Human Cognition, MeetVideo in the Social AgeSophie Lebrecht, Neon,@lebrechts

11:30am - 12:30pm | #ONA15attn

Then…

Now…

1 Trillion Images Analyzed 3 Billion Images Served 16-40% Average “Lift”

Why do images matter?

Images create an emotional connection with the viewer

#KiyiyaVuranInsanlik “Humanity Washed Ashore”

Laith Majid & family arriving on the shore of Kos, Greece

Laith Majid & family relocated in Berlin, Germany

1.8B images shared on the Internet every day

1.8B Images are shared on the internet every day

“Now images not only drive content and engagement, but increasingly they are the

content.”

Carina Kolodny, Huffington Post

Agenda

PART ONE: The science of image perception

PART TWO: Tips for picking images

PART THREE: The future of image selection

The Science of Image Perception

Vision is a critical source of information

Conscious vs. Unconscious Visual Cognition

Conscious vs. Unconscious Visual Cognition

What drives unconscious image perception?

Circumplex Model of Affect, Russell 1980

negative valence positive valencemicro-valence

Valence Continuum

negative valence positive valencemicro-valence

Valence Continuum

Valence Continuum

negative valence positive valence

Lebrecht, Bar, Sheinberg & Tarr, 2011

-0.12

-0.07

-0.02

0.03

0.08

0.13

0.18

0.23

% S

ign

al C

ha

ng

e

SP

MP

MN

SN

Neural evidence for a valence continuum

Valence Continuum

+24% “lift”

-60% “lift”

negative valence positive valence

Should I pick an image that is relevant to the story? Or simply an image with

high valence?

People perceive valence consistently, even when there is no meaning in the image.

(a)

(b)

People perceive valence consistently, even when there is no meaning in the image.

Tips for selecting images viewers will click!

Brightness

Saturated color

Faces

Curiosity leads to click-through

Instability

Off-screen attention

How do I entice viewers without using “click-bait”?

The human visual system is sensitive to detailed information, so you can pick

images with subtle differences that lead to big changes in click-through.

1. Brightness 2. Saturated color 3. Joint attention 4. Famous faces 5. Instability 6. Off-screen attention

Reasons to select an image

1. Text on the image 2. Blurred 3. Too much of one color 4. Eyes closed 5. Too polished / non-natural

Images to avoid

How do I know my image is working?

A/B Testing

+56%

+72%

+84%

The future of digital image selection

Multi-platform

Live Streams

Personalization of content & images

Drones capturing news

Thank You!

lebrecht@neon-lab.com @lebrechts

www.neon-lab.com