Graphic designs consider a number of factors when generating quintessential portrayals of a brand. While images require a sense of balance that conveys a polished elegance which is also universally appealing, these designs also need to capture and express much information in a very concise way. Within a single logo of just a few well placed lines, graphic artists also need to imply such aspects as brand reputation, principles, customer values, and connection. Businesses rely on this ability for an image to make an instant bond with their clients.
While technology has helped to make many aspects of social relations more efficient, it has also created a greater need for immediacy. Between embedded videos, news crawls, and multi-window computer displays, people are multi-tasking more than ever. For brand marketing, it means that companies need to find a way to convey the most information in the least amount of time for an effective client connection to be made.
Short And Sweet?
Some marketing takes the direct approach in order to stay in keeping with the shorter attention span that people give to peripheral information. Many brand promotions have become increasingly direct in their messages, and this applies to factors such as logos and image marketing as well. The visuals are clear and concise in a logical manner, and this should have the strongest impact with consumers, since there is less need to figure out what the brand message has to offer.
Even with these direct designs, the way the message is processed is as much a factor of interpretation as it is of intuition. The population is neurologically hardwired to perceive information in certain ways, and while the approach to processing symbols differs, the actual process is still tied to triggering connections in the brain. Direct marketing with concise messages may get information across, but it may not spark the appropriate triggers to make a true brand impact.
The Power Of Symbolism
Part of the importance of quick impact has to do with universal meanings that are placed on the shapes and designs that people see. Evolutionary survival has led to a human brain that can quickly recognize a shape and make both a logical and emotional connection, regardless of the detail that is discerned. While this instant process of generating response may not be as integral to survival in the modern age, the neurological process is still the way that memory and meaning are formed.
Many businesses refer to the use of these principles in branding as blink marketing. It incorporates the biological function of perceiving first impressions with the concept of guiding the mind to an immediate emotional conclusion. Regardless of the rational messages in branding, people will still respond most strongly to the visual trigger of shapes and geometries, and these will become the unconscious brand associations.
Some symbolism is overt in the associations that is creates. Other shapes and designs have a deeper connection that is less obvious, but understanding how the human mind reacts to these triggers can have a great effect on brand perception. One of the interesting questions that the concept of blink marketing raises is whether over-thinking brand image and design can actually be less effective.
A number of businesses have experience with the different social reactions that can come from branded designs. Have you noticed differences in reception to images that are more intuitively based? Do you think the direct approach is effective in generating an emotional trigger? How can understanding innate perception triggers help your business image? Delving into the psychology of design might be about more than balance and aesthetics, and gathering information on reactions could benefit marketing approaches.