Soo Yon Ryu Publishes in the Journal of Advertising

By Abby Harlan
April 13, 2026

Soo Yon Ryu, assistant professor of business administration at Washington and Lee University, recently published a research article in the Journal of Advertising.

Ryu's paper, "Simple is Eco-Friendly but Complex is Effective: Inferences from Visual Complexity in Package Design," found that people interpret the complexity of a product's packaging as a cue for both environmental friendliness and product effectiveness. Consumers tend to prefer simple package designs when eco-friendliness is important, as less complex designs signal lower resource use. Conversely, they favor more elaborate designs when they focus on product effectiveness, interpreting complexity as a sign of higher quality or stronger performance.

The research's findings offer managers valuable insight on how strategically adjusting the visual complexity of product packages can influence consumer perception.

Ryu is in her first year as a faculty member at W&L. She earned a dual bachelor's degree in business administration and culture & design management from Yonsei University (South Korea), a Master of Arts in art management from Seoul National University and a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Florida, where she was recognized with the Warrington College of Business Ph.D. Teaching Award and a Marketing Science Institute Research Grant.

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