Universal Principles of Design, Updated and Expanded Third Edition

076 Framing

A method of presenting choices in specific ways to influence decision-making and judgment.

Framing is the use of images, words, and context to sway how people think about something. Information can emphasize the positive (e.g., glass is half-full) or the negative (e.g., glass is half-empty). The type of frame used to present information dramatically affects how people make decisions and judgments and is consequently a powerful influencer of behavior. News media, politicians, propagandists, and advertisers all commonly use framing (knowingly or unknowingly) with great effect.1

Headlines covering a tragic event in October 2002 illustrate the power of framing. Russian Special Forces used a sedating gas to knock out Chechen rebels who ...