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Since the dawn of humanity, an ever evolving “How-to” book of survival has been hardcoded into the DNA of every human being.
When it comes to neuromarketing and visual design, this has some interesting implications.
Today, for example, the colour red is a recognized symbol for many things. One such symbol is danger. Amazingly, this holds true regardless of one’s ancestry or culture.
No matter where you are in the world, no matter what language you speak, red means “stop” or–at the very least—“caution.”
The association of red and danger didn’t happen by accident.
The reason the red represents danger across all cultures is because—since the days of cavemen—red has been linked to the colour of blood from a fresh wound or injury.
The cavemen who didn’t associate blood with danger were removed from the gene pool rather quickly so that today red as a symbol for danger is a neurobiological fact.
From a designer’s perspective, this makes red an extremely useful colour, especially when the goal is to make an element more salient or to give a piece of your design more “pop.” The colour red instantly draws the focus of eye because the human brain is programmed to pay attention to things that look dangerous.
It’s no coincidence that designers use certain elements of design over and over again. They’re repeated because they are effective, and they are effective because they complement the way our brains are built.
In addition to the colour red, the font Helvetica is another popular element of design. Of the 20 top retailers on the Fortune 500 list, 15 of them use Helvetica in their logos or advertising.
The reason for the font’s mass appeal comes from the fact that it is easy for the brain to read. Helvetica also communicates a calm, safe, neutral kind of emotion. Making it an ideal medium to communicate messages without any undertones that can be implied by other typefaces such as Bodoni Script or Jokerface.
More and more designers are incorporating realism into their designs by using tools like gradients and drop-shadows. Because of the way gradients and drop-shadows make artificial objects appear more natural, these tools are very effective.
The fact is, 2D objects are rare in the natural world and—in fact—2D objects often skew the perception of the dimension we live in.
By using shadows and gradients, designers can make 2D objects appear 3D, which the brain finds more tactile, more realistic, and more pleasing. Check out "Re-designing the Edmonton City Centre mall directory" post to see how we take advantage of 3D in our every day life.
That being said, just as much as 2D can make 3D spaces look perplexing, adding 3D into what should be a 2D space can have the same negative effects. Having a 3D element on a poster where the rest of the elements are 2D is incongruent to the rest of the space.
Apple's 3D logo is being used more and more frequently because their software is themed to look 3D, but officially their logo is the black version on the right. Which version looks more pleasing to you?
Sex appeal is one of the most popular elements of marketing campaigns and it can be extremely effective.
Having a beautiful woman pose beside a product gives male consumers tunnel vision: they become impatient and focused on short-term rewards. This makes sex appeal a great tool for selling an expensive sports car, but probably a bad tool for selling long-term investments like car insurance.
Again, this is something that is hardwired into human brain. The human brain can be divided into 3 large parts: the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. The most ancient of these, the hindbrain, is said to be concerned about only 3 things: food, fear, and… fornicating.
More often than not, the primal urges and instincts of the hindbrain overpower the more rational thoughts of the forebrain, and a man finds himself driving a convertible.
These are just a few elements of design and marketing that appear to be built into our neurobiology, but there are many more. The golden ratio, for instance, is thought to play a large role in the perception of beauty in art, architecture, and nature.
One of our goals at Threefifty is to uncover more of these elements that people are innately affected by, and to see how they can be used to create more beautiful, more effective design and better marketing campaigns.
Shaun Smylski is a UI/UX Designer, Brander, & Typographer. He also meditates on the way design affects thoughts, emotions, and behaviours.