April 1, 2023
Creating Chaos to Emphasise Stillness: A Design Philosophy
Have you ever noticed that one lone circle in a sea of lines? It's like the star of the show, the Beyoncé of geometry. And let's be real, humans have always had a soft spot for the underdog. I mean, look at it! It's just there, chillin' in the middle of a bunch of straight-edged squares and rectangles, minding its own business. And yet, we can't help but give it all our attention. It's like the circle is saying "Hey, look at me! I may be round, but I'm still edgy!"
And lucky for us, this concept also applies to creating digital experiences. By incorporating elements that stand out and grab the user's attention, we can create experiences that are memorable and meaningful. Think about it - when you're scrolling through a website or app, what catches your eye? Is it the plain and ordinary elements, or the ones that are unique and eye-catching? I'm willing to bet it's the latter.
Attention is a key factor that sets us humans apart, especially when it comes to how we encode information in memory. And when it comes to experiencing a digital product, recognition takes priority over recall. As a designer, it's crucial to understand the priority list in an interface and guide users to where you want them to look or focus. In a world full of noise, it's our job as designers to create sections of silence that signify importance. And the irony is, these moments of silence can only be appreciated amidst the noise. It's like trying to find a quiet spot in a busy city. You can't truly appreciate the peace and quiet until you've experienced the chaos of the surrounding environment. The same goes for digital products - we need to create moments of stillness amidst the noise to truly draw the user's attention and make an impact. This concept known as the Von Restorff Effect is not just a nice-to-have in the world of design - it's become fundamental to creating experiences that matter. By designing with this principle in mind, we can ensure that our users remember and engage with our digital products in a meaningful way. This psychological principle suggests that when presented with a list of similar items, people tend to remember the one that stands out the most - the odd one out, if you will.
Sometimes it's not about creating one good visual element in the midst of more bad ones, but rather making certain elements stand out by de-emphasizing others. As designers, we have the power to guide the user's attention and create a visual hierarchy that communicates the importance of each element. By de-emphasizing certain elements, we can create a stronger focus on the ones that truly matter. Think of it like a spotlight on a stage. The spotlight is on the main performer, but the surrounding stage lights are dimmed to create a visual contrast and highlight the performer even more. In the same way, we can dim or de-emphasize certain elements to draw attention to the ones we want to stand out.
It's common for services we use to offer subscription plans, and companies often want to emphasize one particular option over the others. To achieve this emphasis, designers will often use visual cues to differentiate the option they want to highlight.
The Von Restorff Effect can also be observed in design elements that are intended to catch our attention. A good example of this is notifications, which are designed to alert users when there is something they need to attend to. Notifications are a common feature in almost every app or service and are intended to draw our attention, whether that's a positive or negative thing.
In conclusion, the Von Restorff Effect is a powerful psychological principle that plays a critical role in digital design. By understanding how humans encode information in memory and prioritise recognition over recall, designers can create experiences that truly stand out and make a lasting impact on users. From incorporating unique and eye-catching elements to de-emphasizing certain elements to draw attention to others, designers have a wide range of tools at their disposal to create visual hierarchies that guide the user's attention. By applying the Von Restorff Effect in our design work, we can help our users remember and engage with our digital products in a meaningful way.
April 1, 2023
Creating Chaos to Emphasise Stillness: A Design Philosophy
Have you ever noticed that one lone circle in a sea of lines? It's like the star of the show, the Beyoncé of geometry. And let's be real, humans have always had a soft spot for the underdog. I mean, look at it! It's just there, chillin' in the middle of a bunch of straight-edged squares and rectangles, minding its own business. And yet, we can't help but give it all our attention. It's like the circle is saying "Hey, look at me! I may be round, but I'm still edgy!"
And lucky for us, this concept also applies to creating digital experiences. By incorporating elements that stand out and grab the user's attention, we can create experiences that are memorable and meaningful. Think about it - when you're scrolling through a website or app, what catches your eye? Is it the plain and ordinary elements, or the ones that are unique and eye-catching? I'm willing to bet it's the latter.
Attention is a key factor that sets us humans apart, especially when it comes to how we encode information in memory. And when it comes to experiencing a digital product, recognition takes priority over recall. As a designer, it's crucial to understand the priority list in an interface and guide users to where you want them to look or focus. In a world full of noise, it's our job as designers to create sections of silence that signify importance. And the irony is, these moments of silence can only be appreciated amidst the noise. It's like trying to find a quiet spot in a busy city. You can't truly appreciate the peace and quiet until you've experienced the chaos of the surrounding environment. The same goes for digital products - we need to create moments of stillness amidst the noise to truly draw the user's attention and make an impact. This concept known as the Von Restorff Effect is not just a nice-to-have in the world of design - it's become fundamental to creating experiences that matter. By designing with this principle in mind, we can ensure that our users remember and engage with our digital products in a meaningful way. This psychological principle suggests that when presented with a list of similar items, people tend to remember the one that stands out the most - the odd one out, if you will.
Sometimes it's not about creating one good visual element in the midst of more bad ones, but rather making certain elements stand out by de-emphasizing others. As designers, we have the power to guide the user's attention and create a visual hierarchy that communicates the importance of each element. By de-emphasizing certain elements, we can create a stronger focus on the ones that truly matter. Think of it like a spotlight on a stage. The spotlight is on the main performer, but the surrounding stage lights are dimmed to create a visual contrast and highlight the performer even more. In the same way, we can dim or de-emphasize certain elements to draw attention to the ones we want to stand out.
It's common for services we use to offer subscription plans, and companies often want to emphasize one particular option over the others. To achieve this emphasis, designers will often use visual cues to differentiate the option they want to highlight.
The Von Restorff Effect can also be observed in design elements that are intended to catch our attention. A good example of this is notifications, which are designed to alert users when there is something they need to attend to. Notifications are a common feature in almost every app or service and are intended to draw our attention, whether that's a positive or negative thing.
In conclusion, the Von Restorff Effect is a powerful psychological principle that plays a critical role in digital design. By understanding how humans encode information in memory and prioritise recognition over recall, designers can create experiences that truly stand out and make a lasting impact on users. From incorporating unique and eye-catching elements to de-emphasizing certain elements to draw attention to others, designers have a wide range of tools at their disposal to create visual hierarchies that guide the user's attention. By applying the Von Restorff Effect in our design work, we can help our users remember and engage with our digital products in a meaningful way.
April 1, 2023
Creating Chaos to Emphasise Stillness: A Design Philosophy
Have you ever noticed that one lone circle in a sea of lines? It's like the star of the show, the Beyoncé of geometry. And let's be real, humans have always had a soft spot for the underdog. I mean, look at it! It's just there, chillin' in the middle of a bunch of straight-edged squares and rectangles, minding its own business. And yet, we can't help but give it all our attention. It's like the circle is saying "Hey, look at me! I may be round, but I'm still edgy!"
And lucky for us, this concept also applies to creating digital experiences. By incorporating elements that stand out and grab the user's attention, we can create experiences that are memorable and meaningful. Think about it - when you're scrolling through a website or app, what catches your eye? Is it the plain and ordinary elements, or the ones that are unique and eye-catching? I'm willing to bet it's the latter.
Attention is a key factor that sets us humans apart, especially when it comes to how we encode information in memory. And when it comes to experiencing a digital product, recognition takes priority over recall. As a designer, it's crucial to understand the priority list in an interface and guide users to where you want them to look or focus. In a world full of noise, it's our job as designers to create sections of silence that signify importance. And the irony is, these moments of silence can only be appreciated amidst the noise. It's like trying to find a quiet spot in a busy city. You can't truly appreciate the peace and quiet until you've experienced the chaos of the surrounding environment. The same goes for digital products - we need to create moments of stillness amidst the noise to truly draw the user's attention and make an impact. This concept known as the Von Restorff Effect is not just a nice-to-have in the world of design - it's become fundamental to creating experiences that matter. By designing with this principle in mind, we can ensure that our users remember and engage with our digital products in a meaningful way. This psychological principle suggests that when presented with a list of similar items, people tend to remember the one that stands out the most - the odd one out, if you will.
Sometimes it's not about creating one good visual element in the midst of more bad ones, but rather making certain elements stand out by de-emphasizing others. As designers, we have the power to guide the user's attention and create a visual hierarchy that communicates the importance of each element. By de-emphasizing certain elements, we can create a stronger focus on the ones that truly matter. Think of it like a spotlight on a stage. The spotlight is on the main performer, but the surrounding stage lights are dimmed to create a visual contrast and highlight the performer even more. In the same way, we can dim or de-emphasize certain elements to draw attention to the ones we want to stand out.
It's common for services we use to offer subscription plans, and companies often want to emphasize one particular option over the others. To achieve this emphasis, designers will often use visual cues to differentiate the option they want to highlight.
The Von Restorff Effect can also be observed in design elements that are intended to catch our attention. A good example of this is notifications, which are designed to alert users when there is something they need to attend to. Notifications are a common feature in almost every app or service and are intended to draw our attention, whether that's a positive or negative thing.
In conclusion, the Von Restorff Effect is a powerful psychological principle that plays a critical role in digital design. By understanding how humans encode information in memory and prioritise recognition over recall, designers can create experiences that truly stand out and make a lasting impact on users. From incorporating unique and eye-catching elements to de-emphasizing certain elements to draw attention to others, designers have a wide range of tools at their disposal to create visual hierarchies that guide the user's attention. By applying the Von Restorff Effect in our design work, we can help our users remember and engage with our digital products in a meaningful way.
April 1, 2023
Creating Chaos to Emphasise Stillness: A Design Philosophy
Have you ever noticed that one lone circle in a sea of lines? It's like the star of the show, the Beyoncé of geometry. And let's be real, humans have always had a soft spot for the underdog. I mean, look at it! It's just there, chillin' in the middle of a bunch of straight-edged squares and rectangles, minding its own business. And yet, we can't help but give it all our attention. It's like the circle is saying "Hey, look at me! I may be round, but I'm still edgy!"
And lucky for us, this concept also applies to creating digital experiences. By incorporating elements that stand out and grab the user's attention, we can create experiences that are memorable and meaningful. Think about it - when you're scrolling through a website or app, what catches your eye? Is it the plain and ordinary elements, or the ones that are unique and eye-catching? I'm willing to bet it's the latter.
Attention is a key factor that sets us humans apart, especially when it comes to how we encode information in memory. And when it comes to experiencing a digital product, recognition takes priority over recall. As a designer, it's crucial to understand the priority list in an interface and guide users to where you want them to look or focus. In a world full of noise, it's our job as designers to create sections of silence that signify importance. And the irony is, these moments of silence can only be appreciated amidst the noise. It's like trying to find a quiet spot in a busy city. You can't truly appreciate the peace and quiet until you've experienced the chaos of the surrounding environment. The same goes for digital products - we need to create moments of stillness amidst the noise to truly draw the user's attention and make an impact. This concept known as the Von Restorff Effect is not just a nice-to-have in the world of design - it's become fundamental to creating experiences that matter. By designing with this principle in mind, we can ensure that our users remember and engage with our digital products in a meaningful way. This psychological principle suggests that when presented with a list of similar items, people tend to remember the one that stands out the most - the odd one out, if you will.
Sometimes it's not about creating one good visual element in the midst of more bad ones, but rather making certain elements stand out by de-emphasizing others. As designers, we have the power to guide the user's attention and create a visual hierarchy that communicates the importance of each element. By de-emphasizing certain elements, we can create a stronger focus on the ones that truly matter. Think of it like a spotlight on a stage. The spotlight is on the main performer, but the surrounding stage lights are dimmed to create a visual contrast and highlight the performer even more. In the same way, we can dim or de-emphasize certain elements to draw attention to the ones we want to stand out.
It's common for services we use to offer subscription plans, and companies often want to emphasize one particular option over the others. To achieve this emphasis, designers will often use visual cues to differentiate the option they want to highlight.
The Von Restorff Effect can also be observed in design elements that are intended to catch our attention. A good example of this is notifications, which are designed to alert users when there is something they need to attend to. Notifications are a common feature in almost every app or service and are intended to draw our attention, whether that's a positive or negative thing.
In conclusion, the Von Restorff Effect is a powerful psychological principle that plays a critical role in digital design. By understanding how humans encode information in memory and prioritise recognition over recall, designers can create experiences that truly stand out and make a lasting impact on users. From incorporating unique and eye-catching elements to de-emphasizing certain elements to draw attention to others, designers have a wide range of tools at their disposal to create visual hierarchies that guide the user's attention. By applying the Von Restorff Effect in our design work, we can help our users remember and engage with our digital products in a meaningful way.
