I'm interested in factors which contribute to a good
design. I think that cultural biases play a role, perhaps
a significant role. Here are some examples of cultural
biases that are probably factors that contribute to a
"good design" in one culture but a so-so or bad design
in others.

Western cultures read left to right and then top to bottom
while middle eastern cultures read right to left and then
top to bottom. Eastern cultures read top to bottom and then
left to right. Good western designs have a tendency to
use this bias to draw the viewer's attention around the
piece. The same design "trick" might not work for other
cultures because their "reading paths" are different.

Designs with clockwise "attention paths" are familiar
to cultures where clocks and watches are important but
may seem odd to cultures where time is seen differently.

Some countries had limited woods available - Japan for
example had primarily "soft woods". Did that affect
their approach to design? To get around the limitations
of the range of woods available did they develop various
colored finishes to provide a broader color pallet than
the available woods provided? Europeans had a much broader
range of woods and wood colors so colored finishes weren't
necessary.

Does this make sense to you? Have you any other examples
of cultural biases influencing "good design"?

Am putting together some pages on "design tricks" if
you're interested in adding some images to the topic
(all one line)
www.wood-workers.com/users/charlieb/!Design/DesignTricks1.html

charlie b