Specific strategies used to make ideas or expressions especially memorable: simplicity, surprise, concreteness, credibility, emotion and story.
Source: Lidwell, William. Universal Principles of Design: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design. Rockport, 2010.
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Online Example
Real Life Example
Hi Jennifer, you posted some striking examples but I hoped you could elucidate what makes them “sticky.” You listed some strategies that make things memorable (simplicity, surprise, concreteness, credibility, emotion, story) but I hoped you could elaborate on them in defining what these terms mean and how designers could employ these strategies to improve their products.
An example of stickiness in action is the element of surprise in anti-smoking ads. A powerful one that resonated with me, which I can clearly recall to this day, is the California commercial in the nineties in which a woman attests to the addictive nature of nicotine and spokes a cigarette through a hole in her throat. This also elicits an emotional reaction. Another anti-smoking example capitalizing on simplicity is the succinct caption of another ad: “Smoking isn’t just suicide. It’s murder.” A child being strangled by a view of smoke drives the message home.