Looking Good Matters for Devices, Too
There's a nice primer on the role of aesthetics in medical device design at Medical Devicelink. Here's a sample:"Because the medical devices around a patient are part of the general environment, these devices become part of the overall environmental influence. More specifically, a well-designed device might give a patient a better sense of being well cared for. Equipment that appears old or unsophisticated may cause patients to assume the clinicians are less capable. For example, a set of industrial gray devices stacked on an industrial gray cart is much less likely to give a patient the sense of being well cared for than an integrated system on a custom cart with sleek lines and modern (yet medically appropriate) colors. The presence of attractive equipment that looks capable may also allow attributes of sophistication to accrue to the healthcare providers who work in that environment." [Thanks to agphishy for the link.]