We filter out a lot of sensory information about which we don't need to care. While our eyes transmit a great deal of visual data in a continuous feed, we can only focus on a single item at any given moment. Only the item in focus is the subject of engagement, although unconsciously, we keep monitoring our surroundings for changes that might require a shift in our focus or attention.
Similar filtering happens with products and information:. There are so many products, services, and information, that it is impossible to keep track of it all. Experience designers create content that must engage potential customers, pass through their filtering, and make the product stand out from all other options.
An effective experience can imprint the existence of particular products in our consciousness by evoking emotions such as desire, craving, enablement, and joy. Earlier in this chapter the effect was mentioned in the context of instant gratification. Here, the intent is to make us aware that a product exists and, when the time of actual need comes, a specific brand or product would surface in our memory.
The preceding image includes a couple of examples that demonstrate how designers create interest and engagement using non-commercial visuals. A goldfish in a fishbowl might be a banal image. But when the goldfish is the only color element in the otherwise grayscale image A, our eyes pay closer attention to the photo, and we notice the dripping faucet connected to the fishbowl. Our brain expects the entire image to be either in color or grayscale, and it does not expect to see a faucet connected to the fishbowl. The entire composition creates a brief moment of visual dissonance and surprise.
We need to stop, focus, and think about the message. We are engaged. The combination of visual effects underscores the importance of saving water, and makes the message more memorable--to keep the fish alive (represented in image A by its life-like color appearance), we need to prevent water waste as represented by the ominous appearance of the grey faucet.
Image B is another example of a water-saving campaign. Here, the designer engages the viewer through a realistic-looking image of a metal faucet, but this time the faucet is tied in a knot, a metaphor for stopping the drip. Again, the visual effect creates a mental surprise that builds on the contrast between the hard, solid nature of metal, and the plasticity in which the faucet has been tied.
The image is engaging and also fun--the important message is communicated to the viewer, who is most likely to take moment to look closer at the ad, while leafing through the pages of a magazine or browsing through web pages.
In the preceding images we can see examples of another visual engagement technique--the use of empty space. The Latin phrase "Horror vacui" means "fear of the empty", and refers to a trend in antiquity to fill the entire visual composition with ornaments and details. In such images, many intricate patterns blend together and it is difficult for the viewer to isolate specific elements.
Painters and visual designers found that organizing fewer elements on the page, so that many areas in the composition are left empty, can create stunningly engaging images. The viewer's eyes are much more attuned to the contrast between the foreground and the elements.
The power of minimalistic design helps focus the viewer's attention on specific elements in the surface, and controls the flow of viewing. This technique is well suited for commercial engagement, where competition over fleeting customer attention can be aided by fewer yet more memorable details.
Animation is another technique experience designers use to draw attention to products and services. Most people love animation. The novelty effect of seeing inanimate objects come to life is irresistible. From the experience designer's perspective, animation offers many ways to engage the user by bringing to life situations that are impossible in reality yet illustrate reality better than a documentary:
- Visual and sound effects such as exaggeration, special effects, and interesting camera angles
- Visual style of characters in drawings or three-dimensional puppets
- Delivery of content through humor or dramatization
Early adoption of animation in product design has been in education and training materials. The image above is a frame from a short instructional clip about airline safety is included.
The inherent power of animation is used increasingly in high-tech products. Brief sequences of animated effects accompany the initialization sequences of many products such as cars and mobile devices. These very brief sequences provide a visual cue that the system is operational, and also create an emotional effect of personability and a welcoming gesture.