Investigation of the relationship between aesthetics and perceived usability in web pages

The main hypothesis of the thesis is that between two systems identical in functionality and usability, differences in aesthetics may positively influence users perceived usability. To date, a narrow focus on the engineering aspects of aesthetics has adversely affected the scope and success of experiments, therefore previous work in the field needed to be revisited. The thesis reviews literature and theory in usability and aesthetics, the latter from the point of the view of philosophy, theory, and application. It also explores the relationship between aesthetics, usability and user engagement; discusses a distinct new trend research that identifies a link between beauty and perceived usability of website interaction; and develops a pilot for an experimental methodology. Based on conclusions from the review of the field of usability, two experiments where designed and carried out, an independent measures and repeated measures. The findings of these experiments confirmed the hypothesis that perceived usability was positively influenced by higher aesthetics.