Not everyone feels comfortable speaking the “language of design.” However, every stakeholder has a unique perspective within their organization, and each person's opinion is valid. As designers, it’s our job to recognize that, facilitate open discussion, and guide folks through the process to feel confident in their visual decision-making. This post will help you understand what a spectrum poll is, why it’s essential, and how it can help you get your team aligned when ideating through visuals for your brand.
What is a Spectrum Poll?
A spectrum poll is a visual exercise that uses a 1-10 scale to measure preferences between two contrasting concepts. Each end of the scale is represented by an image or design element—in our case, most often screenshots of websites—that embodies a specific idea.
My personal favorite example: Are you more of a cat or dog person?
Example of a spectrum poll using cats and dogs.
By comparing two opposing visuals, we make it easy for stakeholders to articulate their preferences and engage in a meaningful dialogue about visual direction.
When to Use a Spectrum Poll
Spectrum polls are particularly useful when defining a brand’s visual identity. If the brand’s aesthetic is undefined, this exercise can help establish a foundation. They are also valuable for aligning stakeholder perspectives, creating common ground when different opinions arise. Additionally, they allow teams to explore visual possibilities by focusing broad concepts or “vibes” into more precise terms to uncover unexpected insights.
How to Set Up a Spectrum Poll
At its most basic, a spectrum poll consists of two differing concepts, each represented by an image with a 1-10 scale between them and clear instructions for stakeholders to place their preferences on the scale. Choosing which themes and examples to compare is an art form and depends entirely on the information you know about your client, their audience, and the direction they want to take.
Vibes vs. Tangibles: What to Focus On
There are two main approaches to choosing which type of spectra to focus on: what I call Vibes and Tangibles. Vibes can be helpful if a client has not defined their brand. If they’re wholly unsure of their brand vibe, comparing example vibes can be a good way of hashing that out through conversation. Tangibles, on the other hand, are concrete visual design principles. If the brand vibe is already established and agreed upon, using tangibles is a good way of visually defining that vibe. For instance, we’re a highly respected institution with nearly a century of experience in medical research; therefore, our color usage should be minimal and considered.
Examples of vibes:
- Exclusive <-> Approachable
- Bold <-> Reserved
- Traditional <-> Modern
Examples of different vibes a brand's website can implement.
Examples of tangibles:
- Colorful <-> Monochrome
- Dense <-> Sparse
- Dark <-> Light
Examples of different tangibles a brand's website can implement.
How to Set Up a Spectrum Poll
Selecting Sites for Your Spectra
The sites you select to represent your spectra should clearly and effectively illustrate the concepts in question. Keeping the examples specific and focused minimizes confusion. A question we often ask ourselves when selecting example sites is: should we use sites of direct competitors, or should we choose completely non-related sites? Each has pros and cons, and your answer will depend on how you think your client will receive that choice.
Choosing sites from direct competitors allows for easy comparisons with industry standards and highlights opportunities to stand out from the competition. Some stakeholders can take this the wrong way, thinking, “Why are we looking at these people? We want to be different.” However, looking at them is learning what you want to avoid, which is just as valuable. Including examples that you’ve selected that align with the client’s goals or inspire new thinking can help counteract this concern.
Completely unrelated sites are perfect for showing that the possibilities are endless. You can let your creativity fly and do so quickly. The risk you run here is clients might take these too literally, questioning, “Why are we looking at a restaurant website? We are a university!”
How to Set Up a Spectrum Poll
Which Spectra Should You Choose?
When choosing spectra, tie them directly to what you’ve learned from the client thus far, paying particular attention to the audience to provide users with the best possible experience. For example, if you’re building a data-viz tool for investors to understand weather and crop data, but the brand is bold and impactful, consider setting up your spectra in a way that explores how we might balance a bold aesthetic with the cleanliness and clarity needed when analyzing complex data. Building excellent user experiences is what we’re all about, and spectrum polls help align visual decisions with both brand personality and user needs early on in the process.
Running the Spectrum Poll Exercise
- Set the stage: Provide context and let your stakeholders know this is an essential point in the process, but there are no wrong answers. You may be thinking too hard if you’re stressing out about it. It’s early in the process and not all that serious! If people feel foreign to the concept, try running a practice poll (see above the cats vs. dogs example).
- Gathering insights: For each spectra, briefly explain the two concepts and how the images represent them. Then, simply ask: “Where do we feel we land on this scale?” Mark each response with a dot.
Example of how to track concepts with a dot.
- Leaning into uncertainty: If folks have a hard time grasping the concept, why it’s important, or have hesitance that they will pick the wrong answer, remind them that this is just an early pulse check, not a final decision. Another trick is to talk through what you—the expert—feel might be a good choice. For instance, “Because our product is selling a lifestyle, I feel large imagery would support that better than featuring a large amount of text. What are your thoughts on that?” Again, we’re exploring ideas here, so don’t get locked in too early. We’ll have plenty of time to shift and refine as we move forward.
Running the Spectrum Poll Exercise
Beware of Groupthink!
Occasionally, you’ll get a particularly opinionated stakeholder who might not hold the level of sway that the volume of their voice suggests. This can dominate the conversation and steer the group toward an end that many quietly disagree with. In these cases, kindly thank that person for their input and ask for other opinions. You can call on folks directly and use phrases like, “I haven’t heard from ____ yet. I’m curious to hear your perspective. What do you think about ____?” Make it easy for them with a direct question, and you’ll be surprised at what happens when you provide an opportunity for that person to speak.
Sometimes, the opinionated stakeholder does hold the authority in the final say, so try to determine that ahead of the meeting. This can help you decide how much weight to give their opinion and how much you should challenge them or encourage other voices.
Running the Spectrum Poll Exercise
Summarize Your Findings
Remember, you’re doing this all to facilitate conversation, not to document specific targets to hit. Much of our work as designers involves understanding what clients mean when they say what they say. Try not to take things too literally; instead, lean into your gut reactions and read the room. We’re building a broad consensus here.
Summarize what you’ve heard from the client and repeat it back to them. This gives folks another chance to chime in or change direction, you can ask, “I’m hearing we want to be a little less formal and want to explore a more playful identity. Does that sound correct?”
Conclusion
Spectrum polls are a powerful design tool as they break up complex visual relationships into discreet, manageable pieces. By focusing on these pieces one at a time, we can help folks communicate specific preferences more effectively and gain a broader understanding of visual direction across the shared experience of larger groups.
