2. 2
Model of Aesthetic Preference
What makes a product good listen to, pleasant to touch or use and nice to smell (or even taste)?
-The perception level: unity-in-variety
-The cognitive level: typicality-in-novelty
-The social level: connectedness in uniqueness
3. 3
Maximum Effect for
Minimum Means: the
Aesthetics of Efficiency
da Silva, O., Crilly, N., & Hekkert, P. (2016). Maximum effect for minimum
means: The aesthetics of efficiency. Design Issues, 32(1), 41-51.
4. 4
How do you like these Designs?
https://www.menti.com/i4seopn2ou
6. 6
How do you like these Designs?
https://www.menti.com/i4seopn2ou
The light
switch
encourage
energy
conservation
by showing a
disrupted
visual pattern
The drink cups
trigger human
interaction
because they
are unstable
unless
rearranged all
together
The wall clock
encourage
prison inmates
to express
themselves by
providing them
with a “skin to
tattoo”; it also
reminds people
to better
appreciate time
The water bottle
reduces plastic
waste by
encouraging to
avoid buying
bottled drinks; it
also promote
drinking tap
water
8. 8
Aesthetic Appreciation
• The aesthetic judgment of an artifact is
typically interpreted as an evaluation of
the artifact’s sensory properties.
• Aesthetic appreciation of an artifact can
be influenced by knowledge of the
artifact’s purpose.
9. 9
Two different ways to appreciate
an artifact
• Their effect/ functionality
• The way they achieve their effect / functionality
“beauty does not necessarily lie in the best looking, but in the best acting”—
Michael Faraday (1861)
10. 10
MEMM principle: maximum effect
for minimum means
• “Economy”, “efficiency”, “Occam’s razor” in
product design
• MEMM governs people’s aesthetic appreciation
of a wide range of things, including:
– Line drawing, literary metaphor, logical arguments,
chess moves, architectural works, tennis serves,
science experiments and mathematical demonstration
• “The most” with “the least” vs. “less is more”
• Means-effect relationship
12. 12
Basics of the MEMM judgment
• The Beauty in Conciseness: Minimalism
• MEMM: the aesthetic judgment of a product is a judgment
not of the product itself, but of the relationship between
the product and the effect that it has.
• If a certain effect is desired in the world, then a product
can be designed as the means by which that effect is
realized.
• Designers exploit various resources to achieve the effects
they want.
• The perception of just one salient aspect as being minimal
can suffice for a product to be judged minimal overall.
13. 13
Basic MEMM to Complexity
“Proximal effect” and “distal effects”
Maximal effect: more than one effect
M-E and M-M-E
14. 14
Complex MEMM
• “The aesthetic value of a knife consists not only of its visual qualities, but
also of its feeling in my hand, determined by its surface texture, weight,
and balance,
• but most importantly by how smoothly and effortlessly I can cut an object
because of the material, shape, length, texture, and weight of the blade
and handle.” Saito, 2007, p. 27
Hekkert, P. (2017). PUUE lecture note. Pp. 6
16. 16
How to measure
aesthetic pleasure for
designed artifacts?
Blijlevens, J., Thurgood, C., Hekkert, P., Chen, L.-L., Leder, H., & Whitfield, T. W. A. (2017). The Aesthetic
Pleasure in Design Scale: The development of a scale to measure aesthetic pleasure for designed artifacts.
Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 11(1), 86–98. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000098
17. 17
• AESTHETIC PLEASURE or BEAUTY
= the successful co-existence or
reconciliation between ‘safety’ (e.g.
neophobia, familiarity, smoothness) and
‘accomplishment’ (e.g. neophilia, novelty,
naturalness)
19. 19
Aesthetic Pleasure Scale (camera as
an example)
English Mandarin English Mandarin
Visually, . . . 在外觀視覺上 Novelty
. . . this is a beautiful camera 這是一台漂亮的相機 . . . this is a novel camera 這是一台新奇的相機
. . . this is an attractive camera 這是一台具有吸引力的相機 . . . this design is original 這個設計是原創的
. . . this camera is pleasing to see 這台相機看起來讓人感到愉
快
. . . this is a new example of a
camera
這是一個新的相機案例
. . . this camera is nice to see 這台相機看起來不錯 . . . this design is innovative 這個設計是創新的
. . . I like to look at this camera 我喜歡注視這台相機 Unity
Typicality . . . this is a unified design 這個設計是一致的
. . . this is a typical camera 這是一台典型的相機 . . . this is an orderly design 這是一個整齊有序的設計
. . . this is representative of a camera 這是一台具有代表性的相機 . . . this is a coherent design 這是個連貫有條理的設計
. . . this design is common for a camera 這個設計對相機而言是常見
的
Variety
. . . this is a standard design 這是一個標準的設計 . . . this design is made of different
parts
這個設計是由不同元件形成的
. . . this is characteristic of a camera 這具有相機特徵 . . . this design conveys variety 這個設計傳達出多樣性
. . . this design is rich in elements 這個設計有豐富多元的元素
29. 29
References
• Lidwell, W., Holden, K., & Butler, J. (2010). Universal principles of
design, revised and updated: 125 ways to enhance usability, influence
perception, increase appeal, make better design decisions, and teach
through design. Rockport Pub.