Assignment 4 Question 1

1. As discussed in class, please provide three reasons why visuals are important to web content. Please ensure you go into detail for each item. (6 Marks)

Visuals are important to web content due to 65% of the population being visual learners

This means that most users, if not all, of the users coming to your website are looking for images or visual stimulation. This is either conscious or subconscious for the user. Visuals help summarize content you make into smaller chunks for the user; it’s more understandable than text or audio. Three reasons why visuals are essential to the web are one, visuals stick in users’/consumers’ long-term memory; two, visuals are transmitted into the user’s head faster than text, which helps when users have so much content at their fingertips; and third, Visuals trigger emotions more then the text would. These aren’t all the essential benefits, but these are the three main points we talked about in class.

Visuals Stick In Consumers Long-term Memory

According to Dr. Lynell Burmark, and supported by research findings, visuals can stick in our long-term memory. They compared text to images and found that verbal information tends to pass through short-term memory more quickly as long-term memory directly stores images. This means users retain images for a longer period, which can relate to brand requisition and sales later down the funnel. Jandhyala, D. (2021, May 12). Visual learning: 6 reasons Why Visuals are the most powerful aspect of eLearning. eLearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/visual-learning-6-reasons-visuals-powerful-aspect-elearning For instance, if I were to show you a picture of a t-shirt with my brand logo on it, you would keep that in your long-term memory for longer than if I was to explain what was on the t-shirt in a paragraph. Visuals can also help aid users with text. Instead of just using text or visuals, the best way to ensure the user stores the information you want them to for a long time is to combine images and text. In doing this, you add more context and meaning to the content. Using images within content in the future is extremely important as it not only retains to longer memory but also gets the user to remember key information that will get the user to act upon your content and advertisements.

Visuals Transmit messages Faster than text

The human brain processes visuals faster than text. The brain can register images in milliseconds, and visual information is transmitted to the brain 60,000 times faster than text.

This is why our brain loves pictures | International Forum of Visual Practitioners. (n.d.). https://ifvp.org/content/why-our-brain-loves-pictures

This indicates that visuals play a massive role in directing attention and more efficiently engaging users with our content. When we are using structured content, it’s important to plan out your information so you can remove text and add images instead; this will, in turn, capitalize on the brain’s ability to process visual information quicker and more efficiently. Forty percent of nerve fibres are also linked to the retina. This is one of the reasons that we process information faster through images and visual content. ImageThinkNet. (2023, November 14). Vision In The Brain: Is it True or False that vision rules the brain? ImageThink. https://www.imagethink.net/true-or-false-vision-rules-the-brain/

Using images and visual content, with or without text, will help users read our content faster overall. This will help with the F-pattern and reverse pyramid, as users will stop to take in the image instead of scrolling past it. It’s also a great way to direct users’ attention to an area we want them to see. This is an important reason why visual content is so important to the web.

Visuals Trigger Emotions

Visuals not only help convey information and allow users to consume it faster but also help trigger an emotional response. Visual cues can evoke emotions and create a stronger connection with the audience; this is a vital tool that allows us to hook the audience or user into buying from us. When the user finds visually compelling content that resonates with them emotionally, it will lead to a more memorable experience for them. For example, if we created an image of us finding vintage Jnco jeans at a Goodwill, it would give our target audience excitement and hope that they might be able to find something like that, too. Emotions are also processed in the encoding of visual memory, which further emphasizes the link between visual and emotional responses. Using visual content to evoke emotion isn’t just for the positive, though. Using negative emotions in visuals can leave a strong emotional response and sometimes be better for advertisements than positive ones. Consumers tend to remember negative emotions more than positive ones. For example, would it stick in your head more if you gained $20 dollars or lost 20 dollars? The answer is always lost. Incorporating these emotional triggers through visual content adds another level of depth to our content and helps with trust and gaining a stronger connection with the audience.

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