Marc
Hassenzahl and his colleagues are the undisputed leaders in the
measurement of Appeal. Appeal is divided into ‘Pragmatic Quality’,
which is roughly equivalent to what we think of as Usability, and
‘Hedonic Quality.’ Hedonic refers to factors that are appealing for
their own sake, not for any practical reason. Hedonic Qualities include
attractiveness, fun, emotion, and so forth. Hassenzahl and others
caution that, for any given product, a balance between Pragmatic
Quality and Hedonic Quality must be achieved.
Pragmatic Quality Scales (roughly equivalent to Usability)
- Technical – Human
- Complicated – Simple
- Impractical – Practical
- Cumbersome – Direct
- Unpredictable – Predictable
- Confusing – Clear
- Unruly – Manageable
Hedonic Quality – Identification Scales
- Isolating – Integrating
- Amateurish – Professional
- Gaudy – Classy
- Cheap – Valuable
- Non-Inclusive – Inclusive
- Takes me distant from people – Brings me closer to people
Hedonic Quality – Stimulation Scale
- Typical – Original
- Standard – Creative
- Cautious – Courageous
- Conservative – Innovative
- Lame – Exciting
- Easy – Challenging
- Commonplace – New Commonplace – New
Overall Appeal Scales
- Ugly – Beautiful
- Bad – Good
Hassenzahl, M. (2000). Hedonic and Ergonomic Quality Aspects Determine a Software’s Appeal. Presented at ACM CHI conference, April 2000.
Hassenzahl, M. (2004). The Interplay of Beauty, Goodness and Usability in Interactive Products. Human-Computer Interaction, Vol. 19, pp. 319- 349.
