Aesthetics Testing

 It is said that, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In the case of our products, it is in the eyes of the users of our product. Aesthetics testing involves testing of the User Interface and focusing on the beauty, the product's looks rather than the products functionality alone. It is a part of Usability testing but often gets relegated to the back burner due to focus on attributes such as the ease of use and the user's ability to quickly accomplish tasks. One of the factors that go against any serious focus on product aesthetics is the notion of what engineers think is "good enough" for customers. Added to this is the primary focus on feature functionality and technical wizardry, which is good and essential. However, presentation is definitely important and should not be ignored. Bugs in this type of testing tend to be termed as cosmetic issues or even at times trivial issues which in the heat of approaching deadlines and schedule pressures invariably tend to be deferred or lowered in priority.  

Aesthetics testing covers the various elements of the UI including display styles, fonts, colors, messages, windows, icons, menus, pointers, etc. An application that follows good aesthetic principles helps create a good impression on the users as well as positively influences product acceptance. The product also tends to look and feel like an output of a well designed and professional endeavor. Frankly, how many of us would be inspired to use applications that have odd color schemes and display styles, unsuited fonts and such other cosmetic glitches which may not affect functionality but make the product not pleasing to view.
Considering the subjective nature of beauty and aesthetics, it helps to consult with a representative sample of potential users and folks such as professional UI designers, human-computer interaction experts, graphic artists, and also try to conform to commonly accepted & user expected interface design guidelines.

Aesthetics in Software Testing
Software Testing is typically seen as yet another job to be done in the software development life cycle. It is typically seen as a cliched activity consisting of planning, design/update of test cases, scripting and execution. Is there an element of beauty in software testing? Can we see outputs of this activity as works of art?
Any activity that we do can be seen from the viewpoints of science, engineering and art. An engineering activity typically produces utilitarian artifacts, whereas an activity done with passion and creativity produces works of art, this goes beyond the utility value.  It takes a craftsman to produce objects-de-art,   while it takes a good engineer to  produce  objects with high utility value.