senses
The seven senses - sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, intuition, and balance - play an important role in the field of graphic design, branding and user experience.
Understanding how they affect the user experience can help your branding design to become more effective and engaging.
01. Sight
The sense that a large amount of our visual world relies on. When it comes to sight, visual elements such as colour, contrast, and typography are crucial in branding and website design, as they help to create a visual hierarchy and guide attention. In branding, visual elements such as logo, iconography, and imagery are used to create a recognisable and consistent visual identity.
02. Sound
Sound can be used or hinted to via sight to create an immersive user experience and set the tone for a brand. Sound can be used as part of a video, animation, or interactive elements to enhance the overall user experience.
Think of Nike for example, the sight of the tick, and the implied sound of the ‘swoosh”.
03. Touch
Touch is an important sense in branding and website design as it can be used to create a sense of texture and depth. In branding, touch can be used to create a sense of quality and value, through the use of different materials, such as paper stock, or finishes like spot UV. Or again through effective use of imagery (sight) touch or texture can be implied. Think of a sheet of stainless steel vs a rich piece of kiaat wood.
04. Taste
Taste is not typically considered in website design and branding, but it can be used to create an immersive experience in certain contexts, such as packaging design or food-related branding. However imagery, words and texture can lend themselves to describing or implying a taste.
05. Smell
Like taste, smell is also not typically considered in branding and website design, although through the other senses and imagery, words and texture can lend themselves to describing a smell or scent. Think of star anise, or a bright yellow lemon.
06. Intuition
Intuition, also known as the sixth sense, plays an important role in both graphic design, branding, and user experience. Intuition is used to create a sense of familiarity and ease of use, by following common design patterns and conventions.
07. Balance
In branding and website design balance is used as a way to create visual harmony and stability, through the use of composition, alignment and hierarchy.