Research has shown that some kinds of visual elements attract our attention more than others. A designer can apply this knowledge to emphasize certain parts of a layout and give a certain element or message importance. When dealing with text, issues of legibility and readability are critical. Designers organize information through the use of formal structures and typographic conventions, to make it easier for the viewer to absorb and understand content. In 1898, Elias St. Elmo Lewis came up with the acronym AIDA, for the stages you need to get consumers through, in order for them to make a purchase. Modern marketing theory is now more sophisticated, but the acronym works well to describe what a design needs to do, in order to communicate and get people to act. Click on the NEXT slide to view more. In order to communicate effectively and motivate your audience, you need to:
A — attract their attention. Your design must attract the attention of your audience. If it doesn’t, your message is not connecting and fulfilling its communication intent. Both the concept and the form must stand out.I — hold their interest. Your design must hold the audience’s interest long enough so they can completely absorb the whole communication.D — create a desire. Your design must make the audience want the product, service, or information.A — motivate them to take action. Your design must compel the audience to do something related to the product, service, or information.
Designers use a number of different techniques to achieve AIDA goals. Click on the NEXT slide to learn more. Allusion is an informal and brief reference to a well known person or cultural reference. This technique is especially effective when the well known person is associated with a situation or behaviour they are not usually associated with. Amplification involves the repetition of a concept through words or images, while adding detail to it. This is to emphasize what may not be obvious at first glance. Amplification allows you to expand on an idea to make sure the target audience realizes its importance (Harris, 2013). Analogy compares two similar things in order to explain an otherwise difficult or unfamiliar idea. Analogy draws connections between a new object or idea and an already familiar one (Harris, 2013). Hyperbole is a deliberate exaggeration, used for emphasis. It can be quite attention grabbing, when it is limited in its use, and only used occasionally for dramatic effect. Metonymy is related to metaphor, where the thing chosen for the metaphorical image is closely related to (but not part of) that with which it is being compared (Harris, 2013). Oxymoron is a paradox presented in two words, in the form of an adjective and noun (“eloquent silence”), or adverb-adjective (“inertly strong”). It is used to impart emphasis, complexity, or wit (Harris, 2013).