  A well-designed document communicates not only through its words but also
through its visual eloquence. Authors utilize aesthetic elements such as
colors, fonts, graphics, and layouts to shape the perception of information.
Thoughtful document design, informed by psychological insights, enhances both
the visual appeal and the comprehension of the content. While state-of-the-art
document AI models demonstrate the benefits of incorporating layout and image
data, it remains unclear whether the nuances of document aesthetics are
effectively captured. To bridge the gap between human cognition and AI
interpretation of aesthetic elements, we formulated hypotheses concerning AI
behavior in document understanding tasks, specifically anchored in document
design principles. With a focus on legibility and layout quality, we tested
four aspects of aesthetic effects: noise, font-size contrast, alignment, and
complexity, on model confidence using correlational analysis. The results and
observations highlight the value of model analysis rooted in document design
theories. Our work serves as a trailhead for further studies and we advocate
for continued research in this topic to deepen our understanding of how AI
interprets document aesthetics.
