Web designers use your brain to manipulate your behavior.
Sure, designers create sites with you in mind, following best practices when it comes to UX so that you can easily navigate the site, find the contact information or discover answers to questions. But did you know that designers can also leverage the brain’s natural visual processing tendencies to manipulate your behavior?
According to Susan Weinschenk, understanding the visual cortex allows designers to draw attention to website buttons and other areas where user action is desired.
The pre-attention areas of the brain process information very quickly. Before we even realize it, our brain has logged information about very small and specific visual elements related to orientation, size and shape, color and movement.
Learn how designers utilize these pre-attention areas to manipulate your brain and gain some insight into why designers do what they do in Smashing Magazine’s article, Grabbing Visual Attention With The Visual Cortex.