honestly, I've always thought the focus on aesthetics was a bit... superficial. I mean, who cares what the thing looks like as long as it gets the job done? But the more I think about it, the more I realize that's a pretty utilitarian view. If I'm going to be staring at this thing for hours a day, shouldn't I want it to be visually appealing? And let's not forget, a well-designed system can actually make troubleshooting and maintenance easier. I've seen some beautifully cable-managed rigs that make it a joy to work on. Maybe I've been wrong to dismiss aesthetics all these years... you've got a point, aesthetics maybe matter.
> who cares what the thing looks like as long as it gets the job done?
Aesthetics (or lack thereof when things are messy) does have some direct unconscious cost to mental load, and a direct tension between cleanliness and horror vacui.
> And let's not forget, a well-designed system can actually make troubleshooting and maintenance easier. I've seen some beautifully cable-managed rigs that make it a joy to work on. Maybe I've been wrong to dismiss aesthetics all these years... you've got a point, aesthetics maybe matter.
That's where we start talking about "design" instead of "aesthetics"! Dieter Rams's 2 to 6 would definitely apply:
Aesthetics are important! Especially for home use, where you might be looking at your systems all the time.