Neurodesign: what is this?

Neurodesign, a specialised field within neuroscience, applies insights from psychology and applied neuroscience to understand our response to design. At Stanford University, it's seen as an intersection of Psychology, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, Anthropology, and Design, yet it's not confined—it can encompass digital engineering, computer science, and more. This emergent field, like neuroscience itself, elucidates how our brains are wired to create designs that prioritize simplicity, evoke joy, and prompt action, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of designs.

Neuroscientists delve into unravelling the mysteries of back-end systems and how these insights can benefit user experience (UX) experts, creatives, advertisers, designers, and marketers by optimising engagement and appeal in their projects or products.

But practically speaking, what knowledge can NeuroDesign add to UX Design processes?

Here are some fundamental starting points and pathways for exploration:

Firstly, understanding that humans are predominantly visually inclined underscores the significance of comprehending how we perceive and react to visual stimuli—a crucial facet for UX designers. Elements like colours, contrast, luminosity, animations, textures, human faces, expressions, and Gestalt principles ought to be purposefully integrated into user interfaces, not randomly constructed.

Moreover, insights into our decision-making processes can be invaluable. Emotions are processed across various brain regions collectively known as the "limbic system." Impulsive actions stem from this system, which processes emotions, memory, sensory inputs, motor functions, and physiological responses. In contrast, the frontal cortex governs our complex decision-making by regulating emotions. Decisions originating from the prefrontal cortex take more time due to their deliberative nature.

Understanding the nature of decisions users must make regarding a product or service, as well as the cognitive load involved, is crucial. For instance, a study published in the Behaviour and Information Technology Journal in 2006 revealed that people form a "like" or "dislike" decision about a web page's design in a mere 50 milliseconds.

Consideration must also be given to the quantity of stimuli presented to users, particularly visual stimuli, considering our innate visual bias. Despite the brain's incredible capabilities, being the most powerful and incredible machine that exists, storage and processing capacity is limited. Therefore, strategically employing stimuli is key to capturing and sustaining attention.

Furthermore, exploring neurotransmitter releases like dopamine, associated with motivation and the brain's reward system, could be interesting. Platforms leveraging dopamine cycles, such as social media through likes or similar triggers, illustrate this knowledge (I leave space for your judgement here, I have my ethical reservations).

For UX designers, understanding NeuroDesign offers the opportunity to manage cognitive load, drive action, and create emotions in our designs. Through this knowledge, we can create generalized hypotheses and assumptions about what users perceive from their interactions at extremely fast speeds of sensory information. However, we cannot forget that our perceptions and sensations are formed by a series of factors, including our personalities, experiences and expectations.

In this sense, the broader and at the same time deeper the knowledge in Neurodesign, the more tangible the success of our projects will be and the more influence we will have on the final experience. But we need to be aware that this is extremely complex and that knowledge in this area is constantly evolving.

It is also important that we know how to use this knowledge about the brain, its functioning and impacts on sensations and behavior, appropriately and ethically to support people's goals and results. This involves striving for innovative answers that prioritize ethical considerations and align with fundamental human necessities. These solutions are crafted while considering our human essence, remaining attentive to both the psychological and physiological aspects. Consequently, it's crucial to delve not only into technological advancements but equally into understanding the human dimension when creating and managing technology.

In conclusion, by delving into the intricate workings of the human brain, NeuroDesign equips designers and professionals with nuanced insights, fostering the creation of designs that resonate, simplify, and evoke meaningful responses, ultimately shaping more effective and impactful user experiences.

And you, did you already know NeuroDesign? What is your perspective?

Comment here and let's continue discovering and sharing this path.

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References:

Gitte Lindgaard , Gary Fernandes , Cathy Dudek & J. Brown (2006) Attention web designers: You have 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression!, Behaviour & Information Technology, 25:2, 115-126, DOI: 10.1080/01449290500330448

Stanford University. https://neurodesign.stanford.edu/

Zapata, Andrés. The heuristics of Neurodesign. A guide to design for the brain with intention and results. 2022. https://uxdesign.cc/the-heuristics-of-neurodesign-a62714f18f31

Suzuki, Shin. Dopamina: por que busca desenfreada por estímulos pode tirar satisfação da vida. 2022. https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-61303597

Hasso-Plattner-Institut. NeuroDesign. https://hpi.de/neurodesign/home.html