Getting “Psychological”: Designing Banner Ads Using A Hint Of Psychology

Have you ever noticed those images that appear on the side or top of a website? The ones with big letters and pictures? The ones that we sometimes try to avoid clicking on since it opens in a new tab? Have you ever wondered what these are and what they’re called? Well, before I knew any better I thought these were viruses which caused me some fear of clicking on them. Even until now I think twice about clicking on them, even though I now know they aren’t viruses. These are actually the billboards and posters on the internet called banner ads and there’s really no threat about them. They’re just there to draw in customers who will hopefully buy their product.

Mixing Psychology and Banner Ads

The cool thing about these banner ads is that there’s sometimes more than meets the eye. Why? Well, it’s because most banner ads actually tap into the human psychology to attract attention.

Of course it’s no weirdo hypnosis-like thing that brainwashes customers, it’s more artistic than that. Banner ads make use of certain types of phrases and even colors that actually affect a person’s emotions.

For us to have an idea on how we can use psychology on our own banner ads, here are a few design styles and colors that can affect a viewer’s perspective about our businesses:

The Desperate Effect

These are banner ads that usually start with “I have been struggling with…” or “I haven’t been able to…” and other similar starters. They try to sympathize with the viewer, so once they have their attention, they can offer their products or services as a solution to their problems.

The Color Blue

The color blue encourages feelings of security and trust, different shades of blue can also have varied meanings. For example, light blue encourages more trustworthiness while dark blue is more professional and has an aura of intelligence. The usual types of companies that use blue for their banner designs are banks and medical institutions.

The Fear of Loss

Some of these designs usually have a bigger impact than designs that express a desire for profit. An example of this “fear of loss” design are banner words that often sound like “Mistakes that can lead to losing money” or “Why I try to avoid…”. This usually brings out a kind of desire for security in a viewer because he does not want to end up like the person saying those things.

The Color Red

Red is a very intense color that almost immediately catches a person’s attention. This is the most common color for sales purposes and restaurant logos, since red evokes passion and aggression. Red is said to be the color that creates a state of arousal and sometimes even quickens our heart to beat a little bit. When that happens, we can be easily swayed by persuasive messages and be tempted to buy an item or eat at the restaurant.

Other kinds of banner ad psychology also appeal to a customer’s curiosity, or use other colors that associate with aggression, power, or softness, depending on the business. We can find the right strategy for our banner ads by experimenting with the different methods and effects of effective marketing.

About Jalou Batilong

Most every great writer is a voracious reader, and no word describes Jalou better. Jalou enjoys a good read whenever she has the time to sit down and open a book or browse for interesting articles. It's through reading that she is able to digest information so easily, and write her own unique piece of information to share to everyone else.

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