Short answer

When designing visual metaphor advertisements, consider the cognitive processing preferences of your target audience. For audiences with a low need for cognition, prioritize clarity, directness, and simplicity. For audiences with a high need for cognition, explore more abstract, complex, and subtly communicated metaphors, and be mindful of the potential reception of AI-generated visuals.

Field
User-Centred Design
Source
International Journal of Advertising (2025)
Method
Experimental research
Evidence
Moderate effect

The optimal design of visual metaphor advertisements depends on the consumer's 'need for cognition,' with low-NFC individuals preferring simpler, more explicit ads, while high-NFC individuals favor complex, less explicit ones. This user-centred design research insight is drawn from a 2025 study published in International Journal of Advertising. Using Experimental research, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: When designing visual metaphor advertisements, consider the cognitive processing preferences of your target audience. For audiences with a low need for cognition, prioritize clarity, directness, and simplicity. For audiences with a high need for cognition, explore more abstract, complex, and subtly communicated metaphors, and be mindful of the potential reception of AI-generated visuals.

Study
User-Centred DesignNew This WeekModerate effect

Visual Metaphor Ad Design: Tailor Complexity and Clarity to Consumer Cognitive Style

The optimal design of visual metaphor advertisements depends on the consumer's 'need for cognition,' with low-NFC individuals preferring simpler, more explicit ads, while high-NFC individuals favor complex, less explicit ones.

International Journal of Advertising · 2025

01

Key Findings

  • 01Low-NFC consumers prefer visual metaphor ads that are less complex, more conceptually similar, directly verbally anchored, and more explicit.
  • 02High-NFC consumers prefer visual metaphor ads that are more complex, less conceptually similar, lack verbal anchoring, and are less explicit.
  • 03High-NFC consumers appreciate AI-generated visual metaphor ads less than human-made ones, while low-NFC consumers show no difference in appreciation based on creator type.
02

Application

Design takeaway

When designing visual metaphor advertisements, consider the cognitive processing preferences of your target audience. For audiences with a low need for cognition, prioritize clarity, directness, and simplicity. For audiences with a high need for cognition, explore more abstract, complex, and subtly communicated metaphors, and be mindful of the potential reception of AI-generated visuals.

How to apply

Before launching a visual metaphor campaign, conduct user research to understand the dominant 'need for cognition' within your target demographic. Then, tailor the complexity, explicitness, and verbal support of the visual metaphors accordingly. Test AI-generated visuals separately with high-NFC groups.

Project actions

  • 01When designing a visual metaphor, think about who you are trying to reach and how they prefer to process information.
  • 02Consider if your target audience will appreciate a straightforward message or one that requires more interpretation.
03

Method & Evidence

AimHow do consumers with varying 'need for cognition' levels respond to visual metaphor advertisements with different levels of complexity, conceptual similarity, verbal anchoring, and explicitness, and how does the image creator (human vs. AI) influence this perception?
MethodExperimental research
ProcedureTwo studies were conducted. Study 1 presented participants with human-made visual metaphor advertisements varying in complexity, conceptual similarity, verbal anchoring, and explicitness, measuring their appreciation. Study 2 compared responses to human-made and AI-generated visual metaphor ads with similar variations.
ContextAdvertising and consumer psychology

Variables

IV["Need for Cognition (Low vs. High)","Ad Complexity (Low vs. High)","Conceptual Similarity (High vs. Low)","Verbal Anchoring (Direct vs. None)","Explicitness (High vs. Low)","Image Creator (Human vs. AI)"]
DV["Consumer Appreciation of Visual Metaphor Ads"]
CV["Type of product advertised","General ad format","Demographic factors of participants (age, gender, etc.)"]
04

Strengths & Limitations

Strengths

  • +Investigates a nuanced aspect of consumer psychology in relation to advertising design.
  • +Differentiates between human-made and AI-generated imagery, a timely consideration.

Limitations

It can be difficult to accurately measure a user's 'need for cognition' in a practical design project. The chosen visual metaphors might not represent all types of visual metaphors.

Reliability & validity

Reliability could be enhanced by using standardized scales for 'need for cognition' and consistent metrics for ad appreciation. Validity is supported by the theoretical grounding in the modified theory of constructive choice and the comparison between human and AI creators.

Think critically

How might the cultural context of an advertisement interact with a consumer's 'need for cognition' to influence their appreciation of visual metaphors?

05

Design Principles

"Cognitive congruence: Design communications to align with the natural cognitive processing tendencies of the intended audience."

Understanding a target audience's cognitive processing style is crucial for effective communication in advertising. Designers can leverage these insights to create more resonant and persuasive visual narratives, avoiding misinterpretations or disengagement.

06

What This Means for Your Design

Some people like ads that are easy to understand right away (low need for cognition), while others enjoy ads that make them think more (high need for cognition). The type of picture (made by a person or a computer) can also matter to people who like to think hard about things.

How to use in your project

  • 1.When discussing the rationale behind design choices for visual elements, reference how these choices cater to specific cognitive processing styles identified in your user research.
07

Add to My Project

08

Quick Cite

Paragraph starter

The design of visual metaphor advertisements was informed by research indicating that consumer appreciation varies significantly with their 'need for cognition.' Low-NFC consumers responded more favorably to ads characterized by simplicity, directness, and explicit messaging. Conversely, high-NFC consumers preferred more complex, abstract, and implicitly communicated metaphors. This suggests that effective visual communication requires tailoring the cognitive load and interpretative effort to the target audience's inherent processing style.

09

Source

International Journal of Advertising

How do consumers with different need for cognition appreciate visual metaphor advertisements? Multifaceted aspects of human-made and AI-generated images

journal · 2025

View source

Questions About This Research

What does the research say about visual metaphor ad design: tailor complexity and clarity to consumer cognitive style?
When designing visual metaphor advertisements, consider the cognitive processing preferences of your target audience. For audiences with a low need for cognition, prioritize clarity, directness, and simplicity. For audiences with a high need for cognition, explore more abstract, complex, and subtly communicated metaphors, and be mindful of the potential reception of AI-generated visuals. Evidence: International Journal of Advertising (2025).
Why does "Visual Metaphor Ad Design: Tailor Complexity and Clarity to Consumer Cognitive Style" matter for design?
Understanding a target audience's cognitive processing style is crucial for effective communication in advertising. Designers can leverage these insights to create more resonant and persuasive visual narratives, avoiding misinterpretations or disengagement.
How can designers apply this research?
When designing visual metaphor advertisements, consider the cognitive processing preferences of your target audience. For audiences with a low need for cognition, prioritize clarity, directness, and simplicity. For audiences with a high need for cognition, explore more abstract, complex, and subtly communicated metaphors, and be mindful of the potential reception of AI-generated visuals.
What were the main findings?
Low-NFC consumers prefer visual metaphor ads that are less complex, more conceptually similar, directly verbally anchored, and more explicit.. High-NFC consumers prefer visual metaphor ads that are more complex, less conceptually similar, lack verbal anchoring, and are less explicit.. High-NFC consumers appreciate AI-generated visual metaphor ads less than human-made ones, while low-NFC consumers show no difference in appreciation based on creator type.
What research method was used?
Experimental research.
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2025 journal from International Journal of Advertising.
What should I do differently in my next project?
Before launching a visual metaphor campaign, conduct user research to understand the dominant 'need for cognition' within your target demographic. Then, tailor the complexity, explicitness, and verbal support of the visual metaphors accordingly. Test AI-generated visuals separately with high-NFC groups.
What are the limitations?
The study's findings might be specific to the types of visual metaphors and advertisements tested. The definition and measurement of 'appreciation' could also influence results.