A look at consistency in design, presented at the Figaro Digital Digital Marketing Conference, July 2016.

1. Andy Marshall, Head of User Experience
How to seamlessly link your brand and customers
with a consistent user experience
Thesakeofconsistency

2. 1
consistency
Understanding

3. Iwanttotellyouastory…
1 Understandingconsistency

4. It’sCalifornia,andit’sthemid1960s.
TwoStanfordUniversitystudentsandahandfulof
recruitsaregoingdoortodoorinthesuburbs,asking
homeownersifthey’llagreetoarequest…
1 Understandingconsistency
ComplianceWithoutPressure:TheFoot-In-The-Door-Technique,JonathanL.FreedmanandScottC.Fraser

5. GroupA
One group of homeowners are asked to put a large sign
on their front lawn, encouraging people to ‘Drive carefully’.
1 Understandingconsistency

6. “Yes”
1 Understandingconsistency
Unsurprisingly,thenumberofpeopleinthisgroupwhosay“yes”tothe
‘large’requestofhavingasignintheirfrontlawn isrelativelylow.
17%
Group A

7. A second group of homeowners are instead asked
to put a small sticker in the window of their car.
GroupB
Three weeks later the researcher returns and asks
if they can put the large sign on their front lawn.
1 Understandingconsistency

8. 76%
Group B
“Yes”
1 Understandingconsistency
17%
Group A
Asyoucanseefromtheresults,simplyhavinga‘small’requestfirstincreased
thelikelihoodtheywouldcomplywiththesubsequent,‘large’request.

9. LookingatthisthroughthelensofUX

10. UXdesigninvolveslookingmoredeeplyathow
peoplebehave,andwhatmakesustick.
InUXwe’reinterestedinthingslike:
• Peoples’behaviours,andwhatmotivatesus
• Howweprocessthingsandmakedecisions
• Howweexperience,andrememberthings.
1 Understandingconsistency

11. “Yes”
1 Understandingconsistency
76%
Group B
17%
Group A
Sowhenweseeexperimentswithresultslikethis,we’reveryinterestedinthe‘Why”…

12. 76%
Group B
17%
Group A
“Yes”
Why?
1 Understandingconsistency
Whatdrivesthisbehaviourisinteresting.It’saboutourself-image;
howweseeourselves,andhowwetrytobeconsistenttothis.

13. Ourpersonalitiesandbehavioursareshapedby
culture,socialnorms,ourbeliefs,andexperiences.
Andweadoptdifferent‘personas’fordifferentsocialsituations.
1 Understandingconsistency

14. Andy at work
Personas
Andy at play
1 Understandingconsistency
Forexample,Iwilladoptapersonaatworkthatyouwon’tseeattheweekend
whenI’mnotatwork,becausethesearedifferentsocialsituations.

15. 1 Understandingconsistency
Whenwemakeacommitmenttosomething,
evenasmallone,itformspartofourpersona.
Andoncewe’vemadeacommitment,wethen
strivetobeconsistenttoitinthefuture,because
wewanttobeconsistentinourbehaviour.

16. “Yes, I am the type of person who
thinks driving carefully is important.”
1 Understandingconsistency
Byagreeingtodisplayingthecarsticker,GroupBmadeasmallcommitmenttothemessageofdriving
carefully.Whenlateraskedforthe‘larger’request,theyweresimplyremainingconsistenttothatcommitment.
76%
Group B
17%
Group A
“Yes”

17. 1 Understandingconsistency
Consistencyisahumancharacteristic.It’showwebehave.
Weseektobeconsistentandwelookforconsistencyinothers.

18. consistently
Brandsbehaving
2

19. 1 Understandingconsistency
Weassessbrandsbytheirabilitytobehave
consistently,soit’scrucialforbrandstoconsider
thisaspectofhowtheybehave.

20. 2 BehavingConsistently
Fromtalesofstafftiltingscreenstoaspecificangletoencouragethecustomertotouchthelaptopbeforetheycantryit,
tothereporteduseofconsistentlightingacrossbothwebsitephotographyand instoressoproductslookthesame
whereverthey’reseen,Appleisabrandwithaninsaneattentiontodetailincraftingconsistency.

21. 2 BehavingConsistently
VirginAtlantic’sbrandpromiseis,‘Tobegenuine,fun,contemporaryineverythingwedoatareasonableprice’.
Andwhatisabrandpromiseifit’snotacommitment,whichinstillsadesireintheorganisationtobeconsistent?
VirginAtlanticdeliveronthiscommitmentthroughtheirpeople,forinstance,their‘employeeadvocacy’
programmewheretheymotivatetheirstafftosharebrandcontentthroughtheirownsocialchannels.

22. 2 BehavingConsistently
EmployeesatFitnessFirst’sarekeytodeliveringtheirbrandpromise,‘Whateveryou’reaimingfor,we’llhelpyou
gofurther’.Afterall,it’speople,notmachinesorfacilitiesthatmotivatetheircustomers.
ToachievethisFitnessFirsthaveredefinedtheskills,competencies,andbehavioursexpectedatleadership
level,whilsttraininggivesstaffthetoolsandemotionalintelligenceneededtohelpmembersachievetheirgoals.

23. 2 BehavingConsistently
Howbrandsbehaveinadigitalexperienceisanotherimportantaspectofconsistency.Forexample,workingwith
TheAA,RufusLeonardhaveredesignedthe‘requestbreakdownrecovery’featureoftheirmainapp.
Thiskeyfeatureismorethanjustabutton;itsitsinfrontofacomplexsystem,supportedbyclearcommunicationsto
ensurethesafetyofmembers.IthasbeendesignedtoreflecthowTheAAbehaveintimeswhentheyaremostneeded.

24. consistency
Aesthetic
3

25. 1 Understandingconsistency
Ofcourse,behaviourisonlypartofthestoryofconsistency.
Aestheticsalsoplayanimportantroleinconsistency.

26. 3 Aestheticconsistency
System 1
Subconscious
Fast
Implicit
Instinctive
Emotional
System 2
Conscious
Slow
Effortful
Analytical
Rational
Thereisawidelyacceptedtheorythatourbrainshavetwomodesofworking,commonly
referredtoasSystem1,andSystem2.Toadegree,there’saninherentlylazysideinallofus.

27. Source:©StevenMerriewellsflickr.com
3 Aestheticconsistency
System1hassomeremarkablepatternrecognitionabilities.

28. Colour Orientation Shape
3 Aestheticconsistency
Therearesomeperceptualtasksthatwe’renaturallygoodat.These
showoffthepatternrecognitionmachineinyourbraindoingitsthing.
Perceptualtaskswe’regoodat

29. Position Length Direction
3 Aestheticconsistency
Andherearesomemoreperceptualtasksthatwe’renaturallygoodat.
Perceptualtaskswe’regoodat

30. Angle and area Volume Saturation
3 Aestheticconsistency
Thenthereareperceptualtaskswe’renotnaturallygoodat.Thisincludesassessingthespacetakenupby
irregular2Dshapes,thevolumeof3Dspaces,andwedon’thaveanaturalordertocolour,hue,orsaturation.
Thesetasksrequireeffort,orSystem2,togetinvolved.
Perceptualtaskswe’renotgoodat

31. 1 Understandingconsistency
Ourbrainsarenaturallytunedtoconsistencyin
aesthetics.Thesebreedfamiliarity,andtrust.
Consistencyinaestheticssavesusfromhavingto
think,becauseformosttaskswe’rejustlookingto
glidethroughafrictionlessprocess.

32. 3 Aestheticconsistency
Brandguidelinesareamustwhendesigningforaestheticconsistency,ofwhichGoogle’sMaterialDesignisagreat
example.NotonlyhaveGoogleconsideredthevisualaestheticsofelements,they’vealsoconsideredhowthese interact.
InteractionsinMaterialDesignarebasedalmostentirelyonphysicalmetaphors,whichinmybookisthesecretsauceto
creatingintuitiveinterfaces,becauseinteractionsarebasedonpriorknowledgeandexperiences.

33. 3 Aestheticconsistency
Sometimesbrandsunderestimatetheimportanceofaestheticconsistency.eBaystarteditslifewithayellow
background,andonedaydecidedtochangethebackgroundfromyellowtowhite.Theyreceivedsomanycustomer
complaintstheyquicklychangedthecolourbacktoyellow.They(apparently)thenwentontochangethebackground
colourafterthatincrementallyoveranumberofweeks,sotheygotwhattheywanted,withoutupsettingcustomers.

34. 3 Aestheticconsistency
IBM’s‘DesignLanguage’isawellconsideredandthoughtfullyputtogethersetofguidelines.LikeGoogle,IBM
havetakeninspirationforanimationsandinteractionsfromrealworld,physicalanalogies,thistimebasedon
themechanicsofclassicIBMcomputerhardware.It’saniceidea,thoughIdowonderhowmanypeoplewill
‘get’theseanalogies,whichdefeatsthepurposeofusingphysicalanalogiestocreateintuitiveness.

35. Puttingconsistency
towork
4

36. Behaveconsistently.
Presentyourbrandconsistently.
4 Puttingconsistencytowork
Firstandforemost,consistencyisasmuchasabouthowyoubehaveasitisinhowyoupresentyourbrand.
Haveabrandpromiseandvalues,andensureeveryoneintheorganisationisempoweredtosticktothem.

37. Startsmall,thenbuild
4 Puttingconsistencytowork
Source:©NaterallyWicious,flickr.com
Leveragethedesiretobeconsistentamongstprospectsandcustomers.Startbyaskingyourprospecttoagreetoa
simplerequestorasmalltransaction.Thiscouldbeansweringaquestionnaire,samplingaproduct,orjustsaying“yes”
toasimplequestion.Acommitment,nomatterhowsmallcanleadtoalargertransaction.

38. Buildonexistingcommitments
4 Puttingconsistencytowork
Haveprospectsbuilduponacommitmentthey’vemadewithmessagingthatinvokestheRuleofConsistency.
Forexample,ifyou’resellingchildren’sbooksandyourprospectsareparents,thenyourprospectshaveaready-made
commitment, andhighlightingtheimportanceoflearningtoreadatanearlyagewouldbeapowerfulstartingpoint.

39. Keepprospectsactivelyinvolved
4 Puttingconsistencytowork
Wearemorelikelytoremainconsistentwithanactivelymadecommitmentthanapassivecommitment.
Insteadofhavingaprospectthinksomething,getthemtosayitoutloud.Insteadofgettingthemtosayit,
getthemtowriteitdown.Insteadofgettingthemtowriteit,getthemtodoit.
Themoreactivelyinvolvedaprospect,thebetter.

40. 4 Puttingconsistencytowork
Publiccommitmentscreateagreaterdesireforconsistency.Whenwedeclare
somethingpublicly,weintroducesocialpressure,andthisdrivesustobe
consistentto thecommitment.
Whereappropriatemake
commitmentspublic

41. Attractcustomerswithoffersdirectly
relatedtoyourproductorservice
4 Puttingconsistencytowork
Finally,thinkaboutyouroffers. Offersnotrelatedtoyourproductorservicecanincreasesalesbutleadto
prospectswhobecamecustomersbecauseoftherewardandnotthedesiretobeconsistenttoyourbrand.
Themorecloselyalignedanofferistoyourproductorservice,themoreacustomerwillassociatethemselves
asthetypeofpersonwhowoulduseyourproductorservice.

42. Andy Marshall, Head of User Experience
Thankyou
slideshare.net/andy_marshall
andy.marshall@rufusleonard.com
@andy__marshall