How Design Shapes The Buying Decision Process

In a study of consumer attitudes by researchers at Northumbria University, individuals were shown a range of online health sites and asked to provide feedback. In 94% of instances, all of the comments offered by the individuals were based on the visual design of the website. 

So, while the purpose of your products and the quality of your service will often be front of mind when you start building your business, it’s actually your image that can be the deciding factor in the buying decision process. 

A consumer’s first impression of your business is the idea that tends to stick, so it’s crucial to make the most of their initial visit to your website or first use of your app. That means optimising your digital design to make the best impression possible. 

In this article, we’ll look at some of the most impactful aspects of brand design, and discuss how you can leverage these aspects to impress and intrigue your audience. We’ll look at how design is linked to brand identity, how design can be used to create an emotional response, and more. 

Design and Brand Identity

Good design is essential for building brand recognition. When consumers can easily identify your brand via your logo, through the colours you’re associated with, or other design elements, it helps build trust. Trust and familiarity are big factors in the buying decision process: consumers are more likely to buy products from businesses they recognise, and good design can help build that trust.

Assuming you already have a logo or a set of colours and fonts that identify marketing materials as belonging to your brand, you’ll want to look at integrating them into any digital products you add to the customer experience. However, the frequency with which you use your logo and the prominence of your brand colours is a critical question. 

For example, if you’re making a mobile app, you’ll have limited space to work with on a user’s phone screen. Having your logo on every single one of your pages may cause the app to look crowded and confusing. However, the app may look generic without your logo and lack brand identity. Finding a balance helps effectively influence consumers’ purchase decisions. 

Streamlining Customers’ Purchase Decisions

Although the loading speed of a website or app largely depends on technical factors, the speed at which a user can navigate the site is down to design. This is because the design of your digital product decides how clear the menus are, how easy the buttons are to locate, and how simple it is to find specific product pages. 

Making menus simple is the best place to start, firstly because it’s a key factor in navigability — and 37% of consumers say they would avoid any website that’s difficult to navigate — and secondly, because the design of your menu may also impact your whole website architecture. 

For most businesses, a small menu on your homepage with 5-10 categories is a good place to start, but it depends on the complexity of your company. The key is to ensure that a customer looking to buy something can achieve that goal as quickly as possible. Look at huge retailers such as Amazon as an example: while they have thousands of product pages, they clearly outline their different product categories and have a highly visible search bar available.

The Power of Emotional Connections

Creative design choices are perfect for subtly leveraging the emotions of your audience. Using the emotional connection that each individual feels to your brand is a great way to improve sales. 

For example, retro logo designs using old-fashioned art styles (or even re-released versions of old company logos) are gaining in popularity. This is an intentional strategy to provoke an emotional response in consumers. Retro styles often create a feeling of nostalgia (even in younger demographics), and it’s this positive association that companies are looking to capture through clever design.

Even something as simple as colour can help create an emotional connection. The link between particular colours and emotions is a well-researched topic, and has been around for hundreds of years: the idea of turning “green with envy” likely originates with Shakespeare in 1607. 

What’s more useful for businesses is that the psychology of colour is somewhat universal, as research finds that people from over 30 countries can link the same colours and emotions, regardless of a shared language. By using a particular colour in your designs (for instance, navy blue to indicate steadfastness and professionalism), you’ll be able to communicate a simple idea to a huge audience. 

Work With the Digital Design Experts at Future Platforms

Innovation and creativity are key elements of impactful design. They’re also some of our core values here at Future Platforms. We strive to create attractive, engaging digital products that can help our clients reinvent themselves and their customer experience. 

So, if you’re looking for revolutionary digital products that can streamline your customers’ purchase decisions, increase revenue, and improve the customer experience, be sure to contact our team.