Style me pretty: impactful first impressions

style me prettyimpactful first impressions

Sarah Weise, [email protected] Ferguson, [email protected]

User Focus 2012

Booz | Allen | Hamilton


You’ve got of a second.

1/20Flip through the next few slides as quick as you can – spend less than a second on each!










At first glance, what did you notice?

PhotosPeople Colors Layout

Ads

What you notice…

ContentNavigationInteraction

What you don’t…

Feelings

Emotions, not reason, drive online

behavior.

you’ve got 1/20 of a second.

If people believe a website looks good, then this positive quality will spread to other areas, such as the website’s content.

Since people like to be right, they will continue to use the website that made a good first impression, as this will further confirm that their initial decision was a good one.

Dr. Lindgaard, Carleton University, describing her

2006 research on the halo effect

make it count.


How to make first impressions count…

1. Impactful Images

2. Visual Simplicity


Not just for designers…

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/cxpartners/how-to-use-photos-to-improve-the-user-experience

Why are photos never really discussed in UX terms?!

- James ChudleyUX analysts are taught to build vanilla wireframes, and test paper prototypes without considering images.

But images are crucial to first impressions (and impact whether a customer even stays on your site at all to become a conversion).

They should not be left until the last minute. They should be part of initial analysis, and carefully selected to suit the target audience.


What do you see?What do you notice first here? Despite the noise, you will most likely focus on Bob Marley’s face.


Impactful ImagesWe spend more time on sites with people and faces.


Impactful Images

You see how the gorilla pod is will capture treasured moments of you and your loved ones (emotional brain).

You see how it hooks to things so it is functional (rational brain).

The content compliments the emotion of the image, but you probably didn’t even read it. The images are far more important than the content for a first impression.

Emotion + Reason = I want one!


How would you do this on a government site?



Take a moment to flip between the previous slide and this one… One image makes a huge difference!

While the previous slide shows a site that seems clean and customer-focused, this site appears disorganized and organization-centric.


Impactful ImagesWe follow faces and gazes.

Source: usableworld.com.au


Do you find yourself looking at Obama’s face?Yes, especially his eyes! But wait… that’s not the point of this site.


Here your eye moves from Romney’s face to the faces of your Facebook friends who you recognize. It draws you into the sign up

area and encourages you to share your email and zip to get started.


Some more things to consider…

These people don’t look real.Stock photos are not always your friend. Gimmicky stock photos of unrealistic people with huge grins actually decrease your site’s credibility.

Can your audience relate?This photo may be successful at influencing those with children. But

those without children looked at it and said “This doesn’t seem like a site for me.” Use photos that speak to key target audience groups.

3-2-1 Action!Action photos are most persuasive. They allow the user to

imagine herself doing whatever is going on in the picture. Notice how the person is gazing and pointing his body

towards the text as well.


What feelings come to mind?

Does this site seem very credible?


Oh yes, Government sites are guilty of clutter and poor first impressions too!


Take the old USAJobs.gov for example.

The main task is completely obscured. It looks like a hoarder designed it.


Visual SimplicityWhite space is your friend.

The main task is now simply presented, and surrounded by white space. It is now clear what you can do on this site now!


Visual SimplicityIt doesn’t have to be white.

RemoveGroup Hide Displace

How to simplify…


The human brain can hold approximately 4 groups of information in short-term memory at a time.

Too many groupings on a website place a memory load burden on the customer – it literally makes a customer’s brain hurt!


The revised layout significantly reduces content groupings on the homepage, which actually increases memory retention.

Visual SimplicityHide items so users don’t become overwhelmed.


So what did we learn?

People are wired to find human faces and gazes. Use impactful images Don’t wait to choose the right image Point gazes at text to encourage customers to read

Customers like white space and clean designs, and don’t respond well to clutter at first glance. Reduce the number of groups Create visual simplicity Apply targeted layouts


You’ve got of a second.

1/20


Linna Ferguson and Sarah Weise are members of the User Experience Team at Booz Allen Hamilton. For a combined 20 years, they have helped clients increase site traffic, prevent drop-offs, and boost sales by enhancing user experience.

Their experience extends to government, non-profit, and e-commerce websites and applications. A snapshot of their Booz Allen Hamilton clients includes U.S. Army, Coast Guard, Veterans Affairs, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Environmental Protection Agency, and Washington Performing Arts Society.

Over the past 4 years, Linna and Sarah have presented at UPA conferences in Portland, Munich, and DC.

make it count.

Linna [email protected]

@vafoodscaper

Sarah [email protected]

@weisesarah

Style me pretty: impactful first impressions

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impactful images dont

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government site

site thatseems clean

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