15 Things You Didn't Know About Design

Ross Johnson of 3.7 Designs filled in at the last minute at LA2M on 11-2-11, but you would not have been able to tell based on his polished and informative presentation. Johnson is a Michigan entrepreneur, author and a website design and strategy talent. Based on his training and experience, Johnson used his presentation to give useful ideas and tips on graphic and web design.

Johnson began his talk entitled “15 Things You Didn’t Know About Design,” by explaining that design plays an important role in many aspects of our lives. He noted that there are important characteristics of design that can make or break its value to a business. A poorly designed website, for example, is considerably less useful to a business than one that is appealing and functions well. He said that it’s commonly believed that design is art. But from the perspective of a trained designer, design is more of a science, because it is based on predictable results from a target audience.

With that target audience in mind, his first of 15 points was that design is subjective. The designer and business need to focus on who the design is trying to attract not their personal preference. This point also ties in with the second of 15 which is that biologically we all see colors differently. Each brain works differently and so each person has a unique way of seeing things.

Johnson explained that human brains are wired to recognize faces. So point number three is that using faces in design is powerful. People will focus on faces and are drawn to eye contact and smiles. He said that a smiling face can create a connection with the viewer. Point number four is that people will follow a gaze in design. This can be a useful tool or it can create unintentional results, like directing the viewer’s focus off the page.

Johnson’s point number five was that design influences our senses and perceptions. It can affect taste and preference. He talked about a product taste test that involved varying containers and how that influenced participant’s preferences.

Points six and seven go hand in glove. Johnson noted that our initial reactions are subconscious or visceral. Our body reacts to images which we then mentally justify. Johnson’s point seven was that when we mentally justify our subconscious reaction, we can even reconstruct our memories. He said that memories are rarely accurate.

In explaining point eight, Johnson emphasized that everything in design should be intentional, because people look for meaning in everything. If there isn’t a reason behind something in design, viewers will create a reason.

In covering point nine, Johnson noted that all decisions are emotional and that without emotion people can’t make decisions. He cited a study of people with emotion specific brain injury that caused them to have great difficulty making decisions. He said that emotions need to be taken into account if taking action is the desired result of viewing a designed product or website.

Point number ten was an explanation of Hick’s Law which Johnson described as the more options there are, the harder it is to make a decision. He cited a product display study which offered as few as 6 and as many as 24 choices. The study found that with 24 choices only 3% purchased. But with 6 choices, 30% purchased. He said that this demonstrates how important it is to not overwhelm the viewer with too many choices.

With point number eleven Johnson used business cards and business forms as examples. He said that people assume that things and information placed in close proximity are related. So with a business card, it makes sense to put a person’s title by their name and the phone number near other contact information.

Johnson pointed out that we are programmed to notice things that are different. Point twelve, he explained, is that if you want people to notice something it must stand out from what surrounds it. Humans don’t like to have things catch their attention in a jarring way, but different is more effective. This ties in with point thirteen which Johnson said is we instinctively ignore what’s not immediately relevant. We don’t see street signs unless we need them and we don’t see banner ads if they look the same and are placed in the same position repeatedly. Humans notice change and differences.

In point fourteen, Johnson explained that humans understand information in “bite sizes” more easily. Applying this to web design might mean showing brief snippets with an option to click to learn more. He cited Twitter as an example.

Johnson pointed out that an esthetically pleasing design can be perceived as easier to use when it’s not. He used differences in ATMs and website designs to describe point fifteen. He said that esthetically pleasing design helps us relax, think better and solve problems more easily. He explained that a website or product that is beautiful is automatically perceived to be better and easier to use.

With all of these important points taken together, it’s clear that design needs to be planned and conscious. You can view Johnson’s entire presentation by checking the LA2M archive.