Using Language To Shape User Behavior: An Example From Amazon

People often think that design is about how things look, but visuals are only a small part of user experience. One of the most important — and most overlooked — tools that designers use is language. The way a product “talks” to users can heavily impact their experience and behavior.

Designers use language in a number of ways. Text, of course, can directly communicate instructions or ideas, but there are subtler ways to “talk” to users. Labels for different parts of an interface are often metaphors that suggest how they should be used: a “dashboard” should have controls and settings that the user can review and adjust, a “newsfeed” should have up-to-date content for users to browse, and so on. Labels can also suggest future action. Imagine a learning app, for instance, with a leisure section where users can take a break from studying. By naming this section “Refueling Station”, the designer can send a cue to users that they should continue studying soon.

The most powerful thing about language is that it can be used to place users into conversations and guide what they “say.”

This works because, thanks to our social nature, human beings respond to digital interfaces as if they were other people. When a website prompts us to choose an option, we experience it much the way we experience a person asking us a question. Selecting an answer is like speaking back. Designers can use this dynamic to pose loaded “questions” through the interface that force users to “say” or agree to certain things. Consider the list of options that Amazon provides under “Your Account”:

Displaying this menu is like asking the user, “Do you want to manage your account, or manage your orders, . . . or do you want to sign out because you’re in the wrong account?” There’s no option to “sign out because I’m done shopping”. Instead, the only way for me to leave is to literally renounce my identity. Because of this, I always hesitate for a moment and feel awkward about logging out. Amazon designed this experience for me, and because it plays on unconscious social reactions, it still works even though I know it’s a trick.

Kind of creepy.