Your Picture Goes Here --->

<— Your Text Goes Here
Sometimes a simple change makes a big difference. According to new research by NeuroFocus, Berkeley, CA, text and numbers should go on the left, images and logos on the right, for optimal viewer engagement.

That’s because each side is picked up mostly by the opposite lobe of the brain (right by the left, left by the right), and each lobe has a different processing specialty.

The company tested it on all kinds of different size screen, using eye, skin and EEG scans, across different ages, ethnicities, genders, even languages. But the bottom line is, no matter who you’re trying to reach or where they’re viewing your message, check your website, e-newsletters, etc. to make sure the picture is on the right and the text is on the left.

(Sometimes new research just goes to prove rules of thumb those in the business have known for years; flip through any print issue of Gifts & Dec and you’ll find mostly articles on the left, image-heavy ads on the right.)

Looking for more ways to delight that left lobe? Besides product shots provided by vendors and photos of your store, friends, family or pets, you can find free art by searching online for images in the public domain (like this one, right) and not have to worry about infringing on someone else’s copyright.
— Meredith Schwartz