The influence of layout on the perceived tone of news articles

Are design arguments just a matter of taste, or does layout affect how read ers understand news stories? The questions applies broadly to all media. Th is experiment measured whether respondents found horizontal layout more tra nquil and whether their responses depended on the content. Horizontal layou ts did relate to measures of comfort and human interest. Presented with a h orizontal layout, respondents rated an article more comforting, pleasant, l ight, and so forth. The effects depended on the content, interacting with f orm in complex ways. The results show that design decisions matter and shou ld be taken with care. In the media, form is content.