{"id":22785,"date":"2026-03-23T17:22:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T17:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westernbid.com\/%d0%b1%d0%b5%d0%b7-%d0%ba%d0%b0%d1%82%d0%b5%d0%b3%d0%be%d1%80%d1%96%d1%97\/the-standard-of-beauty-in-handmade-and-decor\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T12:59:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T12:59:38","slug":"the-standard-of-beauty-in-handmade-and-decor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westernbid.com\/en\/blog\/the-standard-of-beauty-in-handmade-and-decor\/","title":{"rendered":"Is there a standard of beauty in handmade and decor: the psychology of aesthetics"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Good day, everyone! This is Masha Kaganovich here, a marketer at Western Bid. Today, we will discuss the topic of beauty. Does a single standard of beauty exist, or perhaps several standards? And we won’t be talking about high art or true beauty, right? No, no. We’re only talking about sales, we’re talking about handmade<\/a>, about products you make yourself. That is, home decor, wall art, paintings for sale. In short, items sold on eBay, on Etsy, that you create.<\/p>

Why is this topic so delicate<\/h2>

And very often, this topic is quite painful during my consultations. I\u2019m honestly afraid to touch on it when people bring an item or, rather, don’t bring an item but show me their shop and ask: why are there no sales? Or they show some items they want to fill their shop with and ask: Masha, what do you think? After all, you can’t tell someone that these items are unattractive.<\/p>

And please, be very careful with this because you can hurt a person very deeply and completely kill their motivation. Once, my uncle criticized my paintings so harshly that it killed my desire to create for several years. I stopped. My motivation to create was just crushed.<\/p>

I just want to ponder a bit on this topic. I believe what I will share will be very interesting, because I will talk about various psychological triggers and some fascinating experiments that help us better understand this subject. So, at the end of this material, we will discuss examples directly side by side: attractive, unattractive, beautiful, ugly. Well, I don\u2019t know, if you try to be original, you might say that a obviously unattractive item can be beautiful\u2014something like that. But I will show examples that most people would consider unattractive, sold on marketplaces, compared to beautiful items. To develop, perhaps, on real examples, this feeling, yes, and the sense of beauty and ugliness.<\/p>

By the way, I should tell you that I offer individual consultations, help many people promote their shops, find some middle ground and the right niches that have higher demand, lower competition, and improve thematic and aesthetic aspects, diagnose shops. Many people have benefited, please read the reviews.<\/p>

\u201cAnalysis of Beauty\u201d by William Hogarth<\/h2>

So, I came across an interesting book written back in the 18th century, in 1753, by a famous artist William Hogarth. It is called \u201cAnalysis of Beauty.\u201d And in this book, he claims that yes, there is a certain standard. That is, beauty is not something relative or abstract. Beauty is something specific, mathematical, perhaps even spiritual. He derives the concept of beauty from some abstract and philosophical idea to something concrete, measurable.<\/p>

He says that beauty consists of three components.<\/p>

Firstly, the first component is variety. Our eye always perceives something new with greater interest than something familiar or monotonous. That\u2019s why we often see new trends, new styles. Even if it differs completely from what was before, just because it\u2019s new, we already perceive greater interest towards this trend. That is the first part.<\/p>

The second part is proportion and unity. Beauty emerges when parts are harmoniously connected and create some movement. In my opinion, this is a rather abstract definition: what is harmonious, what creates movement? For example, this could be the combination of straight and curved lines. There can be many interpretations of this.<\/p>

And the third\u2014most interesting, which we will discuss in detail\u2014is that he was able to define lines of beauty.<\/p>

The line of beauty<\/h2>

You can’t imagine how much influence this book had on society and culture in the 18th century, and perhaps even into the early 19th century. So, what is the line of beauty? Here’s an example. It is a few lines he identified, which is that central, wavy, serpentine line\u2014the S-shape line, so to speak. That curved, S-shaped line. This, as we know, often appears in nature\u2014such winding path, and artists frequently use it in art, in women’s bodies, in body curves. This idea really had a profound impact on art, furniture styles, aesthetics that were popular, and fashion, which was trendy in the 17th-18th centuries.<\/p>

How beauty standards have changed<\/h2>

But, as is known, then came the middle of the 19th century, impressionists appeared, then cubism, avant-garde. In short, all these winding lines in art and classical art as a whole changed significantly. And although initially impressionist works were often considered unfinished or, rather, dismissed as nonsense\u2014something you try to save time on, not even art\u2014these artworks were heavily criticized. Later, they evolved into cubism, modernism, where, as we know, all lines and shapes are simplified. Artists believed that all objects in life could be represented by simple lines and shapes, and so on.<\/p>

Then modern styles came, like transitional or farmhouse. The most typical example of this new trend is mid-century modern. I call it \u201clegs in different directions.\u201d It’s characterized by straight lines and minimal curves. So, the concept of beauty has changed since then, and it\u2019s hard to say why people still, when shown these examples, find this middle line the most beautiful.<\/p>

Psychological triggers of beauty<\/h2>

However, I will tell you a few reasons why most people, perhaps, also find that this line, the middle S, is the most attractive.<\/p>

The effect of central positioning<\/h3>

Look at three circles, choose the one you like the most. Blue or red. According to statistics, most people prefer the blue circle. Maybe because it\u2019s blue, or maybe because it\u2019s in the middle.<\/p>

Programmers also noticed that when they offer players a character or team options in games\u2014say, three or five teams\u2014most choose the third if there are five, or the second if there are three, which is in the middle. In short, people have some subconscious, internal bias towards the middle position.<\/p>

People want to choose a balance, something in the middle. Which marketers often use by offering three options, with a middle One that offers the highest value because it increases the likelihood of purchase and conversion from cart to checkout.<\/p>

And when setting pricing for our items, we also want to stay in the middle, avoiding underpricing or being the most expensive on the market.<\/p>

The meaning and inner content<\/h3>

Another factor influencing our perception of beauty is not only the middle line or symmetry but also the meaning and inner content. The more we understand what\u2019s embedded inside this beauty or item, the more it affects us.<\/p>

For example, look at sentences. What makes it look beautiful? I think, very beautiful. One can look at an elegant old French script and say: oh, how beautiful it looks. Often, people will say something in a language we don\u2019t understand\u2014that it looks and sounds very beautiful to our ears. But when we find out what it actually says, or what\u2019s written in that beautiful language, our perception completely changes.<\/p>

How to use this for product promotion<\/h3>

How do we often use this in marketing products? For example, the same item may seem completely unattractive, cheap, mass-market if produced somewhere in China or on an assembly line, sold in millions. The same item, if made with love, by a craftsman\u2019s hand. I always say you can sell the same thing for $500 or $5 at Walmart. It depends heavily on perception: if it\u2019s truly handmade, carved with love, or personalized, it will be perceived differently.<\/p>

Similarly, we might walk into a museum, see a painting, and not immediately see its beauty\u2014instead, think: hmm, okay. But if a guide tells us about color combinations, the artist\u2019s inner idea\u2014say, Kazimir Malevich\u2019s Black Square\u2014the way the information changes our view. I will never forget how, as a tenth-grader, a very progressive classmate explained to me for an hour and a half about cosmic themes and all, completely changing my perception of the Black Square. But it doesn\u2019t matter here.<\/p>

I’m explaining this because any person, after receiving more information, can consider the same object more or less beautiful\u2014just interesting.<\/p>

Is there eternal beauty?<\/h2>

Some people argue that certain things are timeless. Classical beauty or, as we said, symmetry, harmony\u2014like facial proportions\u2014that have always been considered beautiful across ages. But even this isn\u2019t entirely true. Standards of beauty, female figures, and architectural ideals have changed greatly over time. From my point of view, it\u2019s very hard to fit everything into a single line or a universal standard of beauty Hogarth tried to define.<\/p>

The golden ratio<\/h3>

People also try to reduce everything in nature to a single number or proportion, the golden ratio, 1.618\u2014what appears in much of nature in the form of spirals or wavy lines. If we see something geometric, exactly square, like an ancient mosaic\u2014probably it was made by hand, indicating human craftsmanship. But claims that everything in nature follows this ratio are exaggerated, as many experiments show that spirals, for instance, have varying proportions, and not all adhere perfectly to the 1.618 number.<\/p>

Beauty in the context of time and culture<\/h2>

A good artist, designer, or professional doesn\u2019t try to answer \u201cwhat is beauty\u201d in general. Instead, they understand what is beautiful at this specific moment, in this particular culture. They experiment, using personal expression and components to create a beautiful object.<\/p>

Modern aesthetics<\/h3>

Today, there are many popular beauty trends called aesthetics. One may correspond to another; for example, retro style aligns with mid-century modern<\/a>. Geometric style may match Art Deco. We have many materials on our channel specifically created to showcase certain styles.<\/p>

There are groups of people united by similar tastes. When we say \u201cthere\u2019s no accounting for taste,\u201d it\u2019s not entirely true; people share tastes and preferences, just in different groups.<\/p>

The importance of themed shops<\/h3>

Recently, a major trend has been to focus your shops on one overarching theme or aesthetic. Because a person who likes a certain style will likely buy other items matching that style\u2014like a shelf, a painting, a mirror, a pillow\u2014everything that aligns with that style. Focusing on one aesthetic increases conversion, enhances visual branding, and helps stand out among competitors.<\/p>

About obviously unattractive items<\/h2>

There are items that most people, just by looking at, will unquestionably say are unattractive. For instance, think of a doll. What’s appealing about a doll? Full lips, shiny eyes, a strawberry or cherry. Making the eyes with a nice mouth can make it look more attractive, cute.<\/p>

I can\u2019t resist showing an example of a doll. I don\u2019t even want to show it here because I don\u2019t want to offend the master\u2014who made it with a Neanderthal-like forehead, hanging over her eyes. Despite all the pretty eyes, cheeks, skill, nice clothes, ruffles, the forehead ruins the appearance.<\/p>

Learning to see the difference<\/h3>

In short, I will now show you examples for comparison. To understand what is beautiful, you need to examine carefully what appears unattractive or ugly. Though, perhaps over time, we might see these objects and say: wow, actually, that\u2019s very beautiful.<\/p>

Currently, there\u2019s even a trend to create intentionally unattractive objects\u2014creepy cute, unbalanced, discordant. They have their own target audience. But deep down, we feel where there\u2019s harmony between straight and curved lines, color and size, and where no harmony exists. We just can\u2019t call those items beautiful and harmonious.<\/p>

Conclusion<\/h2>

Does a single standard of beauty exist for handmade and decor?<\/strong><\/p>

No, there is no universal standard of beauty. Aesthetic perception in handmade depends on culture, trends, time, and individual buyer experiences. Sales are influenced by harmony of forms, interesting presentation, correct shop style, and psychological triggers\u2014such as the central position effect or understanding the item’s meaning. The deeper the viewer understands the piece, the more beautiful it appears to them.<\/p>

Why do some items seem beautiful to buyers, and others not?<\/strong><\/p>

Form beauty is shaped by several factors: variety, harmony of lines, balance between straight and curved shapes, and emotional content. Sometimes a product appears \u201cugly\u201d because it lacks proportion, unity, or context. But telling a story, showing the handmade process\u2014drastically changes perception. This is actively used in marketing on Etsy and eBay.<\/p>

How can craftspeople use aesthetics to boost sales?<\/strong><\/p>

The best way is to choose a single aesthetic and build a themed shop around it. Buyers prefer shops with a consistent style: if they like one item in a certain aesthetic, they are more likely to buy others\u2014artwork, mirrors, shelves, pillows\u2014 in that style. Focusing on one aesthetic increases conversion, strengthens visual recognition, and helps stand out among competitors.<\/p>

Well, friends, I hope this topic has been interesting and useful for you. What are your thoughts on this abstract or concrete notion of beauty? Thank you very much for your attention. I hope this material has been truly helpful and interesting. Goodbye to all!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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