The widely accepted 'truism' that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' is a fiction — literally. The phrase came into the world in a romantic comedy by Margaret Wolfe Hungerford’s characters in her nineteenth-century novel Molly Bawn.

Beauty, art and great design — key to creating a standout website — is objective. There are certain shapes, colours and flow in design that are universally engaging.

Research published in the book Beauty by Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh shows that certain colours, shapes, and patterns consistently appeal to people across cultures. This matters for web design.

The research, across philosophy, history and science, says that objective design principles create websites that are not only functional but also more satisfying to the user experience journey.

Visual design elements such as colour, typography, and layout are critical to shaping user interaction and engagement. Colour, for example, is not just decorative but carries emotional weight and influences how users feel as they navigate a site.

Universally preferred colours like blue evoke trust, while a consistent colour scheme can guide attention and make a website easier to use. Poor colour choices, on the other hand, can confuse users or create discomfort, which may lead to higher bounce rates.

Typography also plays a key role because it affects readability, tone, and brand perception — clean, well-chosen fonts make information easy to digest, while poorly selected or inconsistent typography can create friction.

Hierarchy in font sizes and weights helps users quickly find the information they are looking for, which is important when it comes to reducing frustration and encouraging longer time on the website.

Layout ties everything together

A well-structured layout uses space, alignment, and balance to create a clear path for the user to follow, reflecting the natural ways our eyes scan a page.

For example, a trained graphic designer applies their skill, experience and talent to techniques like F-pattern or Z-pattern designs to support intuitive navigation. When users can move easily through a site, they are more likely to stay, interact, and return.

Incorporating these visual elements using graphic design skills and experience is not just about aesthetics — it directly impacts performance. When colour, typography, and layout work together, they reduce cognitive load, build emotional connection, and enhance satisfaction.

Fans of 'Beauty and the Beast' may beg to differ, but doesn’t even the Beast turn into a handsome prince in the end? So if you’ve got a 'beast' of a website, reach out for a chat and we can help you turn it into a 'prince'.

Is your website working against you?

Good design isn’t a matter of taste — it’s a matter of results. If your website isn’t converting visitors into enquiries, the design fundamentals may be the problem. Let’s take a look.

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Common questions

Is web design really objective, or is it all personal taste?

While personal preferences exist, good web design is grounded in objective principles backed by research — colour psychology, typographic hierarchy, layout patterns, and cognitive load all have measurable effects on how users experience and interact with a site. Designs that follow these principles consistently outperform those that don’t, regardless of whether individual visitors can articulate why.

How does colour affect website performance?

Colour carries emotional weight and influences trust, urgency, and comfort. Universally, colours like blue tend to evoke trust. Poor colour choices or inconsistent colour schemes create discomfort and confusion, increasing bounce rates. A considered colour system guides attention and makes a site easier and more pleasant to use.

Why does typography matter on a website?

Typography directly affects readability, tone, and brand perception. Well-chosen fonts make information easy to digest; inconsistent or poorly selected typefaces create friction. Hierarchy — using size and weight to signal importance — helps visitors find what they’re looking for quickly, reducing frustration and encouraging them to stay longer and engage more.

What is the F-pattern or Z-pattern in web design?

The F-pattern and Z-pattern describe how people’s eyes naturally move across a page. Eye-tracking research shows that on text-heavy pages, people scan in an F-shape — reading across the top, then partway across a second line, then scanning down the left. On simpler pages, the eye follows a Z from top-left to top-right, then diagonally down. Designers who understand these patterns place key information and calls to action where eyes naturally fall, improving engagement and conversions.