Thirdly, the empirical findings of both the pre-study and the main study should be discussed to explain the failed manipulation check. In the conducted pre-study, the students were able to rate different designs for the learning material on classical and expres- sive aesthetics. Our main study aimed to compare differences between the experimental conditions and there were accordingly no comparisons to other designs for the learning material (between-subject design). Moreover, the ratings of the perceived aesthetics and usability were based on first impressions in the pre-study, whereas in the main study the different designs were applied in a learning situation. Taken together, the results of the two studies provide several suggestions that can be used to pro- duce a systematic derivation of design criteria for multimedia learning material. To draw general conclusions on how multimedia learning materials should be designed in order to be perceived as aesthetically pleasing, further research is necessary. Further exper- iments may use a within-subject design, presenting good/bad design in a learning situation to the same students. Combining the experimental methods with interviews might also be useful to gain more insights into how the learners perceive the learning material and to obtain more detailed information about the partic- ipants’ perceptions. Doing so, could help discover whether the learners perceive the learning material as highly aesthetic and/or usable and also why they feel this way.