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What makes you decide what to watch? It all starts with cohesive marketing that recognizes design as a key element, says W12 Studios founder Michael Albers.
“A lot of [design] ideas aren’t just there as ornaments to make something look pretty,” Albers said. “I genuinely believe that design helps make a better product at the end of the day for the user.”
Albers will carry this notion into the upcoming panel “The Paralysis of Choice” at Promax Europe on March 25-26, 2019. Alongside three other panelists, he’ll share the design perspective of consumer behavior and their decision of what to watch.
Albers says design is often an afterthought, forcing designers to maneuver around pre-determined marketing elements. However, companies that incorporate design from the beginning create higher-quality content that improves a user’s experience, looks better, and conveys the right message in the small window of time consumers take to make decisions.
“As designers, we spend a lot of time thinking about what the user would really want, what would be reflective and elevate the brand, and what makes sense from a business perspective,” Albers said. “I think sometimes with design, corners are cut for speed to market, engineering challenges, and the process of really bringing an idea to life. Sometimes, those things really are detrimental to the product itself.”
Design must be streamlined in the marketing process, but it must also be optimized to grab a user’s attention. It requires being consistent with metadata, prioritizing the quality of artwork, using today’s technology to our advantage, and allowing design to take the driver’s seat.
“Going back 20 years, everything online was very static,” Albers said. “You’d click a link, you’d have to sit there and wait for a page to refresh, and that was kind of it…with the changes and advantages in technology, you see a lot more room for exploration with promotions, sound design, and fluid animation.”
Especially with ever-changing technology and platforms, it’s essential for designers to continually find new design approaches, avoid replicating experiences across different platforms, and optimize content for different screen sizes.
“It’s important to break down the brand, translate it into an experience with motion, sound, interactions, visuals, etc. and really bring that to life,” Albers said. “As technology moves forward, there’s an opportunity to make television feel more cinematic, fluid, and more like a video-viewing experience.”
And it’s these elements, paired with early collaboration within a company, that results in an enjoyable experience for users.
“At the end of the day, users don’t see all of the different challenges and departments—they see one brand. And getting a customer to understand your brand is incredibly satisfying and, when done right, incredibly powerful.”
Catch the “The Paralysis of Choice” panel March 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 11:55 a.m. at Promax Europe in Amsterdam.