So i was wondering, i developed an application (android) and put alot of effort in creating a user friendly and visual appealing experience for the user.
Afterwords i held a small usability test with a few users. The test was pretty simple. The test consisted of a few tasks which the user had to solve (use cases), a questionary part after each scenario and a survey to address general issues afterwards.
In the general part i asked: "How would you rate the design/appearance of the application?" (The users had to give a rating from 1 (bad) to (5) good).
At the time i thought its a good question and the answers really helped me to find a few errors in my design. But now i have to write it down (master thesis) and i'm struggling, because I got the feeling that the answers do not hold any quantifiable meaning. Because design is only subjective to each indivual. Which leads to my question:
Is it bad practice to ask users, how they would rate the design/appearance of any software prototype? If yes, how would you guys handle this subject? Would it have been better to ask specifically what the application is doing right or wrong, visually wise? Or am I just stressing out and I simply could use the information i gathered?