Behavioural Design Tips

Capture attention

When our attention is strongly drawn to something, we are more likely to do whatever it suggests.

✅ Visuals. A picture is worth a thousand words. Visuals can attract attention, make information easier to understand and remember, help people understand numbers, and assess risk. 

✅ Emotion.  Spark an emotional reaction. Create designs that stand out and remain memorable by appealing to our emotions – with surprise, curiosity or urgency. Beware, however, of fear-based messages, which may backfire.

✅ Personalise. Show personalised content. People respond strongly to messaging that is customised and relevant based on their behaviour and interests and values.

✅ Headlines. Use positive words in the headline to get people’s attention. In one study, pro-vaccine articles with headlines that used positive emotion words were more likely to be shared and commented on (anti-vaccine messages often successfully use negative emotion words!).

Easy = True

✅ Keep it clear. Information is more likely to stick when it  can be easily processed and feels familiar Or, when a communication is easy to read and understand, it seems more familiar, and familiar feels true. Provide clear, straightforward content that is easy to understand and easy to remember. Avoid jargon, keep language simple, present the key message early and use simple fonts and high-contrast colours. Remove all unnecessary information.

✅ Repeat. Repeating (positive!) messages increases cognitive fluency. Words seen before become easier to see again. In contrast, if someone struggles to understand, they are more likely to be vigilant and suspicious.