You can't judge a book by its cover....or can you?

Something I have been pondering lately is the importance of aesthetics in everyday life. How important is it to us for things to look good? Can outward appearance sway someone into thinking something is better than it really is?

Aesthetics is a double-edged sword. On one hand, I feel that everything should be designed to be beautiful. But sometimes aesthetics can be used to cover up something that isn't really that great. While not a product, here is an example I was thinking of today....


Yes, Walmart. We all remember the big, blue block letters and, in my case, the icky looking store where all of the creepy people came out in the middle of the night. Last year, Walmart updated their logo along with the whole look of their store, going for something more friendly, clean, and pure. Does this logo really make us believe that the store is any different? Sadly, I think it does. A super WalMart went up near my parent's house recently, and I have to admit, I stopped in once to pick up something and was kind of surprised. The store was clean, it looked nice, and the customers looked relatively normal. But really, it is the same store, it just has a new face.

The same thing goes in social situations. We all judge people based on appearances, whether we like it or not. The guy always goes up to the hot girl and buys her a drink. Sometimes she might be dumb as a brick, but at least she's hot, right?

Let's just hope designers don't get a reputation for making crappy things look pretty...then we will all be in trouble!