  We propose and evaluate an authentication scheme that improves usability and
user experience issues in the authentication process due to its reliance on
people's aesthetic tastes and preferences. The scheme uses aesthetic images to
verify the identity of computer users. It relies on three major premises
regarding visual aesthetics: (i) that an individual has different preferences
for different aesthetic stimuli; (ii) that these preferences are relatively
consistent; and (iii) that aesthetic tastes are subjective and, therefore,
there are considerable individual differences in aesthetic preferences.
Following a review of the scientific basis for these premises, we describe the
concept of the aesthetic evaluation-based authentication (AEbA) method and
illustrate an implementation of it. We address AEbA's advantages and
disadvantages relative to other related methods and conclude that it is
adequate for low-to-medium security domains. It cannot serve as a compulsory
method because we suspect that a certain portion of the user population lacks
the degree of aesthetic sensitivity required to use the system effectively. On
the plus side, the method offers a positive experience. It alleviates the
burden of memorizing passwords to a minimum, and relative to other
usability-oriented schemes provides better security in terms of
shoulder-surfing, phishing, and password space. Finally, we report on a pilot
evaluation of the concept and its feasibility that supports the method's main
tenets, provides insights about implementation challenges and suggestions for
improvements.
