency with particularaesthetics concept may be asignificant factor in creating a

product’s appeal too, for example,the current appreciation of ‘retro’designs

• However, such trends are oftencultural and almost certainly

always short-lived, so theirpopularity can’t be guaranteed



Considerations of Aesthetics in Design

Physio-pleasure – pleasure derived from the

senses from touch, smell, sensual pleasureetc. For example : the smoothness of acurve in a hand-held product or the smell ofnew car

There are four different 'pleasure types' to consider:

Socio-pleasure - pleasure gained frominteraction with others. This may be a'talking point' product like a specialornament or painting, or the product may be

the focus of a social gathering such as avending machine or coffee machine. Thispleasure can also come from a product thatrepresents a social grouping, for example, aparticular style of clothing that gives you asocial identity.




Ideo-pleasure - pleasure derived fromentities such as books, art and music. Thisis the most abstract pleasure. In terms of

products, it is the values that a productembodies, such as a product that is made ofeco-friendly materials, and processes thatconvey a sense of environmentalresponsibility to the user.

Psycho-pleasure - pleasure from thesatisfaction felt when a task is successfullycompleted. Pleasure also comes from the

extent to which the product makes the taskmore pleasurable, such as the interface ofan ATM cash machine, that is quick andsimple to use. It is closely related to productusability.

Each of these pleasures should be considered in turn - their importance to theproduct you are designing, and how each aspect might show itself in that product.



Aesthetics and Ergonomics in Product Design

"More and more people buy objects for intellectual and spiritualnourishment. People do not buy my coffee makers, kettles and lemonsqueezers because they need to make coffee, to boil water, or to

squeeze lemons, but for other reasons."

Alberto Alessi, Designer




• an appreciation of pleasure in product use – becoming of primaryimportance to both consumer and the design industry

• Consumer’s expectation have been raised – they no longer simply

expect the product they buy to be functional and usable

• Consumers demand functionality, expect usability and are seekingproducts that elicit other feelings such as pleasure or that strike acertain emotional chord

• It likely to be aesthetics of the product, the way it looks, the feel of

material, the tactile or ‘haptic’ response of controls or more abstractfeelings, such as reflected status, that give pleasure




Traditionally, product design has been considered to comprise threemain elements :

DESIGN

ergonomics

technologyaesthetics




• Product designers need a knowledge of all these elements

• In the case of the design of a small and simple product, the designer’s

responsibility may be for all of these elements

• For lager products, such as cars, the designer’s responsibility may be for

aesthetics only; ergonomists and engineers providing the expertise needed

for the other elements

• Conventionally, ergonomics has consisted of usability and functionality, and

designing pleasure into the product has been the job of designer

• However, ergonomist are taking some responsibility for the aesthetics of

the design, using scientific method to increase understanding of theaesthetics (both pleasurable and displeasurable) and applying to thedesign of products




• The best design occurs when all three components are considered together

from the start of the design process

• Compromise will have to be made… but understanding all the issuesinvolved will help to make the most acceptable compromises.

• For example, if you are designing a sports car, you will make different

compromises from those you will make if you are designing a family salooncar




Sport car• Emphasis is on aesthetics andperformance

• The car may go very fast, lookbeautiful and make all the right sortof noise

• However, it is likely to be difficult toget in and out, have a little storagespace, seat only two people andhave limited visibility

• The physical and functionalergonomics are not the best but thecar is exactly what the customer is

expecting of a sport car• Ergonomics is compromised in orderto achieve performance andaesthetics




Family saloon car• Emphasis is on functionality andusability

• The car should first serve the needsof the family… so will have adequateseating and storage space and besuitable for family traveling

• It should also have aesthetics appealbut there may be compromises indesign in order to provide therequired levels of functionality andusability



Working with Aesthetics and Ergonomics

Where ergonomics and aestheticsmeet

• many aesthetics ideas are easilycombined with good ergonomics, forexample, chairs that look good andare comfortable too; buttons on your

mobile phone that give goodfeedback

• This Alessi corkscrew has obviouslybeen designed to be more than justa corkscrew… but it is extremelyfunctional as well

Compromises need to be made in different ways depending upon the product




Where aesthetics may predominate

• There are other products that conflictdirectly with ergonomics principles

• For example, shoes that arebeautiful and very fashionable, butare bad for your feet and yourposture, and increase the risk ofslipping and hurting yourself

• We all educated about the need towear well-fitting, flat shoes forhealthy feet… but we wouldcomplain if all footwear had to be

designed by ergonomic principlesonly




Where aesthetics must neverpredominate

• There are situations whereergonomics principles must overrideaesthetics, such as products that areused in safety-critical situations

• For example, equipment designedfor use in operating theatres or by airtraffic controllers

• There is much legislation concerningon safety of products and designersmust work within the constraints of

legislation or their product will notallowed to enter the market place




Where to compromise

• Many products are not safety-criticaland the designer must take theresponsibility for balancingaesthetics and ergonomicsappropriately

• Miniaturization of products is anexample worth considering

• When mobile telephones were firstdesigned, technology dictated thatthey were the size of a small house

brick!!• The displays and controls were

easily usable by most people – butthey considered the phones to betoo large and heavy to be very

‘mobile’

• Technological advances allowed theproduction of smaller phones, theybecame truly ‘mobile’… fitting easilyinto handbags and pockets

• However… the control and displaysizes were compromised… and

many have become too small foreasy to use

• The optimum compromised was notrecognized

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