From Eye to Mind

A Solid Foundation

2012-01-25T07:43:00.000-08:00

Letters of Note has an entertaining letter by one of the greats in modern advertising, David Ogilvy. He writes about his 12-step copywriting process:

2. I spend a long time studying the precedents. I look at every advertisement which has appeared for competing products during the past 20 years.

3. I am helpless without research material—and the more "motivational" the better.

4. I write out a definition of the problem and a statement of the purpose which I wish the campaign to achieve. Then I go no further until the statement and its principles have been accepted by the client.

There is the myth of the inspired genius for whom beautiful and harmonious writing just descends as if from the heavens (the Romantic poets are largely responsible for it. See, for example, Kubla Khan).

This myth, though weakened, still lingers. Which is why I pulled the section above; for this writer, at least, great copy starts with research and analysis. It's not the whole story, by any stretch, but a solid foundation helps.

Shades of Meaning

2012-01-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is an oldie, but so cool. Information is Beautiful has a wheel with the meanings of different colors across cultures:

Any graphic from this site will be lovely to look at, but also, from a strictly practical marketing point of view, very useful.

Finding Distinctions

2012-01-17T16:51:00.000-08:00

While it won't generate as much press as Neilsen's review of the Kindle Fire, his article on generic vs overloaded commands is worth a read.

He gives several examples of overloaded commands including:

A final example of the risks from overloaded command is the swipe ambiguity we found in our iPad user testing. When the same command (a swipe gesture) has different outcomes, depending on exactly where and how the user swipes, confusion results, unless the distinctions are clearer than they were in the apps we tested.

It's very sensible in theory, but I suspect tricky at times to make the distinction in practice. (Partially because, if there isn't an industry standard, it will be hard not to confuse users. And an industry standard, of course, requires more than one app, one site or even one company.)

Happiness and the Start Up

2012-01-16T10:28:00.000-08:00

An idea to brighten everyone's day:

Various studies have shown that happiness increases productivity. A 2009 study by A. J. Oswald, E. Proto, and D. Sgori for example found a 12% boost in productivity due to increased happiness. Those who work “not for one’s self” in your office will be significantly more productive than those who are more self-focused.

Follow the Money

2012-01-14T18:33:00.000-08:00

Recently, Google announced Search Plus Your World. There's been a certain amount of grumbling that Google's new social search highlights Google+ results to the detriment of other social networks. Google counters that that's because other social networks don't make their pages searchable. It's all over the internet, but WebProNews has a decent summary of at least Twitter's complaints.

While Twitters not making that much right now (at least compared to Facebook, etc.), they're clearly moving toward more aggressive monetization (for example, see Twitter's ad products and how advertising is key).

In advertising, audience share equals money. If Twitter gets shut out of Search Plus Your World results, and more traffic is driven to Google+, it will undercut their bottom line.

And in case we forget exactly how much money this can mean, there’s a nifty infographic on Facebook’s IPO. It’s all interesting, but here’s a snippet:

Despair at CES

2012-01-13T18:38:00.000-08:00

The whole article is pretty entertaining, but this bit jumped out at me:

[Electronics] make the world easier and more enjoyable. They boost productivity and provide entertainment and information and sometimes even status. At least for a while. At least until they are obsolete. At least until they are garbage.

Memorable Images

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

Article over at Scientific American on what makes a photo memorable:

Having people in the picture—even if they are strangers—also help make a photo more memorable, as does the implication of movement, such as a person running or waves crashing. Human-scale objects—chairs and cars rather than valleys and planets—similarly plant themselves in our mind. These observations support the evolutionary theory that our brain is wired to notice movement, other people and objects we can interact with, the researchers say, because these things would have been the most important features of the landscape we evolved in.

So where do you want the attention to go?

Is the goal to get people to lock onto an image:

Or to set a mood?

Form Usabilty

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

Great advice on how to make forms more usable. My favorite is the first one:

Use top aligned labels
There’s a good reason for this, and you don’t need to perform your own eye tracking study to understand it.

In the example on the left demonstrating top aligned labels, there are four visual fixations and only one visual direction (down). In the other example demonstrating left aligned labels, the number of visual fixations and directions is doubled (8, and left – right, left – right, left – right, left – right), making it more difficult to visually consume and comprehend.

I dearly wish more sites used these recommendations. It would save me, and probably a lot of other users, time and exasperation.

Improving forms should also increase conversation rates. For the obvious reason, of course, that it reduces friction. Also, though, if what is being sold is a web app, people are likely to take a poorly designed sign up form as indicative of a poorly designed web app. Hardly encouraging. (The same applies for the site marketing the web app.)

Communicating Sincerity

2012-01-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

The Phase 2 Technology site is awfully attractive:

While I'm not convinced about the usability of the site, the design (e.g. texture, flowers, color contrast of the key words in the main message, an overall calming color scheme) is lovely.

I am also impressed with how persuasive it is. The key message is very straightforward and focused, and well supported by the design.

It's often said that when people lie, they include a lot of unnecessary detail. Interestingly enough, many sites that are marketing a consulting service are full of unnecessary detail on the homepage. I don't think those sites are lying to viewers, but I think it is one reason viewers tend to find them unappealing, as well as boring. (The reaction to unnecessary detail, of course, is more instinctive than rational.)

With this site, it's nice to skip the volubility, and get the impression of sincerity instead.

Life in Miniature

2012-01-06T16:32:00.000-08:00

Only broadly related to design, but these photos of life in miniature are very appealing. This is my favorite:

More can be seen at Mental Floss.

Social Status

2012-01-02T16:35:00.000-08:00

Interesting, if slightly didactic, article about envy:

Some advertising agencies use envy as a marketing tool, since products sell best when they evoke envy in the consumer (van de Ven, Zeelenberg & Pieters, 2009). Psychological researchers have found that attempts to gain envied social status influence consumer choices, such as the desire for "green" products when shopping in public (but not in private), even when those products cost more than their nongreen equivalents (Griskevicius, Tybur, & Van den Bergh, 2010). And speaking of becoming green from envy, there is also being green with wanting to be envied. Buyers of petrol-electric hybrid cars report that social influence and projecting a green image were more important considerations than quality and appeal in their purchases (Chua, Lee & Sadeque, 2010).

Social status has always made sense to me as a selling point for products. For example, how Apple positioned itself as a maker of "cool" products.

I'm not entirely convinced by the "green" product argument in this article, though. It could be about social status (and perhaps that's well supported by the specifics of the test set up), but it could also be about fitting in with the surrounding crowd. That's not so much about increasing status as it is about not drawing negative attention.

While it's not talked about nearly as much as striving for a higher social status, a lot of what people do (frequently unconsciously) is to avoid drawing too much attention. (The negative effects documented in this article of envy are one of a huge number of reasons why.)

Shades of Interpretation

2011-12-30T12:04:00.000-08:00

When I was in college, one of my professors pointed out that the way someone interprets a book often says far more about the person doing the interpreting than the book itself.

Taglines can be a source of much discussion for exactly this reason. They come down to being an emotional appeal, and what's most convincing (and therefore strongest) depends on the reader.

Neuromarketing has a nice article that looks at some guides for prevention vs. promotion taglines:

If you can determine the motivation of the majority of your customers, that will dictate how you craft your pitch. Prevention-motivated customers mean you should adopt the “loss prevention” approach, with appropriate imagery and language. Naturally, if your customers are mostly opportunistic, you can focus on the “promotion” approach and emphasize potential gain.

A Handful of Links

2011-12-25T10:30:00.000-08:00

Does Good Web Design Matter?
"Sure, every web designer will tell you that design has a profound impact, which is an intuitive answer, but what evidence is there that supports the claim? Here’s what I found out."

From Me to You
A photography blog that, among other things, mixes static photos with animated gifs, which is much cooler than it sounds.

Web Usability Testing Tools
The title says it all.

Web Design Photoshop Tutorials
All 45 of them.

Predictions

2011-12-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season for speculating about the new year, and Web Design Ledger has a list of 2012 Web Design Predictions that runs the gamut from responsive design to infographics:

This trend certainly doesn’t affect the overall web design, but as for user experience and content presentation infographics have blown the roof off new-age media. Never before has information been presented in such an easy-to-consume manner. Even if you barely understand the topic most infographics provide data, charts, and supporting imagery so that a 5 year old child could follow along.

With the added bonus that the author links to a tutorial on how to construct infographics. Now I just need a topic...

Web Fonts

2011-12-16T08:43:00.000-08:00

Google is a little scary -- they are sitting on a ton of information and are into a huge range of products. I was surprised once again today to find a new service: Google Web Fonts.

Still just browsing, but looks like a respectable list of fonts.

And if you're looking for a non-Google option, check out TypeKit.

Shortcuts

2011-12-14T17:27:00.000-08:00

One Extra Pixel has a look at the impact of different fonts. The really interesting bit to me was this:

... fonts that are exceptionally disfluent and hard to read can lead to a lack of comprehension and a lack of enthusiasm. One study showed that students who were given exercise instructions in clear, easy-to-read Arial were willing to perform the routines and assumed that they could do so with ease. Those who were given the same instructions in a more disfluent font, Brush, comprehended less of the text. As a result, these participants perceived the instructions themselves as more complex. They doubted their ability to perform the routines and were less willing to take the time to try. The success of the exercise plan depended upon the emotional reaction of the reader to the font.

More details on the study can be found at Scientific American.

Tweet Tweet

2011-12-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Twitter's new interface has been pretty extensively covered, but if you're looking for some quick reads you could do worse than Mashable and Wired.

While these have been largely a footnote, the embeddable tweets are pretty nifty:

...embeddable Tweets [are] a new way to add any Tweet to your website just by copying and pasting a line of code... Visitors can follow the author with a single-click, and reply, retweet, or favorite the Tweet without leaving the page

Now if they can just automate this so new code doesn't need to be added each time...

A Grain of Salt

2011-12-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, I worked at a company that distributed Neuroscience and Psychology stories weekly in a newsletter. I was responsible for reviewing the stories -- both the original press releases and the mainstream articles -- and choosing which ones to add.

A few lessons I learned:

The original psychology research usually has a relatively small sample size
The study pool is frequently psychology undergraduates (see here for why that's a problem)
The mainstream press typically:

does not understand the research
has a sexist bias
has a sensationalist bias

So... when an article on new research inspires a sparkling marketing idea, it's worthwhile to look up the original research (or at least the original press release). And, as with any scientific finding, one paper doesn't prove it's true.

Not Nirvana

2011-12-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

An article on grunge style websites over at Web Design Library:

Grunge style is a protest to glamor style and ideal unreal beauty. This style became popular after wide distribution of the style Web 2.0. As we already know, Web 2.0 is characterized by smooth gradients, accurate shadows and unnatural glare. Grunge is an opposite of web 2.0. Dirty, unkempt, defiant... it is all about grunge. This style gives the opportunity to stand out among the bright, but uniform mass of neat sites.

Different, but attractive and engaging has its appeal.

I'm hoping someone will do a post on Steam Punk style next. :-)

Social Commerce Psychology

2011-12-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

When psychology and social media intertwine, the result isn't always pretty. Tab Juice, though, has an attractive infographic about how psychology and social media drive commerce decisions.

Below is my favorite principle; you can see the whole infographic at Tab Juice.

With New and Improved Data

2011-12-07T06:30:00.000-08:00

Mashable has a nice run-down on new Google Analytics features. If you've been following the GA blog and playing with the app, you probably already know about the features listed in the article, but it's a nice summary.

The change I'm really excited about in GA is flow visualization:

Flow Visualization was announced in October, but only recently started rolling out to most users. Flow Visualization consists of two reports: Visitors Flow and Goal Flow. The Visitors Flow report can be used to visualize the “flow” of visitors through the site, while the Goal Flow is an improvement on the original Funnel Visualization reports.

The Goal Flow report is especially valuable, as it simplifies evaluating a conversion funnel. Have a checkout process six pages long? Now you can determine at which page people are abandoning their carts. Then improve the process and save the sales.

Group Identity

2011-12-04T10:34:00.000-08:00

Looking for evidence that people have only a light grasp on objective reality? You Are Not So Smart delivers insights into how people really think, with the less than cheering subtitle "A Celebration of Self-Delusion".

A recent post was about the human tendency to be exclusive rather than inclusive in social groups:

Every human gathering and institution from the Gay Pride Parade to the KKK works to remain connected by developing a set a norms and values which signals to members when they are dealing with members of the in-group and help identify others as part of the out-group. The peculiar thing though is that once you feel this, once you feel included in a human institution or ideology, you can’t help but see outsiders through a warped lens called the illusion of asymmetric insight.
...

So, you pick a team ... [and] you spend a lot of time a lot of time talking about how dumb and uncouth the other side is. You too can become preoccupied with defining the essence of your enemies. You too need the other side to be inferior, so you define them as such.

There is a lot more which is fascinating in this article, but I pulled out these two paragraphs for a couple marketing-related reasons.

The first is social media. The original rallying cry was 'Connect with everyone!' This created some highly entertaining but nightmare scenarios. (You've probably heard the stories. They go roughly: A man has something in his personal life that would be embarrassing in his professional life. He incautiously friends his boss and/or co-workers and ends up fired. Much hand-wringing ensues.)

Now it's 'Connect with everyone, divided into groups!' This is an improvement and will lead to less hand wringing, maybe.

What social media wasn't explicitly created for was exclusion (because, from the companies' point of view, it's all about getting as many sign ups as possible, i.e. inclusion). I'm honestly not sure what an app built with exclusion in mind would look like (something like an exclusive nightclub?), but I think it's one reason online interactions have a different flavor than in person. (Though as the "exclusion" version would probably be pretty unpleasant, I can't miss it too much.)

The second marketing-related point? The Yorkie, of course:

They could have gone with "The candy bar for everyone!" (inclusive), "The candy bar for blokes" (not explicitly exclusive), but instead went with "It's not for girls!" (explicitly exclusive).

A little silly, and sexist, but probably psychologically astute.

Questionable Conclusions

2011-12-03T18:37:00.000-08:00

Interesting article over at New Thinking:

Today's customer is more logical, less emotional....

[We] tested a site where people were supposed to click on a link in the top of the right column of a page. This link was part of a colorful banner. Nobody clicked on the link. People scanned up and down the center column, scanned up and down the left column, but totally ignored the right column. The banner with the link was by far the most prominent piece of content on the page, yet people totally ignored it.

... in another test, the content that the customer needed to see was placed in a banner in the center column, and they totally ignored that too.

We saw another test of a financial website which showed that adding pictures caused customers to trust the content less. What we need is evidence. ... More and more customers are becoming immune to traditional marketing and advertising. The new marketing is much more meat and much less bells and whistles.

(Emphasis added)

First of all, he may be totally right -- people may really be more dependent upon facts than emotion. This would be a welcome change.

The evidence presented here doesn't prove that, though. It suggests what people don't react well to, not what they do.

Data is dangerous this way, though. Start telling yourself stories and the data will magically seem to prove you're right.

Color Psychology

2011-12-01T15:20:00.001-08:00

Practical eCommerce has a series on how colors affect perception. In the most recent post, my favorite example was Kaleidoscope:

Kaleidoscope mixes both dark and light purples to combine the feelings of dignity and status with creativity. Notice while both Kaleidoscope and Bjango use black and dark purple, the light purples in Kaleidoscope create an entirely different mood.

Making a Mountain

2011-11-28T15:36:00.000-08:00

A step-by-step guide on how to turn a social media molehill into a mountain:

Step 1:

Involve a teenager:

Emma Sullivan’s trip to Topeka with other high school students to learn about government taught her a few unexpected lessons...

... “Just made mean comments at gov. brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot,” Sullivan [tweeted] from the back of the crowd.

Step 2:

Take yourself too seriously.

... a Brownback staffer had notified her school's principal about the tweet, and the principal told her she had to write an apology to the governor.

Step 3:

Look like a fool in front of a national audience.

... following the media attention, [Sullivan's] Twitter follower count has rocketed from 65 to more than 4,000.

Step 4:

Issue an apology and hope the whole thing goes away.

On Monday, the Governor’s office apologized.

"My staff overreacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize," he said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. "Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms."

First Impressions

2011-11-26T17:04:00.001-08:00

It can be really fun to sort out how customers are likely to react to a site:

(Click for larger version.)

There's a lot that could be tested on this pricing page, but the 100,000 / 10,000 / 1,000 numbers caught my eye. I don't know if it's a really smart or a less-than-smart approach.

In the smart category... This is the number people are going to care about, so it should jump out at them. The numbers are large and tie in to the plan names, and help justify the cost.

In the maybe-this-isn't-so-smart category... Customers come to this page expecting cost. The first number that jumps out at them is 100,000. It could either get them to click away or implant (consciously or not) that this is an expensive service.

Not where I would start testing on this page, but it's fascinating from the perspective of how the information is being processed by visitors to the site.

From Eye to Mind

2011-11-19T16:47:00.000-08:00

Ideas shift, and snake, and turn into something new when written about. A blog starts off being about knitting and ends up about nuclear disarmament. All the connections are there day to day, but take a step back and it's not clear how the beginning and end are connected.

With that knowledge firmly in mind, this is a marketing blog. It's a marketing blog that is interested in what people perceive, and how that is translated by the mind.

I'll look at design, usability and UI, with the occasional neuroscience and psychology insights thrown in.

My goal is to further develop my understanding of how people react to the world, and how to make marketing messages more effective (that, incidentally, is not a euphemism for how to deviously manipulate customers).

Now I have a starting point, I'm looking forward to seeing the end point, and all the points in between.