In-Store Communication Design (2) – The Psychology of Visual Stimuli

for Retail News Magazine 3/2018

Let your clients see what you want them to see.If you can purposefully attract their attention, inspire and motivate them to react positively to your visual message, you are just one step away from achieving your business goals.

COMMUNICATION DESIGN IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOLS TO GENERATE HIGHER PROFITS.

1. SEE – SHORTCUT – SELL

The human brain creates “shortcuts” to quickly orient itself in its environment. However, it is possible to influence what people see—or what they think they see. If we understand how to distribute information about colors, shapes, materials, design elements, lighting, etc., we can set the customer’s shortcut the way we want.

All perception of visual communication depends on the information itself, its relevance, and the context in relation to the customer’s knowledge, experience, and expectations.Creating the shortcut we want requires a combination of strategic planning, market research, creativity, critical thinking, and above all, knowledge of design psychology.

If we understand how design works, we can influence and convince the customer’s brain to see what we want them to see in relation to the product.

2. FOCAL POINT AND SURROUNDINGS

Peripheral vision is used more than central vision. People rely on it to get their bearings in new situations. In practice, this means that distracting elements around the main message can disrupt a customer's focus.

To ensure focus on key information, the accompanying environment must be complementary and consistent. Everything surrounding the message must be equally well designed. Otherwise, you risk causing conflict in customer attention, which results in lost focus, wasted advertising expenses, and lost sales.

3. PATTERNS, IMITATION, AND SYSTEMS

The brain identifies objects using basic shapes known as geons (geometric icons). Therefore, it's effective to use groupings and white space strategically to form recognizable patterns.

The more patterns, the better—our brain naturally seeks them out. If we can create relevant patterns, we simplify the customer’s recognition of the target object.

4. FACES

There’s a specific part of the brain dedicated to recognizing faces—and it works faster than object recognition. Face recognition also triggers strong emotional responses.

If a visual includes a face, you have a major advantage. People respond faster to faces than to anything else—especially if the face is looking directly at the viewer. Even better, if the eyes in the image are looking at your product, the viewer will naturally follow that gaze to your product.

5. CLOSENESS IMPLIES CONNECTION

People believe that things that are close together belong together. Ideally, all grouped items should have a common visual element (like color or line). Everything else must be correctly arranged.

How the space between elements is used strongly influences whether customers perceive them as cohesive and engaging.

CONCLUSION

One of the key roles of marketers and merchants is to choose, compose, and present visual messages about products and services in a way that is engaging and persuasive. This is how we attract attention and drive buying decisions.Visitors become customers.

“We made the buttons on the screen look so good you’ll want to click them.”— Steve Jobs