Design Elements That Boost Product Appeal

Watching the silent exodus of users from your product is nobody's definition of a good time. Often, it's because your most persuasive content is getting lost in noise. Science can help. Here's a fun one: #contrasteffects Every time people engage with your experience, they make judgments—often subconsciously—that shape the way they value and engage with your product. In one context, something you communicate may be perceived as remarkable. In the next, it may be completely and utterly inappreciable. Why? Because the brain doesn't perceive, interpret, and evaluate pieces of information in isolation. Noise often gets in the way. 🧠 Contrast effects refer to the psychological phenomenon where the perception and impact of something is influenced by its context or juxtaposition with something else. If my graphic wasn't persuasive enough and you have a few minutes, experience contrast effects in other ways: 💡 Turn off all the lights in your office and watch a once-ignored speck of light evolve into a beacon. 🎧 Jam out to your favorite song on YouTube. Then, play the "vocals only" version without the backbeats. Still your favorite? Or my favorite.... 🪣 Dip your hand in lukewarm water after it's been in ice—it feels like a sauna. After hot water? It feels arctic. You get where I'm going with this. The same principles apply to your experience. Here's a few ways to help you take advantage of contrast effects 📝: 1️⃣ Product Contrasts: This may sound like marketing 101, but trust me—it's overlooked. People will make snap judgments about your product based on their recent memories of similar ones. Similar screens and similar words will trigger similar thoughts. Don't just know your competitors' financials. Know how they use words and images throughout their experience to guide behavior—and if it's not working, design differently. Contrast yourself. 2️⃣ Visual Contrasts: Use contrasting colors, shapes, or screen positions to draw attention to specific elements or emphasize crucial messages or CTAs. How you combine elements critically matters for perception, as I highlighted in the graphic. 3️⃣ Temporal Contrasts: Experiment with dynamic adjustments in the pace of your content. Unexpected shifts in pace break monotony, unwanted habituation, and reawaken attention. 4️⃣ Narrative Contrasts: Use storytelling to contrast a problem or challenge with its solution. Frame the problem in a relatable narrative, then contrast it with an inspirational success story of how your product or strategy resolved the issue. This contrast can engage emotions and make the solution more memorable. An interesting read for this one: "Stories that Stick" by Hall (2019) Designing for contrast effects are some of the fun challenges we help clients with at Adapt Sciences. What are some other tips you can recommend? -C #Behavioralscience #patientengagement #healthcareinnovation #uxdesign

Hot take from a Forbes story on how to improve user brand experience through design: STOP relying on generic studio images, AI graphics and stock photography! There’s a reason why every sports stadium sells $10 bottles of water even though drinking fountains are everywhere. The fountains are fast, plentiful and free. The stuff that comes out of them is identical to the stuff in the bottle. So why do people stand in line to pay for what they can get quicker and easier from the fountain? Perceived value and brand. That square Fiji bottle with the island image on it must have pure water from a rare aquifer under a beautiful island, right? The Liquid Death can is definitely more hardcore and tells the world you are too, right? No… they’re all just water. You’re paying for brand. AI and stock imagery are great… for ideation and storyboards. But if you’re trying to get a consumer to buy your product, help them envision themselves using it. Get creative, show people in action. Lifestyle imagery works. https://lnkd.in/gZV25zNu

Ever wondered what makes a SaaS product design effective? It's all about 'triggers'. In the realm of product design, particularly for SaaS platforms, triggers are crucial. These are subtle, strategically placed prompts that nudge users to take action during their journey. Triggers operate on a basic psychological principle: the right cue at the right time can prompt action. These cues can be visual, textual, or contextual, designed to grab the user's attention and steer them towards a specific behavior or feature. Understanding the user’s journey and identifying points where they might need a nudge to take the next step is key to the effective use of triggers. This could be a reminder to complete a task, an alert about a new feature, or a prompt to explore additional functionality. For SaaS products, quick adoption and user engagement are vital. Triggers can significantly improve the 'time to value'. They help users discover and utilize valuable features they might not have found on their own, leading to a quicker realization of the software’s benefits. Incorporating triggers into our designs is not just about enhancing aesthetics or functionality. It's about creating an environment where users are continually encouraged to explore, learn, and engage more deeply with the product. So, next time you're designing a SaaS product, remember the power of triggers. They could be the difference between a good user experience and a great one.