Graphic design and psychology: how are they related?

Each shape, each letter, each tonality influences when we interact with them.. For this reason, different marketing strategies emphasize these aspects so that companies grow. But how do they act on our thoughts and feelings? Through graphic design and psychology, we will seek an answer.

These two disciplines have been related from the beginning, But currently their link is becoming more visible through training processes in which they show how productive it is to exploit their relationship to understand different phenomena.

Through this post, we will show you what their link is. To do this, we will explore various areas of psychology and show how these two disciplines work together. In addition, we will present some examples of application of both tasks.

Graphic design and psychology, link

To begin, it is important to know what each of these disciplines does.. Psychology is dedicated to the study and intervention of behavior, cognition and emotions and graphic design focuses on the projection of visual communications; In other words, it is an art and process in which a message is communicated through text, photographs, figures, etc., seeking that precisely these elements highlight the message more.

So what is their link? TO They both work with human beings. In fact, they intervene in your thoughts, feelings and behaviors, it’s just that the approach is different.

The person generally goes to the psychologist to get to know himself, to enhance skills, to find a solution to a problem, etc. and the graphic designer when he wants to transmit a message to a specific audience (target) effectively, either for his brand or that of his company.

Besides, both work with communication. In the case of the psychologist, when establishing a therapeutic bond with his patient. In the case of the graphic designer, to transmit the message more effectively to its potential recipients using graphic elements.

Besides, Both professionals connect with people. To do this, they must have skills such as empathy, so it will be easier to understand the person or company they work with.

Besides, Both psychologists and graphic designers must take into account the uniqueness of each person. That is, how each of us is authentic, that is why they emphasize the characteristics we possess.

How do these two areas work?

Graphic design and psychology can work hand in hand. Let’s see in what areas and how they do it:

Marketing. Both can work with techniques and studies that aim to improve the marketing of a product or service. In psychology, the area that does it is consumer psychology, and in graphic design they do it through multimedia creation, illustration, graphic interfaces, infographics, brand identity, art production, development of the visual image, creation of logos, texts, etc.Cognition. Through mental models. That is, the process of mapping what a person understands about the world. That is, it is about trying to discover the intuitive process of the audience. Both professionals use it to know how to intervene. And then they apply it according to their area, the designer to replicate those models in the design and the psychologist to identify patterns and translate them to their patient, or to understand audiences and give their point of view in the company, whether for human resources or marketing.Gestalt. This area explores how elements perceive each other visually. Its principles focus specifically on how design elements are grouped. In psychology, Gestalt represents an entire current that places one of its focuses on the configuration by which elements arrive from sensations, perceptions or memory itself, using the arrangement of figures as metaphors or analogies.Unconscious mechanisms. Both professions can study the feelings, emotions and behaviors that different aspects provoke in us such as: shapes, colors and texts.

Now, let’s look at some concepts that can be used in both areas as an example.

Proximity. When objects are placed close to each other, they look like a group.Similarity. Objects that look alike are perceived as one object or as part of the same group.Closing. When a shape is perceived as a whole even when the object is not completely closed.Continuity. When you naturally move from one object to another.Figure background. On occasions when the figure is separated from the surrounding background.Visceral reactions. The situations in which something impacts us instinctively.Color. Each color is linked to a specific register of emotions. For example, yellow is usually associated with happiness and hunger, red with impulsiveness, white with purity, blue with health, orange is associated with enthusiasm, and green with nature, among others.Complexity. It conveys challenge, so it may or may not attract us.Homogeneity. By increasing the coherence between the different characteristics of the stimulus, the sensation it produces also tends to improve.ID. When we feel attracted or recognized by something or someone, we may find it pleasant.

In sum, Human beings have emotions, thoughts and behaviors that can be evoked by different stimuli. Now, depending on what they are, they will cause different sensations and perceptions. Both the psychologist and the graphic designer emphasize this, but the objective is different.

Examples of the application of graphic design and psychology

Let’s look at some cases where the intervention of both disciplines can be evidenced:

Coca Cola. It uses strategies to try to reach the hearts of its consumers. This is a brand that tries to find user identification. Their strategies are based on transmitting aspects inherent to human beings, such as happiness.Unika. This is a creative agency passionate about designing strategies and creating communities to increase your brand engagement. They immerse themselves in the social imagination and emphasize the authenticity of each client to create specific concepts and value propositions that generate great business impact.Art therapy. It focuses on the person’s unconscious mechanisms and how these influence their emotional and cognitive world and their way of acting. Every shape, every texture, every sound evokes and transmits something.Investigation. The use of sensations and perceptions as a factor that influences an increasingly efficient and active society is studied at a scientific and advertising level. For example, in the book The influence of Aspect on the efficiency of the advertising graphic message, It is shown how the psychological and communicative approach offers broad ways to advance scientific and graphic advertising knowledge.

As we have seen throughout the text, graphic design and psychology can complement each other and work hand in hand, although in each area the object is different. Perhaps where they converge most in the advertising field, In fact, both professionals can work for the same company.

To make the relationship even clearer, you can look around you and see what each object, each color, each texture, each shape, each letter evokes in you…

You might be interested…