When a website says they have improved their "look and feel" what do YOU consider to be elements of change?

In other words, what is the line between "look" and "feel" on a website? How is it related to usability? Does it equate to ease of use? Slickness of design? Organization?

Would it make a difference if it was a blog? A corporate homepage? An webmail client/interface?

 I take issue with these type of announcements because they don't indicate any improvement or changes to functionality, except perhaps to confuse users who are accustomed to a certain style of interaction on a specific site.  I recognize the value of improving aesthetics, however I still bristle at the idea that the web site designers and planners couldn't coordinate these changes to take place at the same time as a useful upgrade or update. 

 Would I feel differently if the site in question was a more personal artistic endeavor? Certainly. But how often do you see artistic sites note that they have changed or improved their look or feel? Rarely if ever. because these types of changes, if they are made are implicit in the identity of such sites, that there will be aesthetic improvements made over time, in order to fulfill the goal of the artist/creator. 

Ok enough procrastination, I'm sure I'll come back to this sometime when I need to write a paper on form vs. function.

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another procrastinator - research topic... IP:24.149.156.70 | 2008-03-23 21:54:29 ...sounds like you have an empirical questions here, and perhaps one that could be linked to theory and turned into some interesting research...tied to change communication, visual communication, new media, design, persuasion, etc.

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