Behavior design is a design methodology that applies behavioral psychology to the design of products to make them more engaging to people. The idea is that by using psychology, specifically behaviorism which focuses on what makes us act a certain way, we can design products that are overtly or subconsciously more appealing to customers, or more efficiently meet their needs.
Susan Weinschenk is a behavioral psychologist whose work focuses on design and user experience. She is the founder of The Team W, which gives consulting to companies and designers looking to apply behavioral psychology, brain science, and design to their work.
For instance, one study Weinschenk writes about on The Team W Blog is how color effects behavior, specifically red and blue. Read the whole article here. Done at the University of British Columbia, several fairly comprehensive tests were done, and the results of which Weinschenk analyzed and presented her conclusions about the cultural relevance of red and blue:
Here are my take-aways from this research:
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If you are using a negative or fear message it will be more impactful if you use the color red. If you are using a positive message then use blue.
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If you want people to do a detail-oriented task use a red background. If you want them to be creative use a blue background.
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If you are highlighting detailed features of a product your message will be more persuasive if you use a red background. If you are highlighting concepts of how to use the product then the message will be more persuasive with a blue background.
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People prefer blue backgrounds over red, even though red might make them get a task done more quickly. They are not aware of the effects that the colors are having.
As you can see, the different effects of the colors (creativity vs speed, fear vs positivity, and methods of persuasion, etc) seem like very useful things to know as a designer. Behavioral design helps designers tailor their their message and it’s vehicle even more specifically to their audience.
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