Mental models/Aesthetic-Usability Effect
Perception & Visual Processing

Aesthetic-Usability Effect

The tendency for users to perceive aesthetically pleasing designs as more usable, even when tested against objectively more functional but less attractive alternatives.

In plain language

Attractive interfaces are perceived as easier to use, even when they aren't. Beauty buys tolerance for friction.

In the wild

Implementations of this model aren’t wired to this view yet — they live in the implementations table.

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