Design Isn’t Just About Photoshop. It’s About Psychology.

As technology is becoming more affordable, efficient and easier many websites are being created, some may be noticed but many remain unnoticed. It is not about the funky colors used, compelling content or shapes and structures built in, the real secret is in understanding the psychology of the customer and match the same with designer’s psychology. The more the two are in tandem the more better shall be the results.

A graphic designer needs to know color psychology and the associations people make with specific shades and tones. He needs to know what imagery will appeal to people, the type of people it’ll appeal to, and why it appeals to them. He needs to know what’s going on in people’s minds when they land on sites and as they navigate through yours.

Are smooth curves better than concentric circles? Is soft blue the best color, or is deep red a better choice? What will draw people to the right or the left? What emotional state should the site create? Should the design be modern and simple or colorful and bold or soft and comforting? Where do a person’s eyes travel, and what will make them stop?

Good designers know all this and much more. They understand that their goal is to influence a visitor’s psychological state of mind and perception of your business. The more designers know about how people behave, what makes them take action and ways they react to different elements, the better they can implement persuasive strategies into your site.

Then they build you a site that captures interest, make visitors stay, spend more time navigating then usual and finally brings you sales.

It is also important to explain difference between good designers/ designing agencies, the ones that care about their art, craft and customer sentiments to the ones who are only money minded. The difference between the two lies in the way they understand customer psychology, which is the key ingredient that enables designers to elevate beyond simple art work to actually conceptualize innovative designs and creating successful advertising campaigns.

The use of psychology may not be immediately apparent to the designer, it might be his intuition or a psychological theory learnt at college that helps him perceiving and sensing things. This gets reflected in their work and resultant laurels.

Logos And Colors

Color cohesion is important in brand design to communicate authenticity. Research in to the relationship between marketing and color has found that color increases brand recognition by up to 80%. For example, when we think of the brand Airtel the color that we associate with it is red. Another question, though, is does red accurately conveys the values and qualities of the Airtel?

The personality of Airtel has always appeared youth-orientated, fun and confident with its history stemming from communication, music and travel. The color red certainly fits the bill for this and for expressing any qualities in branding relating to action, courage, movement and energy.

If we change the color of this by swopping it to a subtle green it changes the perception completely. Admittedly part of this is because we have always associated Airtel with red, proving how important it is to get the right color from the beginning and how one shouldn’t rush this decision but think about how that color reflects the personality of one’s business or product.

Shape And Design

As well as the color, there is also the shape and design of the actual logo itself. Should the design be modern and simple or colorful and bold or soft and comforting? The decision should be taken wisely because it will give a long-term impact so, rather than falling for the latest trends for logo design and seeing what you can be “inspired” by, you have to look at not only what reflects your company, but the future growth and the market it intends to compete in. What would your clients be drawn too, what is their personality, ease in navigation etc.

As Steve Jobs once said-

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

Design is much more than just being eye catchy. Good design, with marketing and applied psychology, will give businesses something to sell and help to elevate it above competitors. It’s all in the psychology.