Most iOS app marketers think localization stops at language. You translate your title, localize your keywords, and perhaps swap a lifestyle image to match the local demographic. But while your metadata might be speaking the user’s language, your design psychology might be screaming in a foreign tongue.
Recent research in visuospatial attention and cross-cultural psychology reveals a "hidden layer" of conversion optimization. It’s not just about what users read, it’s about how their brains physically scan a screen and how they emotionally map time and color.
For Apple Ads campaigns, where attention is measured in milliseconds, these nuances determine whether a user taps "Get" or keeps scrolling. Here is how to leverage the science of reading direction and color psychology to build high-converting custom product pages and creatives across global markets.
Human eyes are biologically and culturally programmed to scan information in specific patterns. This "scanning bias" dictates where your most important visual assets must live.
Research suggests that Left-to-Right (LTR) readers (US, Europe, India) habitually scan screens starting from the top-left. Conversely, Right-to-Left (RTL) readers (GCC, Hebrew speakers) invert this bias, attending to the right side first.
The Implication for Apple Ads campaigns:
In your screenshot gallery, the first screenshot is your most important one. For LTR Markets: Place your strongest value proposition, "hero" UI element or character on the left side of the first screenshot. For RTL Markets (GCC): You must reverse this so that your hero element should sit on the right side. If you run an Apple Ads campaign in Saudi Arabia with a standard English layout, the user’s eye will land on the empty part of your design first, creating a small moment of confusion that makes the screenshot feel “unnatural” to them.
A fascinating study on product facing direction reveals that consumers map time based on their understanding of space. For LTR readers, Left = Past and Right = Future. This creates a powerful lever for custom product pages based on keyword intent:
● "Future" Keywords: If you are bidding on terms like “Investment Tracker,” “AI Planner,” or “Goal Setting,” users are focused on the future. Use visuals where people or elements face “Right.”
● "Past" Keywords: If you are bidding on “Photo Backup,” “Digital Scrapbook,” or “Retro Filters,” the user is focused on nostalgia/preservation. Use imagery facing “Left.”
The "Mirror" Rule: In RTL regions, this mental timeline often reverses. The past is on the right; the future is on the left. If you don't mirror your directional cues in your GCC creatives, you might end up signaling "regression" instead of "progress."
To understand why scanning paths and mental timelines matter in the real world Apple Ads campaigns, let's look at two contrasting custom product page strategies:
● Consider a Tactical RPG game campaign in the LATAM (an LTR market).
Since Western users naturally look at the top-left first, that’s where your hook, like “Summon Your Squad”, should go. Place your Level 1 character on the left and your Level 99 version on the right, with your main hero standing on the left but looking toward the right. This creates a sense of moving into the future and pulls the viewer’s attention across the screen toward the download button. If the hero looked left instead, it would subtly feel like they’re looking back, which weakens the sense of progress and adventure.
● Now, contrast this with a Food Delivery app in Saudi Arabia (an RTL market).
In RTL markets, the mental timeline flips as users see the “future” on the left. Simply translating English text without changing the layout won’t work. A localized creative places the Arabic headline (“Arrives in Minutes”) in the top-right and reverses all motion cues: the delivery scooter should start on the right and move left. If it drives left-to-right, users perceive it as moving backward, making the layout feel off and slowing their instinct to tap “Get.”
While blue generally signals trust and green signals health, recent systematic reviews suggest that relying on generic "color meanings" is dangerous. On the App Store, Contrast and Context are the real drivers of conversion.
According to extensive A/B testing data, the highest converting color is not a specific hue. It is the one with the highest contrast relative to the background. On the App Store, the "Get" button is standard blue. You cannot change this.
Hence, your Apple Ads custom product pages and preview videos must create a visual flow that guides the eye toward the native UI of the App Store. If your screenshots are heavily blue, the "Get" button disappears. Use complementary colors (oranges, warm tones) in your creative assets to make the iOS UI pop-up by comparison.
Your custom product pages need strong visual triggers (Internal CTAs) like “Start Free Trial” or “Join the Clan” to catch attention before users look up to tap “Get.” These elements aren’t clickable, but they work as psychological anchors that stop the scroll and signal intent. Psychology tells us that the element that stands out the most, is the one that gets remembered. For example, if your brand color is Cool (Blues/Greens), your Internal CTA needs to be Warm (Orange/Red) to create immediate and sharp contrast.
This contrast becomes even more important across Apple Ads placements, where users often see your creative set before they ever view the actual product page.
Now that we’ve taken care of the contrast, let’s look at how color saturation impacts user’s emotions:
● High Stimulation (Gaming, Shopping, Fitness): High-saturation, warm colors (Bright Red, Electric Orange) physically dilate pupils and signal urgency. These perform exceptionally well for "Impulsive" keywords.
● Low Stimulation (Fintech, Health, Productivity): Low-saturation, high-lightness colors (Pastel Blues, Muted Greens) signal safety. If your banking ad appears on a keyword like "Safe Investments" using a neon-red gaming color scheme, users might perceive it as volatile, thus reducing your TTR.
App marketers must understand that the psychological triggers of color are further filtered through local cultures and preferences. A winning ad creative in New York might look "cheap" in Dubai or "dull" in Mumbai.
● In India, high saturation signals energy and celebration. A pastel-heavy “Silicon Valley” palette can feel flat or low-impact to Indian users, whereas saffron, gold, and deep green create instant cultural relevance. When competing for attention in crowded Indian search environments, bold saffron and green accents help your first screenshot stand out and feel culturally aligned
● In Gulf markets, green represents trust, growth, and faith, making it especially effective in finance, family, and utility apps. For users searching luxury or VIP-related terms, switching to a black-and-gold creative theme signals status and attracts high-value audiences more effectively than clean, white backgrounds.
● Japanese users interpret color through a dual lens: soft, minimal palettes suggest premium quality, while vibrant primary colors imply discounts, deals or urgency. Seasonal relevance also matters as colors tied to Sakura or autumn foliage instantly feel timely and intentional. Refreshing your default creatives to match micro-seasons (soft pinks in spring, warm reds in autumn) makes the app feel active, well-maintained, and aligned with Japanese cultural rhythms.
● Western users have been trained to associate Blue with functionality. However, the App Store interface itself is blue. Use a disruptor accent like coral or violet in your first screenshot to break the visual monotony and catch the user’s eye quickly.
And while these recommendations provide strong psychological and cultural guidance, the right choice always depends on your app category and brand identity. The most effective color strategy blends regional insight with your own established design language.
Most marketers think performance comes only from bids and budgets. But real impact happens in the half-second before a user decides whether your app “feels right.” Directionality guides their eyes. Color shapes their emotions. Together, they create the silent persuasion layer of iOS marketing.
Once you start designing with these psychological cues intentionally, your Apple Ads and ASO evolve beyond just “optimized” to culturally intelligent, emotionally fluent, and conversion-ready.