Influence of curvature and expertise on aesthetic preferences for mobile device designs

People generally evaluate products’ physical characteristics according to initial visual impressions. Previous investigations have demonstrated that sharp or curved characteristics provide clues for people to rapidly determine their preferences in daily life. In addition, previous studies have investigated the curvilinear relationship of curvature and aesthetic preferences with deviations from prototype. However, to maximize the screen size of mobile devices, deviation from the prototypical shape is not possible. Accordingly, this study utilizes mobile devices with 10 curvature levels as stimuli to explore their effects on preference when there is no departure from the prototype. Analytical results indicate that preference for the stimuli shows a peak, revealing that preference does not always rise with an increase in curvature level. Additionally, a significant difference emerges after the peak of preference, where the preference of participants with a design background declines more sharply than that of participants without a design background. Participants’ judgments as to degree of product curvature indicate that people perceive a lower curvature in larger products than in smaller products. More specifically, the curvature of the product form cannot be increased infinitely; rather, a direct correlation exists between corner radius perceptions and product size. This finding may be useful for designers, who may consider the application of curves in the future design of product shapes.