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At Together, this psychological phenomenon known as The Paradox of Choice has become a guiding principle in how the team approaches creative strategy, client communication, and campaign design. By applying behavioural science to simplify decisions, Together helps brands cut through noise, guide consumers toward confident action, and build trust through clarity.
We sat down with Paulina, Head of Behavioural Science at Together, to explore how the Paradox of Choice plays out in real-world marketing and why simplicity might just be the most powerful creative strategy of all.
“The Paradox of Choice applies to almost everything we do,” Paulina begins. “It influences how we make decisions internally, how we guide our clients, and how we communicate with consumers.”
When working with clients, Together focuses on protecting decision quality by reducing overload. Instead of presenting every possible route, the team curates only the most meaningful options. “We don’t dump everything on the table. We narrow it down to three to five routes that best fit the brief and the audience. We also make trade-offs clear so clients can make informed choices confidently,” she explains.
The same philosophy shapes Together’s consumer-facing work. “In UX or campaign design, we use what’s called progressive disclosure. Rather than showing everything at once, we reveal information step by step, starting with one clear call-to-action or one benefit per message. If there’s more to communicate, we spread it across touchpoints instead of cramming it all into one frame.” This approach ensures that whether it’s a digital experience or a physical campaign, every interaction feels focused, easy, and human.
Attention has become one of the scarcest resources in modern life. We’re surrounded by increasing information and choices. Every extra option a brand presents competes for the same limited mental bandwidth.
She explains that while people say they want more choices, in practice they often feel overwhelmed by them. When faced with too many options: say, 20 flavours of chips or 50 product types, people either delay the decision, default to something familiar, or walk away altogether. Behavioural science calls this satisficing, where we settle for something that’s ‘good enough’ instead of what might actually be best.
For brands, this means that simplifying choices isn’t just good UX or product experience, it’s good business. “By offering fewer, more relevant options, brands make it easier for consumers to act quickly and feel confident in their decisions,” Paulina adds.
Absolutely, one of the biggest mistakes brands make is wanting to show off their entire product range all at once.
While the intention is to showcase variety, the result is often cognitive overload, too much information to process at once. When everything has equal visual weight, nothing stands out. The audience doesn’t know where to look or what to do next.
This overload can paralyse decision-making and reduce recall. When a brand puts five different products in one ad, consumers remember none of them. It’s far better to focus on one item and tell its story clearly.
The risk isn’t just confusion, it’s lost action and lower satisfaction. People who feel overwhelmed during the buying process often end up less happy with their purchase, “Simplification isn’t about limiting choice; it’s about guiding it.”
There’s solid evidence behind this concept. Paulina references the Miller’s Law, which suggests that people can only process about seven items (+/- two) at a time. However, newer research shows it may actually be closer to four (+/- one). It could mean that our attention spans are shrinking, or simply that the volume of information we handle daily has increased dramatically.
She also cites a well-known jam experiment, where shoppers were shown either 24 or six varieties. The table with 24 jams attracted more people, but only 3% bought. When offered six options, 30% made a purchase. So, engagement went up with variety, but conversion skyrocketed when choices were fewer. It’s the perfect demonstration of how simplifying choice can boost both clarity and sales.
“The relationship is not linear,” Paulina says. “Up to a point, offering variety does increase satisfaction for people who like the feeling of having options. But beyond that threshold, every additional choice creates stress, regret, and indecision.”
This is the core of the Paradox of Choice: the very thing that should make people happier can end up making them anxious. When choice becomes overwhelming, satisfaction drops sharply. People start second-guessing whether they made the right decision, and that emotional friction impacts their perception of the brand itself.
Paulina points to both research and Together’s own work to show how simplicity drives results. She explains that the research on the paradox of choice, like the jam experiment, guided one of Together’s product launch campaigns.
“We had several variants, but instead of showing them all together, each billboard or ad focused on one product and one benefit. Then, at the end frame or landing page, we revealed the full range.”
That structure kept the message focused and the audience engaged. It made the story clearer, recall stronger, and conversion higher. Sometimes, showing less upfront helps people see more clearly.
As a creative agency, we don’t always decide how many products exist in a range but we do decide how they’re presented.
Together works with clients to ensure their portfolio feels clear and approachable. We look at the audience mindset, the medium, and the context. For example, on a website, you might show three key variants with a ‘see all’ option one click away. On a billboard, you focus on just one. It’s about matching the depth of information to the environment.
Across media, Together applies similar behavioural principles: reduce cognitive load, highlight meaningful differences, and maintain visual hierarchy.
In an outdoor campaign, that means one hero product per visual. In the video, we hero one variant and reveal the rest at the end frame. In UX design, we lead with curated defaults and then progressively disclose the rest.
These principles help brands guide consumers naturally from curiosity to conversion without friction or fatigue.
In fast-moving consumer goods, too much choice can reduce sales due to decision fatigue. On the other hand, in finance or healthcare industries with high-stakes decisions, simplification can build trust and increase participation.
Streaming platforms like Netflix also face this challenge. “When users face endless options, they often end up scrolling endlessly rather than choosing. Simplifying the experience with smart recommendations or curated lists actually increases engagement.”
Meanwhile, niche or luxury sectors can afford to offer more variety because their consumers expect deeper customisation. It’s not about applying one rule everywhere, it’s about understanding what the audience values most.
The advice is simple: know your audience, know your product, and design choice with intention.
More isn’t always better. Brands should offer differences that actually map to real consumer needs, not just cosmetic variety. Instead of endless options, create smart guides, limited editions, or personalised experiences that help people feel assured about their decision.
The rule of thumb is straightforward: if a variant doesn’t make choosing faster or easier, it’s probably adding noise.
The future of choice architecture will be both practical and contextual. Since it was born out of behavioural science experiments, its evolution depends on continuously gathering the right evidence and applying it meaningfully in real-world settings.
The focus will be on generating insights that are specific to the moment, the medium, and the audience and then translating those findings into actionable design strategies. Over time, as research deepens, these insights will help refine how brands guide decisions, making every interaction feel more intuitive and effective.
Behavioural science has existed for decades, but its strength lies in adaptation. As evidence grows, the goal is to make that knowledge accessible to those working in applied roles, ensuring it shapes marketing, design, and communication in ways that truly simplify choice.
At Together, the Paradox of Choice isn’t seen as a limitation, it’s treated as a creative opportunity. By combining behavioural insight with thoughtful design, the team transforms complex decisions into clear, confident experiences for both clients and consumers.
Simplifying choice doesn’t mean removing freedom; it means guiding it. It’s about helping people find what fits them best without the fatigue of figuring it out alone.
Curious how behavioural science can simplify your next big idea? Reach out to Together and discover how clarity drives better choices.
