AESTHETICS

Aesthetics or esthetics (also spelled æsthetics) is commonly known as the study of sensory or sensory-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste. More broadly, scholars in the field define aesthetics as "critical reflection on art, culture and nature. In product development meaning of aesthetics is typically short for product aesthetics and is related to product aesthetics as combination of overall product style, product artistic values, user interface and ergonomic parameters.

While aesthetics as a philosophical concept in art deals with the notion of beauty, in product development aesthetics deals with both appearance and functionality of the product. It is obvious that certain industrial products may not be the most eye catchy in the living room environment but the elegance of technical solution together with the functionality will definitely cause pleasurable sensory and emotional experience.

Product aesthetics is very specific for particular design goal and is highly dependant on product environment, user and market. Products aesthetics are often referred to market or end user specifics, such as feminine, sport, technical or futuristic etc.. The main goal of product design and styling is to match an appropriate aesthetic with the target consumer and required performance.

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