Of course, in the first 10 seconds or few minutes, but I suspect strongly this effect fades over time.
Most UI redesigns are bad because they focus on the wrong things and throw out a lot of good things, or change for the sake of change.
I see the same thing happen all over the place--branding and UI are very common victims.
Music editing has the same issues as well. Even in the short term - over the course of a day your ears can get tired of a specific set of sounds and you don't hear with 'fresh ears'.
I probably don’t mind a new skit because I’m just looking to be entertained. But I’m mostly looking to get shit done with something that had an actual UI to it, so freshness can be more hit-or-miss.
This is part of the general phenomenon of looking for your keys under the lamppost.
It's easy to do an experiment that tests how people feel about your new design after looking at it for a minute and a half. Want to compare how people feel about the old and new designs after six months of getting used to them? That will take at least six months.
But I'm going to disagree that an hour is enough to reveal any advantages and disadvantages that may be present.
And unless the software is quite simplistic, 5-6 people is just enough to falsely validate the preconceptions of the UX designer.
the first 10 seconds of ux is extremely important, since it's basically the top of your funnel.
[1] https://www.weidert.com/whole_brain_marketing_blog/bid/11696...
However, as people start to actually use the site, I think they care a lot less about a lot of cosmetic things.
That's definitely true, _if_ they start to actually use the site. You need something to hook them in the first few seconds.