Influencing Behavior Through Design

It’s lunchtime in 2018, and John is hungry. He doesn’t want to cook, so he decides to go to the nearest Mcdonald's. As usual, he is spoiled for choice with the number of food items on the menu, but he ends up buying a Classic, one of the newer and pricier items from the Signature Collection. He’s happy with his decision, and it tastes good, but it begs the question, “why did he choose that specific menu when he could’ve gone for a cheaper cheeseburger?”

As detailed in an article by MarketWatch, the first thing that drew John’s attention would be the delicious photos of the pricier items positioned near the entrance. This is important because consumers tend to go with the first option offered when making a decision. Prices are barely there or in smaller fonts to reduce the pain of spending, and the digital menus have subtle animation to direct attention away from lower-priced options to those such as the Signature Collection, taking advantage of our eyes’ natural ability to track motion. In addition, more menu space is given to these pricier items to make them stand out more.

Artisan by Social Affair designed to merge a social atmosphere of a gallery inside a restaurant

These are all informed decisions designed to influence how customers like John will act, one of many cases proving design is a powerful tool. Whether to sell a product or make people vote, design can influence how people behave and guide them towards a specific purpose or end goal. Designing is not just making things look cool, pretty, or functional just for the sake of it – it is doing all of this with intent.

Now, more than ever, people realize just how much of an influence the design of something can exert. Design has become more informed than ever, with significant amounts of research and testing going into each decision made. That shade of red on a logo? The typography on a sign? All of that is well-researched to serve a specific purpose and to have a particular effect.

This method of design thinking that prioritizes how design can shape human behavior is called Behavior Design. According to SUE, “Behavioral Designers combine Psychology, Design, Technology, and Creative Methods to find out why people do the things they do and to figure out through experimentation how to activate them to change their behavior.”

Behavioral Designers are constantly concerned with the questions “Why?” and “How?” The whys and hows of human behavior form the basis of what they do, as they constantly ideate around the answers to these questions, testing prototypes based on their assumptions and re-ideating based on what they find. A designer unaware of behavioral design or how their design can influence their customer’s behavior might design based on their personal preference or what they think would stand out the most. Still, a behavioral designer takes into account and conducts research when designing.

Empathy is a vital part of behavioral design, as you want to understand the customer and put yourself in their shoes so that you can design the most effective and relatable product. A good designer can understand the reasoning behind a customer’s thought process and the factors contributing to their decision-making, which help immensely with and inform the ideation process. With this empathy for customers, the ideation process is not just taking shots in the dark, and instead, it has a baseline from which to jump off.

For example, when designing a cafe, you might first ask, “why do people choose to hang out at a cafe?” This question might have a thousand answers, but you can break it down into further questions: “why does a space make people relaxed?” “Why do people like working in a cafe?’ and so on. 

After asking why, you then ask how? “How can I make a customer relaxed?”, ”How can I make a customer enjoy sitting for hours at a table?”, “How can I refresh a customer?” Answering these questions leads to you formulating different prototypes, challenging your creativity in solving problems with designed solutions. According to an NYU study, you might have larger windows to restore from fatigue, add natural light to relax and ease stress, or add a view of nature to induce refreshing feelings. Whatever the design decision, there are hypotheses backing it.

With our years of experience in designing F&B outlets, we are always exploring and testing on the best way to create a comfortable and enjoyable atmosphere for customers.

However, to influence behavior effectively, it is not enough to have hypotheses and questions to answer. You should always test your design prototypes, which is why so many companies now carry out user testing. Testing allows you to understand how your hypotheses and designed solutions perform in the real world with actual human beings, as prototypes often perform differently in the hands of an actual customer. This gives you feedback that you can use to revise your design and make it even more impactful, allowing you to take one step further in getting the desired results. Think of it as a test screening for a movie. Let the audience get a preview so you can make any required changes before releasing it to the larger public.

This is just a bit of insight into how human behavior informs and can be influenced by design, but it’s essential to start thinking about it if you're a designer. Creativity does not exist in a vacuum, and there are many factors to consider when designing something—every decision you make matters, not just to you but to the end-user of your design. Informed design is smart design, and research into and understanding human behavior can make all the difference in getting your customers to act on and use your designs the way you want them to.