This tactic centers around the use of design elements or aesthetics that are commonly associated with authoritative entities such as government, science, or law enforcement. In marketing, psychology is used to assess how humans react to different forms, colors, and imagery, and this information informs how designers manipulate aesthetics to create predictable reactions from viewers. Aesthetics that were designed to re-enforce authority can be misused to prime viewers to ingest messaging as though they were coming from a more established or serious source, and can result in the spread of misinformation because of their formal appearance.
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