I found an interesting article seeded by Jaap Schreurs on Newsvine about first impressions with websites and how quickly it takes us to make a decision on whether we like the aesthetics or not. The article, on nature.com, goes on to comment on the ‘Halo Effect’ of well designed sites that if it is deemed attractive then it will be looked on favourably, minor problems could be ignored and the articles favoured more. With these decisions taking place within 50 milliseconds – it doesn’t give you much time to keep the viewer with your content.
Its an interesting argument but it creates a dilemma for designers. Be individual, creative and make the statement that arguably could be technically very good but instantly alienates a large percentage of your audience? Or present a traditionally popular colour scheme and layout that many might be looked upon as dull and uninspiring?
