Simple as it can be, but not simpler: Perceived elegance as effective complexity in Interface Design

Elegant Design is a key determinant of positive consumer experience and a differentiating factor on the marketplace. However, research on product aesthetics suffers from the lack of metrics to assess elegance and insufficient understanding of what stimuli configurations are associated with it. In this paper we assess elegance as Effective Complexity, a metric capturing the complexity of an interface in terms of the regularities perceived by users. We offer empirical evidence that Effective Complexity is strongly correlated with perceived elegance and actual effort in the use of a new product and to Berlyne’s curve of hedonic pleasure determined by the combination of novel and familiar stimuli.