Design Psychology: How it Helps Consumers, Creators, and Companies

Graphic Design
4-5 MINS read
29 Dec 2022

Design psychology is one of those aspects of a business that some people don’t exactly understand. Knowing about design psychology and how it works can help businesses flourish and make a difference. 

Design psychology helps consumers, creators, and companies all around by allowing companies to market their products exactly how consumers want. 

In this article, we’ll dive into how design psychology can help creators, companies, and consumers and what sort of benefits it can bring to the table. If you’re looking for more information on design psychology then keep on reading. 

What Is Design Psychology? 

To start off, we must begin by knowing what design psychology exactly is before we can know how it benefits everyone. 

Design psychology is the process of using psychology to determine the best practices for design elements of your business based on consumer patterns and attractions.

This can include everything from your logo, social media posts, website design, product design, and so much more. 

The psychology behind consumers' behaviors and buying patterns can help you determine the best colors, shapes, styles, textures, and everything in between to grab your customer's attention. 

How Does Design Psychology Affect Customers? 

Design psychology is targeted toward customers

Obviously, a brand will want to sell its product to the consumer, so choosing design elements that will grab the customers' attention and convince them to purchase it is necessary. 
Examples of this would be an eye-catching logo or slogan, it could even mean the colors and shapes you chose for it that might be in trend. 

No matter what design element you’re working on, it’s essential to understand the consumer first. 

How Can Design Psychology Help Your Business? 

Businesses tend to create a product and then expect people to conform to the ways of that product, rather than the other way around. 
By understanding design psychology you can create products, experiences, and more that are geared specifically to your audience and consumers.

Ultimately this can result in many benefits but the main ones are getting more sales and attraction, plus better reviews because the consumers are taken into consideration first, meaning they’re more likely to be satisfied. 

Design psychology can benefit a business in many ways and for a business to connect with buyers, they have to understand its customers and what exactly they want. 

Not only that, but knowing what the human eye is attracted to and choosing design elements like colors and shapes to stand out among the rest is essential to success in design psychology as well. 

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How Design Influences Customer Behavior

Design is a huge element when it comes to anything that consumers buy. There are a few design pieces that really affect customer behavior and how they interact with the product. 

Visual Design

So, visual design or graphic design is a great place to start. The customer will usually see a product or service first and this can already give them some sort of impression of the product or brand. 

Focusing on visual design is extremely important. Here are some examples of graphic or visual design opportunities: 

  • Logo 
  • Website design
  • Social media design
  • Product design
  • Packaging design
  • Advertisements 

Curating Product For Customers

The design also influences customers to gravitate towards products that are “made for them” so considering the customer first in design will ensure they always feel that it’s made for them because it is

Ultimately, design influences customers every single day by having eye-catching packaging, great social media content, an engaging website, and so much more. 

If your customers like simple-made products then keep making simple-made products, and if you find that your customers enjoy premium things then make them premium. Basically, just cater to the customer
We interact with design on a daily basis and it’s a great way to ensure your customers are satisfied and attracted to your product. 

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Is Design Psychology Important? 

Absolutely design psychology is important and should be considered in most business decisions. 
Design psychology is the secret to getting your product or brand noticed, and it should be taken into consideration fully throughout the design process

Brands and businesses should consider consumer-attracting design elements when designing new products, website revamps, social media posts, and any other aspect that connects with a customer. 

The benefits of design psychology make it very important and worth considering. 

How Important Is Design To Consumers?

Consumers rely on design to give them their first impressions of a product, business, or brand. Without knowing it, consumers look at the design of websites, social media accounts, products, and more to make a decision on whether they’re impressed. 

Put yourself in a customer's point of view when you’re looking up a new brand or product and you find them online. 

Thinking about what you’d look for in a business or product can help you find out how to design yours. 

How Can You Use Design To Strengthen Relationships With Consumers?

Design helps you connect with the customer because it’s often the first thing they’ll see.

Having clean and attractive design elements can help to attract customers and keep them if they are impressed by the design elements. 

Consider the consumers' desires first when designing your next product, website, or service. 

Here are a few places you can implement consumer-driven design elements:

  • Social media posting 
  • Promotional emails and notifications 
  • Packaging 
  • Product design 
  • Website and online store, blog, etc.
  • Targeted advertisements 

Implementing design elements geared towards your customers within these categories can strengthen relationships with your customers by making them feel valued.

When customers feel as though they have a product “made for them” then they feel like the brand is truly catering to them. 

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How Does Product Design Affect Customer Satisfaction?

What customers prefer should be taken into consideration if you expect good feedback. Ultimately the customer has to be satisfied with all the design elements for them to be happy with the product. 

If your design is catered toward your consumer category then you can expect great feedback from the buyers. 

However, products that may not have much design thought put into them will not get the same great feedback. 

What Are The Benefits of Using Design Psychology?

Design psychology is a great way to understand your customers and meet their needs. There are so many benefits to using this technique, so let’s go over a few. 

Increased Sales

Ultimately if you are gearing your design towards customers then they should be buying the product which can increase your sales. Targeting specific customers will help to get them to buy your product with no questions asked. 

Connected With Customers 

Knowing what your customers desire from your product or brand can help you feel connected to them and better meet their needs. 
This can make them more confident in purchasing from you and leaving honest feedback, 

Customer Satisfaction 

When a product, service, or other design element is geared toward the consumer they are more likely to be satisfied with it. Putting the customers first can help you design a product that they have to love. 

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How To Implement Design Psychology 

There are quite a few ways that you can implement design psychology but one thing to remember is just to consider the customer. 

You’ll want to ensure that you know what your customers want from you, your brand, or your products and keep this at the forefront. 

Be sure to choose design elements such as wording, colors, shapes, textures, pricing, and more into consideration and based on your customer’s desires

Getting feedback on products can help you take that information, use the design psychology, and create new and improved products that are sure to shine. 

FAQs

How Does Design Affect The Consumer?

Essentially, design can affect the consumers' decision to purchase or not purchase the item or service. It can sway their opinion on which one to revere as well. 

How Does Consumer Psychology Affect A Business? 

Consumer psychology is essential to creating a business and products that will satisfy their customer base. 

Knowing how the consumers work and what they want will result in creating products, environments, services, etc, that are sure to satisfy the customer. 

How Is Psychology Used To Influence Consumer Behavior?

Psychology is used to understand a customer's behavior when shopping or interacting with a product, business, or service. 

Understanding this behavior can help businesses gear their design tactics toward their customers. 

Final Thoughts 

Design psychology is an essential part of having a business that’s looking to attract customers. Remember to always consider the customers' needs first before designing to ensure you have 100% customer satisfaction all the time.