title: User evaluations of design complexity: the impact of visual perceptions for effective online health communication.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This paper highlights the influential role of design complexity for users' first impressions of health websites.
  
  
  METHODS
  An experimental design was utilized to investigate whether a website's level of design complexity impacts user evaluations. An online questionnaire measured the hypothesized impact of design complexity on predictors of message effectiveness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Findings reveal that increased design complexity was positively associated with higher levels of perceived design esthetics, attitude toward the website, perceived message comprehensibility, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived message quality, perceived informativeness, and perceived visual informativeness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This research gives further evidence that design complexity should be considered an influential variable for health communicators to effectively reach their audiences, as it embodies the critical first step for message evaluation via electronic platforms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Advertising and Public Relations, The University of Texas at Austin, United States. Electronic address: lazard@utexas.edu.
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lazard
authors.affiliation: Department of Advertising and Public Relations, The University of Texas at Austin, United States; School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, United States.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mackert
mesh_terms: D003195:Computer Communication Networks; D006801:Humans; D009862:Online Systems; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014796:Visual Perception
keywords: Access to information; Design complexity; Technology Acceptance Model; User interface; Visual complexity