Competition continues to get tougher as more businesses come out with similar products. With several options available to them, consumers are looking beyond functionality and usability. They expect these from the products companies put out. Now, they are looking at the design and aesthetic value of the products. As personalization continues to be an important deciding factor, brands face the challenge of making their products stand out from those from the competition.
What is aesthetics in design?
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy that focuses on the nature of beauty and its impact on people. In product design, the concept of aesthetics is used to encourage emotional reactions in consumers through visually pleasing imagery. Everyone, from engineering to product development firms, uses aesthetic elements in their designs to make products look more attractive and valuable.
Why does aesthetics in design matter?
As mentioned, functionality and usability are expected in products. Consumers now require companies to pay better attention to the aesthetic design of their products. They want items that evoke positive experiences when they are utilized. When they are left with a positive impression, their long-term attitude towards the product and your brand will likely be of the same nature.
How is aesthetics applied in design?
Aesthetics is typically considered as a visual element. But modern designers have found ways to incorporate aesthetics into products to stimulate the different senses. This creates a multi-sensory user experience that can encourage sales.
Vision
Sight is considered as the most dominant sense for consumers. They will often stop to look at a product they find attractive or interesting. Visual aesthetics include the color, shape, and balance of a product’s design.
Touch
Once customers stop to look at a product, they will likely pick it up. In addition to inspecting it, they often do this to get a better feeling of it. Material aesthetics is typically used in clothes, but more designers are utilizing it for gadgets (e.g. mobile phones). The design elements that fall under this include texture, weight, sharpness, and temperature.
Hearing
Although not as popular as the others, sound aesthetics still plays a role in product design. It is often utilized in mechanical products (e.g. cars) and technological devices (e.g. digital watches). The design elements in sound aesthetics include melody, loudness, pitch, and repetition.
How do you balance aesthetics with usability?
Finding the balance between aesthetics and usability can be challenging, especially when you lack the proper training. But it’s not impossible. It’s a matter of understanding the product as a whole, from how it’s made and the materials used to what it will be used for and how it will be used. Understanding these different factors will help you in designing well-balanced products.
Product design is all about the user experience. In your pursuit of creating aesthetically pleasing products, don’t forget that these items should still serve their initial purpose. Keep your customer in mind when designing and building products. This way, the final product is one that offers the most value to the customer.