[Sigia-l] It's all about sex

[Terrence Wood]

Trying to interpret the results of a research project through a press 
release is a questionable business. I wonder what are the 23 factors 
that the report measures? Is the so-called male aesthetic simply a 
limitation of the medium, or the client?

Men and women are different. No surprise there. It's well known that 
genders perceive color differently and it follows that color choice in 
design differ. Think hunters and collectors.

Academia is a masculine institution. No surprise there. Does this mean 
academia does not speak to it's audience? Possibly. Possibly it has 
more to do with values attached to the design, and what the institutes 
want to say about themselves, in the same way a blue chip organisation 
does not publish it's annual report on white photocopy paper bound with 
a plastic comb.

Rounded forms vs. grids. No surprises there. It is easier to deliver a 
design using straight lines on the internet, and see the above comment.



kind regards
Terrence Wood.


On 15 Aug 2005, at 6:20 AM, Listera wrote:

> A first-of-its-kind study conducted by experts at the University of
> Glamorgan has proved that men and women really are poles apart when it 
> comes
> to what catches their eye on the internet.
>
> Where visuals are concerned, males favour the use of straight lines (as
> opposed to rounded forms), few colours in the typeface and background, 
> and
> formal typography. As for language, they favour the use of formal or 
> expert
> language with few abbreviations and are more likely to promote 
> themselves
> and their abilities heavily.
>
> "The statistics are complicated, but there is no doubt about the 
> strength of
> men and women's preference for sites produced by people of their own 
> sex,"
> said statistician and co-researcher Dr Rod Gunn.
>
> Despite the parity of target audience, the results found that 94% of 
> the
> sites displayed a masculine orientation with just 2% displaying a 
> typically
> female bias.
>
> <http://www.glam.ac.uk/news/releases/003056.php>
>
> Significant or another crackpot 'science' project? [1]
>
> Ziya
> Nullius in Verba
>
> [1] "The University is now offering a consultancy service to businesses
> seeking advice on tailoring their websites to their business goals."
>
>
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