Change and Graphic Design
Change is a great attention grabber. The brain is always scanning the environment assessing any change that it perceives. This can be used in design as a means to grab attention. If your target market has become familiar with your marketing material, such as your website, introducing slight changes are likely to gain more attention. This is why the use of dynamic banner ads continually attracts attention and clicks. The same thing is true of animation and video on websites.
Using change to get attention can also have its disadvantages. Although dynamic banner ads are effective in drawing attention, they can also be seen as quite distracting. The banner ads may draw the attention of online visitors away from other areas of the webpage. Studies show that younger people are able to tolerate more movement than older markets. There are also other factors depending on your demographic but, as a general rule, the older your target audience is the less change you should introduce in your marketing material. Older people tend to find change frustrating and distracting.
Like all elements and strategies in design, the right balance is different for every business depending on who your customers are. Consider your audience carefully before using movement and changes in your marketing material.
