Concerns have been raised that today formal learning visual environments are designed without accounting for changes in learner's aesthetic perceptions and motivation. They essentially lack in reflecting learners new schemas on digital environments, formed due to massive proliferation of media technologies rich in media aesthetics. This study investigates learner's aesthetic perceptions through their aesthetic-emotions in informal visual environments that become their aesthetic expectations from formal learning visual environments. This empirical study applies media psychology and examines aesthetic-emotion items, treated as adjectives associated with two motivational models as given by Keller and Malone and Lepper, suited for formal and informal visual environments, respectively. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) is performed on aesthetic-emotion items in two studies for developing a scale measuring learner's motivation. The developed motivational scale unveils four dimensions, (1) Usability Perception, (2) Cognitive Engagement, (3) Visual and Aesthetic Appeal and (4) Satisfaction, where learner's experience visual gaps in a formal learning visual environment and have aesthetic expectations due to their prejudiced aesthetic perceptions in informal visual environments. In conclusion, the study essentially equates the four identified motivational dimensions and their respective aesthetic-emotions with aesthetic-designing parameters of formal learning visual environments and discusses from psychological perspective how the lack or absence of identified dimensions can instigate cognitive fatigue in learner's and lower their learning motivation in formal learning visual environments. Findings of this study are imperative considerations for aesthetic designing of today's formal learning visual environments. © 2011 Asian Network for Scientific Information.