Aesthetics, Visual Appeal, Usability and User Satisfaction: What Do the User’s Eyes Tell the User’s Brain?

The impact of colour on the first impression of a website is discussed in the light of several rather puzzling experimental findings, which suggest that background colour and colour combinations might influence users’ subsequent opinion of, and satisfaction with, a site. Theories of, and approaches to, studying aesthetics and emotion are outlined briefly. It is concluded that, although the criteria by which people judge visual appeal, user satisfaction and trustworthiness are still unclear, perceived usability appears to be related to the detection of stumbling blocks that hinder smooth interaction with a web site and probably to the orderliness of screens. User satisfaction is a complex construct that incorporates several measurable concepts and is the culmination of the interactive user experience. Experimental results suggest that people may be more satisfied with a beautiful product that performs sub-optimally than with a more usable but less appealing product. A glance into the future importance of the topics discussed is offered.