Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

look and feel
     
         The appearance and function of a program's
        {user interface}.  The term is most often applied to
        {graphical user interface}s (GUI) but might also be used by
        extension for a textual command language used to control a
        program.
     
        Look and feel includes such things as the {icon}s used to
        represent certain functions such as opening and closing files,
        directories and {application program}s and changing the size
        and position of windows; conventions for the meaning of
        different buttons on a {mouse} and keys on the keyboard; and
        the appearance and operation of menus.
     
        A {user interface} with a consistent look and feel is
        considered by many to be an important factor in the ease of
        use of a computer system.  The success of the {Macintosh user
        interface} was partly due to its consistency.
     
        Because of the perceived importance of look and feel, there
        have been several legal actions claiming breech of {copyright}
        on the look and feel of user interfaces, most notably by
        {Apple Computer} against {Microsoft} and {Hewlett-Packard} (which Apple
        lost) and, later, by {Xerox} against {Apple Computer}.  Such legal
        action attempts to force suppliers to make their interfaces
        inconsistent with those of other vendors' products.  This can
        only be bad for users and the industry as a whole.
     
        (1995-03-03)