VON RESTORFF EFFECT

The Von Restorff Effect (also known as the isolation effect) predicts that when multiple similar objects are present, the one that differs from the rest is most likely to be remembered.

Many things are going on in a website or mobile app, but one thing that stands out the most is Call To Actions (CTA). Have you ever wondered why Buy Now button stands out the most on any eCommerce website? The button is designed to get your attention, and they want you to perform the click action on it. We(designers) want you(users) to differentiate between the simple action button and call to action button. We intentionally steer your attention to the call to action by making it stand out.

Another example is the pricing page on a website. You've probably seen it before on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other subscription-based websites. The website owner highlights one popular plan, which is the most profitable plan to the owner. That price box has a different color. It has a larger shape. Users will remember it.

Takeaways:

• Make important information or key actions visually distinctive.
• Use restraint when placing emphasis on visual elements to avoid them competing with one another and to ensure salient items don’t get mistakenly identified as ads.
• Don’t exclude those with a color vision deficiency or low vision by relying exclusively on color to communicate contrast.
• Carefully consider users with motion sensitivity when using motion to communicate contrast.