Persuasive Design: Encouraging Your Users To Do What You Want Them To!

Every day we make thousands of small decisions, be it which cereal to buy or which pension scheme to invest in. We like to think that these decisions are conscious and rational. However the latest advances in cognitive psychology, behavioural economics and neuroscience show that this is often not the case. We rely heavily on shortcuts and “cognitive biases” which make us highly susceptible to influence. By using the concept of “choice architecture”, smart designers can reduce cognitive load and nudge people in a direction of their choosing. A direction that is beneficial to both their users and their clients.

In this session Andy will look at some of the most common “cognitive biases” and how concepts of trust, reciprocity, social proof and liking are used by sales people and marketers around the world to persuade people to do their bidding. Using examples ranging from architecture to menu design, Andy will show how these time honoured techniques can be employed on the web. The result is not only a site that looks good and is free of usability errors; it’s a site that’s designed around the way we think and optimised for the maximum return on investment

So if you’re a designer looking to hone their skills or a business owner wanting to increase registrations and site loyalty, this session will teach you everything you need to know to become a master in online persuasion.