Implicit Design
Top-of-their-game corporate designers understand that they must answer this one question:
“How do I want people to feel about THEMSELVES when they experience my design.”
Brain science tells us that at least 85% of decision making is completely SUBCONSCIOUS, and the language of our subconscious brain isn’t REASON, it’s EMOTION. So when you hope to be persuasive, don’t start with FACTS. Instead, make a beeline for the emotions of the subconscious brain.
You don’t need to be a fancy designer to put these powerful persuasion tools to use during your day:
1) Elevate each product feature into a FEELING.
For example, your product doesn’t just “save time.” It frees people from the emotional burden of feeling OVERWHELMED. That new minivan doesn’t just “keep kids safer,” it’s powerful evidence that you’re a GREAT FATHER.
2) Build emotional toolkits
Are you using one standard presentation template that primarily relies on a laundry list of facts? Instead, build a whole series of impassioned presentation templates that dive straight to the heart of a specific motivating emotion.
For example, if a prospect is stressed and overworked, the design is simple, calm, and clean. If she craves discovery and wonder, the design is intricate and techie. Inventory every possible emotion your product elicits, then build a taylor-made toolkit to evoke that feeling.
The most powerful persuaders design each interaction as a deeply emotional EXPERIENCE, not as an information dump.