Designing for Vampires: Be The Prey

Humans are curious monkeys. We’re intrigued. Big shiny objects get our attention. We’ll poke them with sticks to see what happens.

Vampires have that too.

But they also have an overarching drive: hunger and the predation that feeds.

If you want to motivate a vampire, tap into their inner predator.

Be attractive prey. Incorporate signals for food, easy prey, and fear.

Signal “food”

For vampires, we’re talking warm blood. For text, use a color palette that’s rich with oxygenated red blood. Animate buttons with the subtle, throbbing pulse of a normal sinus rhythm, cycling shapes/textures/colors in a beat that calls to action.

Signal “easy prey”

Avoid the comforting imagery of social groups of people. Show the isolated person, walking alone, out of sight, where inconvenient rescuers are out of earshot.

Signal “fear”

The human fight-or-flight response triggers body changes. Vampires easily perceive most. You can simulate them to signal fear and trigger the hunt.

Sound cues. Human prey have distinct sounds. Fast breathing, fast pulse, the pounding of shoes in flight.

Visual cues. Blushing as peripheral blood vessels constrict. Furtive motion. The glow of beaded flop sweat.

I’m always collecting examples. Leave a comment.