Visual appeal is an important element of the hedonic quality of an interface. Research suggests that judgments of visual appeal are in essence emotional judgments that occur rapidly.
Pragmatic quality resembles the notion of usability (e.g. ease of use), while hedonic quality refers to pleasure of use. Pragmatic quality is in essence a “hygiene factor” that will not produce positive emotions in itself, but can result in strong negative emotions when, for example, usability breaks down. Unresponsive controls for instance, can cause negative affective responses in the user. Similarly, an overly complex and unclear ordering of visual
elements of an interface can lead to heightened arousal and less
positive evaluations of that interface.
Hedonic quality on the other hand can be a source of positive affect. An oft studied element of hedonic quality, visual appeal, influences the user’s experience early on in perception, in the form of a rapid affective judgment. Furthermore, a good visual design has the potential to negate existing usability problems, resulting in more favorable evaluations of the interface. The initial affective reaction to the visual appeal of an interface can have a priming effect, and influence later evaluations of that interface. The impact of visual appeal is thus not limited to the initial perception.