Aristotle’s Poetics and Aesthetic Design

Aristotle’s analysis of storytelling and literature in Poetics informs the field of instructional design with a description of aesthetic principles that have since been adapted into the creative process of many fields. Often a reference to visual design, the term aesthetics can be applied more robustly to include all elements of design - structure, narrative, rhythm, character, sequencing, to name a few - that can be designed to appeal to the sense or emotions of a user (Batiha et al., 2006). Aristotle believed the Greek Tragedy to be the highest form of storytelling and distinguishes the elements that make it so evocative. Aesthetic quality has been shown to impact learning (Anderson, 2009) and a study of Aristotle’s perspective on the Greek Tragedy in the Poetics can help designers consider the aesthetic quality of their work.