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most commonly shown or suggested to increase user engagement. Based on these
findings, we listed and defined a short list of website design elements that best

facilitate and predict user engagement. The work is thus an exploratory research

providing definitions for these elements of website design and a starting point for
future research to reference.

(Renee Garett ,ElevateU, Los Angeles,
CA, USA)

Design Trends

A question that has received remarkably little empirical attention is whether

colour trends reflect the prevailing sociocultural lifestyle conditions of a society. This
is exemplified by such assertions as “the austerity of the War years was accompanied

by sombre colours.” The presumed existence of order to colour consumption and a
causal association between it and sociocultural lifestyle conditions provides the

theoretical underpinnings to the work of colour forecasting agencies.

The present study investigated this question by examining changes in Australian

residential interior colours over the twentieth century. Colour palettes were assembled
decade by decade and an analysis was undertaken using the NCS system. The results

indicate that the main variation during the century was in the hue dimension.

However, variation in each of the NCS colour dimensions was greater in the

second half of the century. No evidence was found to support the notion of colour
cycles or any tangible order to colour consumption. Although some colour palettes

could be partially accounted for by developments in colour/materials technology, such

influences were short-lived. The picture that emerges does not support the notion that
future colour trends can be predicted on the basis of past colour trends.

(June 2005.Color Research & Application

30(3):235 - 24
Jill Stansfield &T. W. Allan Whitfield)

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