We all love a good surprise. We’re not just talking about birthdays, weddings, and special events, but it’s also an effective strategy used in design to create more memorable websites, marketing campaigns, and even user interfaces.

Think of any website you thought was so cool and it would undoubtedly feature a surprise element. Whether it’s an attractive animation, an interactive widget, or an uncommon layout, the designs that surprise you are the ones that stay in your memory.

Today, we explore this topic to uncover the role of surprise in creative design to help you craft unique creations that break the norms. Let’s dive in.

How Monotony Ruins Designs

Making a website these days is so easy. With the help of AI-powered platforms, you can generate a website in just a few clicks. The same goes for all other types of designs.

While these new tools and platforms make the process of creating designs easier they also contribute to the low-quality designs that we see everywhere. All these ready-made websites and graphic designs use the same formula and they all look similar. Nothing is exciting, interesting, or memorable anymore.

Following standards is crucial to creating effective designs but that doesn’t mean you have to make every design look the same. Imagine visiting a website that looks just like the one you visited before. Or reading a magazine where all the pages look the same.

To craft designs that break this monotonous pattern, you need to utilize the element of surprise.

What Makes Surprise So Effective?

People react much more positively to good surprises. Like when you come home to a surprise birthday party or a surprise wedding announcement from a loved one. We tend to react the same way to surprises in good designs. But why is it so effective?

Surprise elements have the power to break patterns. Especially, the human brain is hardwired to notice these pattern-breaking elements.

According to a study done by Princeton Neuroscience Institute, “surprises help us segment the world into discrete pieces and retain the moments in our memories.”

Another study showed how surprises trigger the release of noradrenaline, which signals the brain to focus and pay attention and to learn from the event.

Surprises have a strong effect on emotions as well, whether it’s humor, wonder, or curiosity. It’s just easier to make a connection with a design with a clever reference or an easter egg.

Different Forms of Surprise in Design

In design, surprise elements come in different forms.

Breaking the Grid

Breaking the grid is one of the easiest ways to create a surprise element in design. Websites with unexpected layouts and designs with unusual content alignments tend to grab our attention more effectively. More importantly, it breaks the patterns that create monotony.

Visual Contrast

Using quirky fonts, neon colors, and bright backgrounds are great ways to create surprise elements in your designs. Put yourself in the user’s shoes and think about ways you can use visual contrast to create unexpected experiences.

Animations & Interactions

While micro-interactions and hover effects are effective at boosting engagement, they are not enough to surprise the users. You’ll have to go beyond the traditional animations to truly make memorable designs.

White Space

Some of the most effective marketing campaigns are the ones that have fewer words. You can make highly impactful designs by utilizing white space or negative space. And it’s especially effective for print designs.

Emotional Surprises

Designs that take us back in time to our childhood or evoke nostalgic memories will remain in our memory for a long time. Even something small such as a reference to a beloved movie is enough to surprise users with an unexpected experience.

When & How to Incorporate Surprise into Your Designs

Knowing when and where to insert surprises is also important. For example, including surprise elements like fun animations on a website that raise awareness of a disease would be highly inappropriate. Of course, if you’re approaching the website with a playful and humorous tone, you will be able to make it work.

Even when you know the right time and place to use a surprise element, make sure to follow these tips for the best results.

1. Think Outside the Box

Think creatively to create unexpected experiences, which sometimes means breaking the rules and thinking outside the box. Consider your target audience’s views and interests and design surprises that speak to their inner child.

2. Experiment with Alignment and Hierarchy

Experiment with different styles of alignments. Use a dynamic hierarchy for grid-breaking designs. But ensure it doesn’t affect usability and readability. Aim to create surprises that improve and enhance the user experience.

3. Subtle vs. Bold Surprises

When it comes to surprise elements in design, there are two approaches you can take. For high-end, professional, and luxury designs you should keep things subtle and minimal. And for modern and edgy brands, go for bold and uncommon surprises.

4. Test Before Launch

Creating surprise elements in designs requires experimentation with new technologies, code, scripts, and layouts. They may not work the way you want to across different platforms. Test thoroughly to ensure your surprises render the same on different browsers and devices.

5. Don’t Overdo It

Too much of a good thing can often lead to a bad thing. As much as you love surprises, if you stuff too many surprises into one design, it will lead to an overwhelming and confusing result. Consistency is the key. Use surprises only when they fit in with the rest of the design experience.

6. Keep Accessibility in Mind

Don’t forget about accessibility when adding those cool surprises to your designs. The surprises that are fun for you may not be fun for someone else. It’s always a good idea to test your design with different groups of people to make sure it works as intended.

In Conclusion

As you can see, surprise can be a powerful tool you can use in design to create more memorable websites and effective visuals. Instead of following the traditional path to creating the same type of design, you can break monotony by introducing elements that leave a lasting impression. Those little surprises will surely make a big difference!