Graphic Design Changes Behavior
Graphic design is an influential force in changing behavior and the world around us.
It’s not an easy job to turn words and pictures into meaning.
However, communication is not just words and pictures. It is everything else that gets the audience to receive information, comprehend that information, and form an opinion about it. This part is called graphic design.
This is where all the ‘meaning’ happens. There’s a reason many refer to it as the ‘how’. How ideas become reality, how concepts turn into real visual colors and fonts. How it looks. And it all begins with an understanding of what is given to a designer in the beginning.
A typical journey from an idea to a manifestation of that idea can begin with a discussion or a memo or a few words on a napkin. The designer, a good listener, picks up on the nuances of that conversation or the clear intention of those words written and then gets to work. There’s a lot to consider when crafting the transformation of an idea. You must understand the decision-making audience and the end-user audience. And these two may conflict. That must be approached and resolved with the design proposal. Many times, a client brings you one idea that conflicts with what research has told you to be true. Personal preference, politics, or design by committee take over and the feedback can be overwhelming and seemingly wrong.
This is an opportunity for the designer to present a solution that will make all parties happy. It can be done. And it is unacceptable for a designer to say that there’s no solution. That’s the job of a designer! They must find a solution. Too many times, a designer will go back to the client and say, “I don’t believe this is the right strategy for you” — or they will brush off what the research tells them because it doesn’t provide an easy solution. It is too easy to put the heavy-lift back on the client to figure out how to design a solution that is easy to design for the designer! This is insanity. It isn’t the client’s job to make life easy for the designer. These situations usually end poorly. A good designer knows how to present a design that can help the client see what really is the best solution, even if they were never on board with that idea to begin with.
Non-design led solutions are easy for a designer to create because they’re usually very clear and calculated about what the solution should look and feel like. They will usually have detailed goals and KPIs to adhere to. They usually put the designer in a place to follow instructions. Design-led solutions are a bit more of a challenge because they begin with questions that need to be answered in the design. This puts the onus on the designer to step up and think through how to best visually communicate.
For example, let’s look at a few examples of non-design led solutions and design-led solutions.
A well-known comparison, the Microsoft packaging example proves there is less thinking from the designer involved in the creative development. No one is considering context, audience, or visual appeal. In the Apple example, this is paramount. Benefits of smart packaging include: aiding in brand recognition, increasing product sales, communicate more clearly about the product. Simplicity in the Apple packaging reaffirms the simplicity and ease of use of the product.
The Amazon example clearly proves UX can work while having a bad UI. In contrast, the AirBnB example prioritizes importance for the user in a beautiful, streamlined way. Benefits of a great UI include aiding in brand recognition, increasing on-site duration, providing clarity in communication, and more!
Graphic design is an essential force in the communication and success of a brand. These are just two small examples of the impact. The designer’s role is a pivotal one in this success, however, the process for design involvement and the importance of the designer taking ownership over that process is critical.
In the commercial graphic design world, a paying client dictates the scope of work that the designer must play inside the boundaries. But boundaries are fun. Boundaries are restrictions put on the design that helps the design thrive. Use only two colors, use this font, use only black and white photography. Whatever the restrictions are, a designer must embrace this to succeed at the goal by being contextually aware (i.e.: knowing what brand, what space, what industry) and change the perception or beliefs of the audience enough they will evoke change. And this can and has been done many times.
So, a designer gets to work — with the goal of bridging an idea that both the end-user and the decision-maker will be happy with. Balance that with the natural desire for a designer to create something that will abide by the goals, beliefs, ethics of being a designer–and there are many.
There are firm beliefs and values a designer has.
Schooling for a graphic designer teaches the inability to accept things for the way they are. It’s more of an extension of “Question Everything”. There’s a term called the “default effect”.
Among many options one can choose from in a particular scenario, the default option is the option the chooser will obtain if he or she does nothing. Other interpretations of default options include options that are suggested. Experiments and observational studies show that making an option a default increases the likelihood that it is chosen; this is called the default effect.
It is also said that changing or adjusting defaults can be an effective way to influence behavior. This is done all the time through marketing with the sole purpose of influencing you to click through, subscribe, or purchase.
In a designer’s schooling, not accepting the default is a designer’s main objective. Making a choice is the best teaching a designer can give to others. It’s less about choosing for the sake of choosing. It’s about a choice that is considerate of the audience particularly where none was given. This is why authenticity supersedes cookie-cutter rationale or any kind of normality.
It’s good that a designer’s schooling is this way because when your responsibility is to create meaning, lead communication and ideally change behavior, you must be a critical thinker and one who won’t accept what is given to them as is.
I’ve always heard that changing someone’s behavior or beliefs is one of the most difficult, if not impossible tasks. Possessing this magical power and using it for good are the goals of any well-trained, ethical designer. But how can something like graphic arts change the way someone behaves? Is there really more to graphic arts than one would think?
Let’s look at the STOP sign. A powerful symbol that can be easily used to, even unknowingly, change behavior.
Stop signs originated in Michigan in 1915. The first ones had black lettering on a white background and were 24 by 24 inches. The design was modified many times between color, size, and shape. Until 1954 when the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices published a revision stating that the stop sign will be red with white letters, in step with the color-coding system developed for the railroad and traffic signals. 1 2 A small design change with historical impact. Additionally, there is history and meaning to the shape and color of the stop sign. The number of sides in signage indicates the urgency of the message. A circle, boundless with sides is reserved for serious warning. The octagon is the next level of message urgency, followed by the diamond which is more of a warning than an urgency, and a square simply for informational purposes. The historical value of the color red in the western world was capitalized on as a message of warning. This dates back to the Middle Ages where a red flag shown in warfare indicated there would be a fight of mortal warfare.
Through consistency and frequency, this design is communicated to us has influenced and changed our behavior to an endless extent. If you were driving and came across a red sign of any shape you would stop. Similarly, if you came across an octagon sign of any color you would stop. The meaning of this color and shape lives in our minds beyond driving and would nearly be impossible to undo. Design is a powerful force.
It lives all around us and if you’re brave enough to be a designer, it’s important to recognize the value of color and symbols and the immense opportunity you have to change behavior in the world around us.
1 Signalfan. History of the Stop Sign in America. 1997
2 Greenbaum, Hilary; Rubinstein, Dana (9 December 2011). “The Stop Sign Wasn’t Always Red”. The New York Times. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
