Fuzzy Feelings — 6 ways Apple generates emotions without words

This Christmas ad from Apple is a result of crafting a visual story that effectively communicates specific values that resonate with the target audience. 

You might think it's not possible to do that with digital learning. Still, an excellent visual designer will turn even the most boring topic into a learning experience that resonates with your learners and motivates them to not only complete it but also to change their behaviour.

You’re probably wondering why we're comparing advertising to learning. Both advertising and learning are different forms of visual communication. If designed well, they're powerful ways of conveying messages that relate to the audience on an emotional level and motivate them to take action. 

In advertising, the action is to buy a product or a service. In learning, the action is a behaviour change that solves a business problem.

Here are 6 ways in which Apple generates emotions without words:

1. Target audience

Beautiful hand-crafted scenes of a stop-motion animation draw the eye straight away.

This visual style, combined with a story about the person who creates the animation, suggests that the ad is oriented towards people with similar interests and lives.

The architecture of the buildings, red mailbox and lamp are visual clues for location, making it appeal to people who live there. Multinational stores on the street also represent the country and its people. Apple is using familiarity to draw the viewers in.

2. The hook

The pretty animation quickly takes a turn towards something unexpected, which hooks the viewer in and makes them curious to see what happens next.

The animation medium enables the producers of the ad to create humorous, imaginary scenarios representative of our feelings towards the male character.

Once this initial engagement is created, it's maintained through a switch to a view behind-the-scenes, where we see a character taking photos with an iPhone. The benefit of using an iPhone instead of a DSL camera is weaved into the story.

The character draws open the curtains in her house, signalling that her day is about to start and marking the beginning of her story. We’re now waiting with anticipation to find out more about her.

Notice the design of the room and its elements, as the aesthetics play a huge part in drawing the viewer in further and creating that magical feel of Christmas. What objects do you see? What do they look like?

3. Relatable story

Before the main character leaves for work, she receives a meeting notification, and we hear a sigh, which tells us she's not looking forward to it. The way she swipes it away energetically further confirms this. Can you relate yet?

From a creative studio, we're transported into the gloomy office, which contrasts her world and the real world. Despite the creative element, this makes the story more believable because it's based on everyday life.

We see the main character dealing with a mean boss. Apart from the character's expressions, we can also see how she feels through the animation scenes she creates.

This evokes an emotional reaction within the viewer and makes them relate to the character as they may have had similar experiences. Apple shows a common problem and a creative solution to solve it. The animation element inspires creatives to use Apple products expressively.

4. Visual Communication

We're constantly bombarded with text, voiceovers, talking heads and dialogues, so Apple decided to go the opposite way to create engagement. 

There are no words, no explanation. The impact is created through high-quality visuals, a relatable story and sound. 

5. Sound

The sound and music set the film's tone and control our emotions. The beat and speed of the music also contribute to how we feel. The song starts slow, but towards the end, it turns upbeat to convey a positive change. 

6. Unexpected ending

The character realises that loneliness is the underlying cause of their boss's behaviour. She changes her story, inspiring the viewer to think differently. 

By this time, the viewer has already connected with the character through empathy, so it's easier to change their mind about something and look at it from a different perspective. 

Conclusion

This is the power of storytelling and visual communication. It has the ability to affect how we feel leaving an imprint on minds, making it more likely to inspire action. 

Why don't we use these techniques in workplace learning? 

Only some companies have the budget and timelines to create learning experiences of this quality. That is true, but the same techniques can be tailored to any budget to generate emotional connections and influence behaviour.

A little creativity can go a long way. All that’s needed is an open approach towards an out-of-the-box solution, empathy for the learner and communication design skills.