Glossary » aesthetic integrity

aesthetic integrity

a principle that advocates that a design should be visually appealing and should follow common principles of visual design: consistency, a clear identity, a clear visual hierarchy, good alignment, contrast, and proportions, etc.

What constitutes an aesthetically successful design may vary with the application and the audience. A bright and active design may work well for attracting people to store-front displays, but a softer, more soothing design will be far more successful for applications that people need to use all day long.

As with all design principles, aesthetics needs to be carefully balanced with other requirements, such as providing adequate information when it is most useful and avoiding confusing the user.

Note that aesthetic integrity is not merely “attractiveness”. It implies a visual design that is coherent and well-structured.