PhD Defence Olesia Nikulina

Keywords: Visual storytelling, social media, unstructured data, (digital) consumer behavior
 

"The Visual Narrative: Conveying Meaning Through Visual Content"

This PhD thesis explores how image design influences consumer behavior. First, building on existing literature, it demonstrates that images can effectively tell stories when they clearly present the setting, actors, and suspense. The research then analyzes a collection of big visual data from social media to identify design elements that boost engagement. Specifically, it shows that images with more textured objects and darker tones tend to receive higher numbers of likes and comments. This contribution expands the growing body of marketing research that leverages unstructured data. The findings offer actionable insights for marketers to create more effective visual content and provide consumers with a deeper understanding of how images shape their decisions online.

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