At the airshow, no one ever looks at the F-16 cockpit and says "that is not a beautiful||fresh||clean||simple||minimal interface". It is understood that the interface is for use by a highly trained user in an environment where usability is very important.
Highly usable environments require some sort of training. The amount of self training that someone will do for something like a web site will entirely depend on how motivated the user is to achieve the definite result that is the ultimate goal.
The question then is; do pretty websites cause motivation for further engagement? I suspect the answer is yes, at least a little, at least for now. In the future that probably won't be true, people will get tired of anything anyone can possibly do in terms of appearance and will value usability more.
Highly usable environments require some sort of training. The amount of self training that someone will do for something like a web site will entirely depend on how motivated the user is to achieve the definite result that is the ultimate goal.
Is it possible to ramp complexity while ramping motivation? Games seem to do this quite well.
Call it "pretty" to signify the idea that the only things designers care about is aesthetics. But I think designers care about building an emotional connection to the customer and ensuring that only the right functionality appears in a given context. I feel like using the word "pretty" is code word for demeaning the value and thought that people put into creating an app/website beyond the functionality. Oh it's only a thin veneer who cares.
All too often, people want to cater everything to everyone so they just throw all the options on the page and expect you to know where to find what. Or they don't think you're a human and should just be happy with whatever you're given because hey, the functionality is there.
But as consumers get used to a level of design through the apps/websites they use on a day-to-day basis, the ones who do care are going to want that sense of quality in their other tools.
I don't love the F16 analogy. Some things do require highly specialized training. The vast majority of websites and applications don't. Furthermore, there's an additional layer of difference since physical buttons/gauges have an advantage of easy access as compared to layering functionality in digital interfaces.
Highly usable environments require some sort of training. The amount of self training that someone will do for something like a web site will entirely depend on how motivated the user is to achieve the definite result that is the ultimate goal.
The question then is; do pretty websites cause motivation for further engagement? I suspect the answer is yes, at least a little, at least for now. In the future that probably won't be true, people will get tired of anything anyone can possibly do in terms of appearance and will value usability more.