How Emotional Graphic Design Turns Brands into Billions

Some products you like and others you rave about to your friends, despite there not being much difference in functionality between either. Why is that? The design gurus at UXDESIGN.CC tackled this with their post on emotional design, and showed how it’s the “secret weapon” of several popular brands. But how to implement emotional design?

Use contrast and delight.
We all know Slack, right? You probably have it pulled up right now. It’s the fastest growing workplace software ever but doesn’t differ much in functionality from its competitor HipChat. A possible reason why? Slack looks noticeably different and therefore stands out. Notice the round shapes, the vibrant colors and the friendly typeface and emojis. That’s good emotional design.

Use personality and humor.
Mailchimp has a sense of humor, and they show it in their product. Notice the copy used on the front page and the graphics users receive as they send out email blasts. The message? Mailchimp is your friend.

Use rewards.
Anytime we’re anticipating a reward, we get a release of dopamine, which keeps us repeating certain behaviors … like checking our social media feeds for new likes and comments. Instagram in particular utilizes rewards very effectively.

Find out how Apple, Google and others use emotional design, how that makes you feel as you interact with those products and how emotional design can benefit your brand!