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June 03 2024
Visual Processing and Website Layouts
Google's homepage is a prime example of leveraging our brain's visual processing. Its simplicity and clear layout cater to our brain's preference for order and predictability.
When you land on Google's homepage, you see a minimal design with a single search bar in the center. This reduces cognitive load and allows users to focus immediately on the task at hand.
Our brains are wired to recognize patterns and avoid clutter, making this straightforward design highly effective. The use of white space around the search bar guides the user's eyes directly to it, facilitating a seamless search experience.
The Power of Color
Colors deeply influence our emotions and decisions. Consider Spotify’s use of vibrant greens and blacks. The green color induces a feeling of freshness and vitality, while the black background provides a sleek, modern look. This color scheme enhances the user's experience by making the app feel lively and engaging.
On the other hand, LinkedIn uses a blue theme to evoke professionalism and trust. Blue is associated with calm and reliability, which is why it’s prevalent in corporate and professional settings.
By understanding these color associations, designers can create interfaces that elicit the desired emotional responses from users.
Feedback Loops and Dopamine
Snapchat’s streak feature effectively engages our brain's reward system. When users maintain a streak with friends, they receive visual indicators like fire emojis and numbers, which release dopamine—a feel-good chemical in the brain. This intermittent reward system is powerful because it capitalizes on the brain’s love for unpredictability.
Users are motivated to keep their streaks going to continue experiencing the pleasure of receiving rewards. This method is not unique to Snapchat; other apps, like Instagram with its 'likes', also use similar dopamine-driven feedback loops to increase user engagement.
Memory and UX
Amazon’s checkout process demonstrates excellent memory optimization. Instead of overwhelming users with all the steps at once, Amazon breaks the process into smaller, manageable parts: Review Cart, Shipping Information, Payment Details, and Place Order.
This step-by-step approach reduces cognitive load, making it easier for users to remember and complete the process.
By chunking information, Amazon aligns with the brain's limited working memory capacity, which can handle about seven items at a time. This approach not only simplifies the transaction process but also minimizes user errors and frustration, leading to a smoother shopping experience.
