Design Psychology: 10 Essential Experimental Principles
By understanding the workings of the human brain, designers can learn to leverage human perception to trigger behavioural change.
We can use the basic principles of psychology to make more informed design decisions, ensuring our designs are not only appealing but effective.
Today, we’ll review the ten most critical psychological principles to keep in mind during every step of the design process.
1. Von Restorff effect
Also known as the isolation effect, the von Restorff effect predicts that when presented with multiple objects, we are likely to remember the one that is different.
The opposite is also true: objects that stand out less are less likely to be remembered.
The takeaway?
We should make critical elements and essential information visually distinct by varying size, colour, position, and shape.
The pricing page from Dropbox Business is a prime example of how the von Restorff effect can be used to influence consumer behaviour.
They’ve made their Advanced plan (the one they want us to buy, for whatever reason) visually distinct from their Standard…
