Do you remember the first time you bought an iPhone?
You take it out of the box, grinning ear to ear while peeling off that slick plastic from the screen. For a brief moment, you feel a shot of buyer’s remorse, thinking, “Can I even afford this? ”
But seconds later, you forget, as a familiar “Hello” pops on the screen in striking white font.
You smile. Then happily tinker away on your new phone.
Did you notice what happened there?
That’s emotional design at work.
What is Emotional Design?
Emotional design is a design approach used by graphic designers, product builders, and marketers to create experiences and products that make users feel something the moment they engage.
Beyond functionality and service, the idea is to form a deeper bond with the consumer. A good emotionally designed product, advert, service, or brand triggers positive emotions. In short, it makes you feel good – even a bit warm and fuzzy inside.
This, in turn, creates brand loyalty and increases user satisfaction. Not to mention, it also sets the brand or company apart from the rest of the competition.
While the concept of emotional design is best seen visually, using typography, colors, and imagery, it extends far beyond this.
In a more service-oriented industry, for instance, storytelling and creating a personalized experience is another form of emotional design in practice. It makes users feel their needs are understood by the brand or company.
An effective emotionally designed product or service, especially in marketing, means understanding the psychological triggers that drive users to buy or engage in the first place.
These emotional cues guide the customers by triggering specific emotions that align with the brand’s values, causing users to purchase, consider the service offered, or pick one company over another.
How You Can Use Emotional Design in Marketing Your Products
Tell a Captivating Story
Telling stories is a powerful way to stir emotions, so it’s no surprise that it’s a valuable tool in emotional design. A carefully crafted story takes the consumer through the hero’s journey, holding their hands while highlighting the brand’s values, mission, and the impact the product or service will have on the customer’s life. There are several ways you can share stories. Sharing case studies and showing how your company solves a client’s problem is one way. Compelling real-life testimonials is another powerful method to win over potential customers. Behind-the-scenes stories also humanize a brand or company. After all, consumers want the comfort of knowing they are interacting with human beings and not just a faceless brand or company.
Identify What Emotionally Triggers Your Clientele
As a marketer, it’s your priority to know your customer base. This means you know what impressions you’re making with your product or service. If you have no clue at this point, then finding out should be a top priority. Identify your customer’s pain points, their motivations, the values they hold dear, or the challenges they face. Once you have a clear picture of this, the insight will help you create designs and messaging that will activate the emotional response you want.
Foster a Positive Feeling with Every Interaction
Creating positive interactions isn’t a one-time thing. Consistency is key if you want customers to associate your brand or company with positive sentiments. From your social media presence, website design, packaging, content, and the images you use, each piece has to resonate with the same feeling. Your goal is to make your customers feel like they always know what they can expect from you while reassuring them they are appreciated and valued every step of the way.
Design with Purpose in Mind
Every interactive element of your brand also needs to be designed in a way that stimulates the right emotions. Picking the right font for marketing materials may seem trivial, but if you choose the wrong one, you could be creating the wrong impression. The same goes for the brand or company colors you choose. There is a whole psychology to picking the right colors for your branding and marketing. Generally, however, warm shades evoke an energetic and exciting mood, while cooler colors like greens and blues create a relaxing and calmer feel.
If you study leading brands, you will spot how emotional design plays a prominent role in their products and identity.
3 Top Brands Leveraging Emotional Design
1. Headspace
Headspace describes itself as a “personal meditation guide, right in your pocket.” It’s easy to overlook the subtle design and color choices the company uses but look closely, and you’ll notice how each piece evokes the emotion of calmness and relaxation. The simple graphics use a bright color palette. Note that these are bright but not glaring or distracting.
Headspace aims for users to build a meditation habit. It starts with a guiding voice. In the company’s case, it’s the voice of founder Andy Puddicombe. His soothing yet distinct voice is a form of emotional trigger as well, making users feel welcome and soothed right off the bat. Once the voice comes on, the subconscious trigger is that another human is present who will be there to guide and help users with the practice.
If you’ve used their app, you’ll also notice how they created a seamless onboarding process (only 3 steps). They even provide options to skip these for those who want to start right away. This is designed to elicit the right emotions too (one of simplicity), making it clear the company knows its customer base and how to reach them.
2. Duolingo
Humans are motivated by rewards, according to the incentive theory. This simple principle is the basis for gamifying learning, something Duolingo has fully embraced in its product. Offering badges, a leaderboard, titles, and even refusing to unlock the next level unless the current one is finished emotionally triggers curiosity and competition within the user.
It makes them ask questions like, “How far can I go?” or “How many streaks can I manage?” etc. The end reward the users receive once they finish a lesson conjures feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment. It’s a basic feeling every human craves and something Duolingo has expertly woven into their system.
3. Nike
When you think of emotionally designed marketing, Nike (along with Apple) will be among the first brands that likely come to mind. Nike’s marketing strategy is centered on the business of inspiration. Their slogan, “Just Do It” is so common that even a 5-year-old could quote it for you.
Their adverts, the bold font, the swoosh mark, and all-inclusive product designs all use compelling storytelling. Their most popular commercials show athletes overcoming hardships to achieve their goals. This resonates with everyday people who also desire to achieve success through perseverance.
Wrapping Up
Emotional design is a potent tool for enterprise marketing executives who want to forge stronger connections with their customers. Once you understand and leverage the emotional drivers of your audience, you can create marketing campaigns that reverberate on a deeper level and generate long-term loyalty. Whether through compelling storytelling, purposeful design, positive interactions, or personalized experiences, emotional design can elevate your brand and make it stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Before you start overhauling your creative marketing strategy, remember that the key to successful emotional design is authenticity. Customers can sense when emotions are being manipulated for profit. Aim to genuinely connect with your audience by understanding their emotional needs and delivering value.
By doing so, you’ll build trust, drive engagement, and ultimately achieve greater success in your marketing efforts.
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Is your marketing plan missing that creative spark? Nicole Steffen Design is here to assist. As your on-demand creative director, we aim to simplify your work by delivering expert creative planning and design that fuels growth and increases profits.
Schedule a call today, and let’s start transforming your business into the company you’ve always envisioned.
