Classical Aesthetics

A dimension of visual aesthetics in web design characterised by simplicity, clarity, orderliness, and visual cleanness. Classical aesthetic principles are rooted in early visual design traditions that prioritise clean layouts, minimal complexity, and clear organisation of content. Research by Lavie and Tractinsky identified classical aesthetics as one of two main dimensions of perceived web aesthetics. Studies have found that web pages rated highly on the classical dimension, particularly for visual cleanness, tend to have fewer accessibility barriers, likely because simpler HTML structures present fewer opportunities for accessibility errors.