IXD303 – Anthropomorphic Design

As I was sitting there, sketching clueless ideas and drawing mindmaps for how my artistic style could be implemented, I settled on the conventional flat 2D illustrations seen in most health apps, however, to me I found this boring. It wasn’t until I remembered material back from my first year of IXD about using ‘buddies’ in design to help guide and create a friendly essence whilst navigating the app. I then looked at apps like Duolingo or more relevant examples such as Wysa which uses a penguin in a Corporate Memphis type artistic style.

Once I had the idea in my head, I needed to find what animal I could use for my Mental Wellness & Monitoration App. As I was scrolling down endless lists of animals, it instantly appeared to me; birds!

Birds, Birds & Birds… Why?

Birds are often seen as one of the most relaxing animals on earth, with the addition of every country on this planet holstering them, this can make my design global as everyone knows what a bird is.

But, why? – A prime example is a dove; it is globally renowned as the symbol of peace. Additionally, four out of five British people say listening to the sound of birds in the morning makes them happier, while 72% makes them feel less stressed. People like bird watching, it makes us more relaxed and feel more immersed in nature connecting us in a meaningful, quiet and meditating way, thus improving our overall mental wellbeing.

What birds are the most relaxing to listen to?

Obviously, there are some birds that are considered an annoyance such as the seagulls croaking at each other in the McDonald’s car park. However, most are perceived by humans to be relaxing and meditating. Below shows some examples of pleasant birds by Lisa Joyner (Although this is exclusive to UK birds only)

  • The blackbird
  • Robbins
  • Blue Tits
  • Mallard
  • The Wood Pigeon
  • Chaffinch
  • Goldfinch
  • Nightingale
  • Wren

Anthropomorphism in Design

Humans have a tendency to apply similar humanistic attributes to objects or animals. A theory by Charles Berger and Richard Calabrese known as the ‘uncertainty reduction theory’ shows that familiarity plays a crucial role in developing relationships among humans and devices. Everything from automated AI such as SIRI, to the abundance of cartoon characters such as Garfield or iconography that displays on websites, humans apply familiarity with objects to create a more profound relatable connection.

After picking the animal I wanted my app to revolve around I decide to go back to Duolingo and similar apps that use anthropomorphic visuals. Looking at how these apps implement these features creates a whole identity in itself, for example, Duolingo uses a green owl which is what makes their app so unique from others, it has created its own identity around this one figure and has merged it into everything from icons to even typography. This identity then perpetrates and narrates a fun and rememberable experience whilst using the app even becoming a meme in some instances which the company has embraced fully on its social media platforms on Tiktok & Twitter. It is because of the related experience of the audience and comedic nature of this iconic buddy this creates a loyal and trustworthy audience. This is extremely important for my audience as with social anxiety users, trust is the most important value.

It is also best to keep anthropomorphic visuals abstract as research has shown that minute human features can make visuals like self-driving cars seem trustworthy and dependable. However, the more human-like these visuals get the more they can become creepy and deter people.

 

Essentially, anthropomorphic forms give personality to design, a physical example would be a coke bottle, hand soap and a mouth wash (see below)

Designers created these shapes with purpose, for example, the design of Coco-Cola’s bottle back in 1915 was sculpted to have feminine proportions and representational of the famous actor Mae West – it communicated elegance, vitality and sexuality through its curvy and slim form. The soap bottle is smooth and round giving it a baby-like geometry that conveys comfort honesty and purity. On the other hand, the broad and blocky form of the mouth wash conveys masculinity. These forms are still relevant 100+ years on, as we can see it all around us in the digital world whether that be a wedding shop detected to women dresses show thin and flaring typography or a unisex website or a shaving website creating a start and blocky appearance – representational of a masculine form. At face value, kids love smooth and rounded designs, males love blocky and contrasting designs and women like spaced and thin (curvy) designs. However, cultures associate masculinity and feminity vary across cultures and are influenced by social norms. It could also be added that personal preferences and assumptions are different from person to person.

How will anthropomorphism benefit my design?

  • Universally identifiable and relatable characteristics (no need to be inclusive, e.g. race, culture, etc.)
  • Offers a unique and rememberable experience.
  • Users who face social anxiety are inclined to be more relaxed around animals rather than real people.
  • Offers a sense of flexible fantasy settings, characters and narratives that real life is limited to.
  • Using birds will create a more relaxing and fun experience.
  • More inclined to capture the user’s attention and trust.

 

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

A company that has always artistically inspired me is Kurzgesagt, a company that instantly appeared to me when I thought of birds. Kurzgesagt is a german animation and design studio specializing in creating scientific animation videos on YouTube. They produce high-quality videos with a unique and universal/minimalistic artistic style. They also use birds as ‘buddies’ which has been an iconic feature of the channel since its creation – the minimalistic style, comedic interactions and universally coherent manner of the birds is why everyone who thinks of Kurzgesagt remembers them. The visuals, birds & narrator combined to create a pristine loyal and strong fanbase.

Kurzgesagt has adapted its identity into the design of its company, selling merchandise and creating posters/illustrations for fans. This shows the popularity it has and the impact of its visual style.

 

A compliation of screen grabs from varios Kurzgesagt videos   

Kurzgesagt has included their iconic birds in 95% of their videos, even in the harshest and most controversial topics they will display anthropomorphic birds doing various activities, this relaxes the audience and gives a sense of relief through their smooth and bubbly design, pure nature and comedic humanistic actions. This can create memorable and eye-catching moments. Additionally, these iconic birds aren’t just one colour rather various colours and shapes to create a diverse range of birds for all viewing types. This gives user’s to identify and create stories around each bird to create a familiar and trusting composition. Ultimately strengthen their connection with the brand. This is what I will try and do to capture my intended audience and gain their trust.

Club Penguin 

One original game/social platform from back in the day fabricated a sense of digital reality by a blanket of anthropomorphism is Club Penguin. This targeted children (same age range for my app) and put them on a social platform so they can engage with others. This made many kids create a persona of themselves allowing them to come out of their shell and engage with other penguins – something that isn’t too common in the real world. It allowed people to communicate, play and express themselves in a digital world. To many this world was something they would scramble home from school to immersive themselves in. The use of friendly looking penguins allowed for such engagement and expression, rarely seen on YoVille or Habbo Hotel as they used humanistic ‘uncanny valley’ models of people.

Conclusion

Today’s research was extremely fundamental in establishing a unique and intimate design for my target users, it has allowed me to explore more on the topic that I have chosen and see various methods and capabilities I can implement to create a connection and a sense of trust with my user group. I also have got a better understanding of the relevancy of anthropomorphic visuals and the benefits and exclusiveness they potentially bring to my project. Additionally, Kurzgesagt has inspired me to potentially make similar illustrations as them as I love their flow and minimalistic design. I will begin experimenting and creating a few designs to start of.

Articles used:

https://www.countryliving.com/uk/wellbeing/a27481077/sound-of-birds-stress-kate-humble/#:~:text=Recent%20studies%20conducted%20by%20Fly,less%20stressed%20and%20more%20relaxed. 

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01829/full 

https://psychcentral.com/news/2018/03/01/why-do-we-anthropomorphize#1 

https://www.grin.com/document/584851 

https://www.bresslergroup.com/blog/design-defined-how-anthropomorphic-form-shapes-product-design/#:~:text=As%20humans%2C%20we%20tend%20to,relationships%2C%20and%20convey%20subtle%20messages. 

https://www.youtube.com/c/inanutshell 

 

 

 

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