A “relatable design” refers to a design that resonates with its intended audience by reflecting their values, experiences, emotions, or culture. It’s about creating visual and interactive elements that feel familiar, understandable, and meaningful to the people using them.
Here’s a few tips to help in getting started –
Research, know who your audience is, their demographics, interests and behaviours.
Empathy, put yourself in their shoes to understand what they care about and how they perceive things.
Norms, incorporate symbols, colours, and themes that are familiar to the audience’s cultural background.
Avoid stereotypes, be mindful to avoid clichés or stereotypes that might alienate or offend the audience.
Emotional connection, use narratives or visuals that evoke emotions or memories that your audience can relate to.
Human elements, incorporate faces, emotions, and scenarios that people can see themselves in.
Simplicity and clarity, user-friendly designs should be intuitive and easy to navigate, making it relatable through simplicity.
Direct communication, use language, icons, and visuals that are straightforward and easily understood by the target audience.
Brand alignment, the design should align with the brand’s identity and messaging to maintain a consistent relationship with the audience (more on branding here – https://manserdigital.co.uk/branding-guides/).
Authentic designs, that genuinely reflect the brand’s values are more likely to be relatable.
Examples of how and where to use relatable design –
Social Media Campaigns
Using memes or trending topics that resonate with the target audience’s current interests.
Product Packaging
Featuring local cultural motifs or using language and humour that speaks directly to the audience.
Website Design
Creating a user interface that feels intuitive to users based on their past experiences with similar platforms.
Relatable design is about creating a connection between the design and the audience. It’s not just about aesthetics, but about ensuring the design feels familiar, understandable, and relevant to the people who interact with it.
