Carl Jung's Mandala image
In this post, I will explore how Jungian archetypes can unconsciously influence the perception of our audience to a website’s design. I will also attempt to gracefully throw in some references to my favorite band,The Police. It’s not an easy feat, so wish me luck!
First, some background information.
Carl Jung (1875-1961), a Swiss Psychiatrist, was the founder of analytical psychology. He posited a theory of collective archetypes, or concepts, that influence human behavior at an unconscious level. These archetypes were innate survival mechanisms dating back to our ancient ancestors and carry over to present day.
Here are the 5 archetypes:
- The Anima/Animus
- Divine Couple
- The Child
- The Self
- The Shadow
In this post, I will focus on the “shadow” archetype and how it can influence a site visitor’s unconscious perception and subsequent conscious behavior. The Shadow-is the “dark” side to our personality that we project into objects. For example, in literature, the “woods” was symbolically a dark place. A place of danger, in which underlying “id-like” desires were carried out. This shadow can manifest itself in dreams when there are dark rooms or shadowy figures. Emotions associated with the shadow are: fear, adventure, sensuality, rule breaking.
One important concept that Jung discusses is that of Synchronicity, the experience of two or more events occurring simultaneously for no obvious reason. They are considered “meaningful” coincidences because they supposedly stem back to the archetypes within the collective unconscious.
The concept of Synchronicty was illustrated in The Police’s 1983 album, Syncehronicity. An article by Robert Aziz shows how the shadow archetype was used to describe a synchronicity (meaningful coincideince) between a businessman traveling home who is on the verge of a breakdown and a “shadow” on a door of a dark Scottish lake. The shadow is symbolic of the mythical beast, the Loch Ness Monster, which is also emerging within the businessman.
What does the shadow archetype teach us about website design? It warns us to choose our designs wisely because there is a whole level of unconscious processes, perception, that influences a person before any conscious thought enters the picture. Do you want to be seen as the dark and daring company ready to break the rules of conformity? That may not be the ideal archetype for every website because it can be off-putting to your audience. I would not, for example, use the dark design for a children’s site. Children are even more influenced by archetypes because they do not have the level of “logic” present in the mature adult mind to overcome the instincts (remember your fear of dark rooms or the boogeyman? Jung would say those universal fears in children stem from the shadow archetype within the collective unconscious).
If you do decide to go with the mysterious shadow symbol, tread carefully, and ensure you design with best practices for dark websites in mind.
