Universal Principles of Design, Updated and Expanded Third Edition
by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, Jill Butler
082 Gloss Bias
A preference for glossy versus dull objects
People find glossy objects more interesting and appealing than dull objects. For example, people generally prefer glossy lipsticks, jewelry, paper, and paints to their matte counterparts. Young children presented with glossy objects lick them significantly more than dull objects, a behavior that appears to be triggered by optical cues of reflection and gleaming highlights.1
In 2008, Apple made the controversial decision to stop shipping MacBook laptop computers with matte displays. Many people in the Apple community were incredulous. From a human factors and ergonomics perspective, the matter is open and shut: Matte displays are superior to glossy. However, glossy displays outsell matte ...
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