The influence of individual elements on the aesthetic pleasure of furniture designs

This thesis investigated the influence of individual product elements, namely shape and colour, on the perceived typicality, novelty, and functionality of furniture product designs. The thesis tested carefully designed stimuli, and adopted a systematic approach to test the predictions of existing aesthetics models. In doing so, the thesis supported the preference-for-prototypes theory, which holds that typical products designs are more aesthetically pleasing than novel product designs. Furthermore, consistent with previous research, it showed that perceived product functionality is a determinant of aesthetic pleasure. As such, this thesis contributes to current aesthetics and design theory.