THE INFLUENCE OF UNITY AND PROTOTYPICALITY ON AESTHETIC RESPONSES TO NEW PRODUCT DESIGNS

Unity and prototypicality are important visual aspects of product desi gn. These design principles were operationalized by modifying line dra wings of existing products. The results of four experiments provide ev idence that these two factors positively affect aesthetic response, Th ese effects were strongest when visual properties were the sole basis of judgment and when design variations were easily compared, However, they persisted when aesthetic aspects were combined with other product information and when comparing design features was difficult. The eff ect of unity was found to be superadditive, suggesting that it has a r elational, ''all-or-none'' character. Finally, regression analyses sho w that direct effects of the design modifications on aesthetic respons e exist in addition to possible indirect effects that are mediated by perceived typicality.