The Power of Persuasion

Something that I have tried to grapple with in my job and in classes is the power of design in influencing an audience.

I have seen a lot of great campaigns, from something like the Dove Real Beauty campaign, to 5-a-Day wellness campaign and so on, we see how design influences us to do all kinds of things. It's actually a little scary.

At work, I am in charge of sustainability efforts, which includes making sure everyone in the company knows the difference between trash, recycling, and compost, and that they actually CARE enough to do it. Without going into a rant, I will just say that it has been beyond difficult. In the beginning I came up with training manuals and so many different kinds of signage. Did the employees need signs with pictures showing what could go where? Did they need English/Spanish translations on the signs? Should it be simplified to just the name and a corresponding icon? Nothing seemed to work, regardless of the fact that I knew everyone was capable of the task.

Stock image example, yay.

I am always taking notes on what works and what doesn't outside of my own efforts. For instance, the Smithsonian Museums have their waste stations down to a science, and of course, I had to take a picture of the trash cans, much to the confusion of everyone around me. From the color coding to the nice signage reading, "Don't know where to put something? You can leave it here." Somehow, what they were doing was working, and I wanted to create that for myself.

For me, I think the effectiveness of signage is particularly interesting. From encouraging people to pick up their dog's poo, to getting motorists (and pedestrians) to respect traffic signage - it just seems like there is some kind of science behind it that I want to understand. 

One campaign I've seen in Maryland that I find particularly shaking.
These posters are displayed at bus stops and along roads.

In other media campaigns (buy this product, quit smoking, stop bullying, vote, etc), designers and strategists are pulling at your emotions and relating the subject back to your life. They make you sad, happy, angry or fearful, mostly without you even realizing.

Another campaign that I think is really interesting is BGE's recent efforts to get consumers to conserve energy, especially during peak hours. Over the summer I have received postcards, flyers, emails and advertisements pushing the programs. To me, this is a harder campaign because for one, energy-usage and savings are pretty boring to most people (if they aren't already trying to save the planet), and two, it is trying to get people to do something they don't want to do - turn off their devices. Instead of playing on emotions like many other campaigns, they make a rewards and incentives program for users.

In trying to summon some of these almighty powers of persuasion, I really just want to better understand how it works. I would like to learn to go beyond designing things to look good, and actually designing things that are received, digested, and followed through.


My questions for you guys -

Are there any signs or campaigns that you really appreciate or find effective?
Any that have worked on you?
What other factors make a campaign so effective?
How do you make a boring or difficult task easier to digest and initiate in a campaign?
In thinking of a pull and an audience for Project 1, what strategies have you tried?
As you develop Project 1, where do you pull inspiration for persuasive work?