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Emotion Design Data

Using data to deepen emotional responses in design

By Charli Edwards, Creative Director

Cavendish Consulting

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The Drum Network article

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June 14, 2022 | 5 min read

Charli Edwards is creative director at LoveThat, part of BECG. Along with two colleagues, she’s also the host of LoveThat’s podcast. Here, she downloads key learnings from the podcast’s last few episodes, including how we craft design solutions to capture emotional responses. Edwards argues that the core of design is creativity and problem-solving.

BECG on how to utilize design to shape emotional response.

BECG on how to utilize design to shape emotional response

The essence of design is how emotion can be conveyed or leveraged, and the skills and techniques to employ. Whether it’s for a brand awareness campaign or a PowerPoint presentation, design asks the viewer to feel a certain way. In order for them to take action or change their behavior, we need to understand what triggers them.

‘Design’ is a broad term, and it can be applied to many areas of many industries and businesses. At the very center of it, however, is problem-solving. Most designers, regardless of industry, have an irrepressible desire to find solutions.

It’s not one single methodology that fuels the creativity behind our solutions; that’s what makes what we do so unique. Each agency and each creative has their own approach, their own rituals to solving the case for their clients. In our case, it is the details in the data that matter.

Storytelling through data

Having all the information at your fingertips does not necessarily make communication or ideation any easier. If anything, it makes it more challenging if you don’t know how to navigate it. So using data and insight to drive narratives can be challenging.

Even the word ‘data’ doesn’t sound very glamorous, let alone using it to tell a story. Analytical data, audience segmentation and sales analysis may seem disconcerting to some creatives, but today’s designers are expected to produce more than cool product logos or flash social posts. They need to stimulate the minds of the audience and keep their interest. They need to find more creative ways to interact and entice, like a mouse in a maze trying to get to the (vegan) cheese.

And yet, despite the initial turn-off, the story behind those figures is often quite fascinating. Ultimately, creatives and the solutions we provide always come back to the people that we’re trying to talk to.

‘Emotional damage’

We as creatives need to think about the stages of human response to what we do. How many of us have presented to a client and they’ve loved or hated something, but after 48 hours have changed their mind or raised questions?

This is because emotional states are ever-changing. After that initial visceral reaction can come contemplation, the ‘I’ve been thinking about X and maybe we should do Y.’ This can sometimes be frustrating, especially if you don’t have the insight to back up your response and affirm your conviction.

Then there’s finally the comparative state: ‘that looks like X’ or ‘that font reminds me of Y.’ Once someone blurts out that your logo design reminds them of Love Island (yes, that’s happened), there’s no putting that back in the box. Suddenly, others around the room will agree and the credibility of that design starts to dwindle. Being able to explain why that’s a worthwhile comparison because you know 85% of the audience you’re targeting watch Love Island with a rabid passion, however: that’s how to turn a frown upside down.

Storytelling is not the ‘mantle of bullshit’

Not everyone agrees that design is storytelling. Legendary graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister once gave an interview that suggested that design should be interesting enough on its own. But for us, the beauty of storytelling through data is that you come to understand those people or those audiences, and the series of events that lead to the project conception, in crystal clarity. That leads to more confident ideation and conviction in your decision-making.

Great stories make us feel. Scared, upset, excited and so on – what better way is there to connect with your audience than to have them establish an emotive connection to the brand? Insights allow us to tap into the emotions of the audience in a way that amplifies the reaction (usually for the better).

Feeling is believing

Designing for emotional response requires thinking about how users will anticipate and experience it, and how they will remember it.

Think of a hospital visit. A happy emotional trigger could be the birth of your first child. However, for someone else, it could trigger the sadness of losing a loved one. Understanding what your creative solutions will trigger emotionally in your audience (by understanding their habits and behaviors) allows you to minimize or enhance a certain response and avoid alienation.

Episode two is available on Youtube and Spotify.

Emotion Design Data

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Cavendish Consulting

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