At An Event Apart San Francisco, Andy Budd outlined how the principles of seduction can be applied to Web site design in his presentation Seductive Design.
- Seductive interfaces was coined by a Microsoft researcher in 1994. It outlines using physiological principles to engage people and draw them into a product.
- The Approach: 55% of women make up their mind in 30 seconds about men they are interested. It takes men about 30 minutes.
- Halo effect: first judgments cloud us for rest of our interactions. People stick with initial decisions.
- Looks count: attractive people get paid more, win elections, etc. We have a hardwired focus on attractive people.
- First impressions count: people judge things based on how they look. Get people in and engaged through rich interactions.
- Be easy to get along with: Can provide trust indicators on the Web like testimonials, contact information, visual design.
- Be friendly: user names displayed on sites help create personal bonds.
- Mystery: people are interested in closing the loop and finding the answers to a mystery.
- Rapport: learn about the other person. Elongate and tease people through the “get to know you phase”
- Shared interests count in relationships. We are more attracted to people with similar interests. It re-confirms what we like about ourselves.
- Familiarity breeds attractiveness. Friends and common locations help build attraction. We like to be around people that we feel comfortable with.
- Do we need to design interfaces to look like the common Joe or like the most elegant person at the party?
- Populate your site with the kind of people you want to attract.
- Social proof: we are influenced by what others are doing –displaying activity helps drive usage.
- Nobody likes a bragger: much better to have other people tell you how good something is. Testimonials help drive usage.
- Desire: people always want what they can’t have. You can play with that.
- Humor helps. Make your experiences fun so people remember them.
- Play hard to get: don’t show everything up front. Reveal more at each step. Carousels don’t show everything at once –tease people to click through to what else is there.
- Get a personality: small details help engage people.
- Invitations and private betas help encourage interest. You want what you can’t have.
- Too often sites try to seduce you too early.
- Commitment: how to maintain long-term engagement. Proximity –be around people you like. Give praise/give something back.
- Social exchange theory –when benefit outweighs costs you are more likely to spend time with people. Your service’s benefits should outweigh costs.
- Possessiveness, ability to forgive faults, longing – ways to know you have an emotional attachment to Web services.
- Reward people’s behaviors. Psychological conditioning to get people to behave in ways we want.
- Want relationships to go on over time –the more you give to a relationship, the more you get back over time. Help people become experts. Build in ways for people to grow with your product.
- Admit to mistakes –it helps to strengthen relationships