Events
Jeremy Lindley on Neuroscience in Design - 5 things we learnt
Alex Blyth
Managing Partner
Jeremy Lindley, Global Design Director at Diageo recently took to the stage at the Museum of Brands to share his talk about the role of neuroscience in brand design. The 60 or so people lucky enough to get a ticket enjoyed a talk packed with insights and revelations. Here are five that we took away from the event.
1. There’s no such thing as brand love.
Brand designers expend a vast amount of energy and time trying to create brand love. And to talking about how they’ve achieved it. According to Lindley they should moderate their expectations as very, very few brands are loved.
He’s in the Byron Sharp camp believing that brands are simply a shortcut and the best we can hope for is getting into people’s consideration set. And if you think how many brands you actually love, you realise he has a pretty strong point.
2. Images are more important than words
As a writer this one is tough to … well write, but according to the scientists we interpret images around 60 times faster than we do words, meaning that a brand’s imagery is far more important than its copy.
3. Diageo aims for three distinctive assets on each brand
For example, Guinness has its harp, its black and white palette, and its serve. Each is unmistakably Guinness, and together they make one of the strongest brands in the world. This clear focus on the core assets allows for a degree of flexibility and evolution on other assets whilst ensuring consistency and recognisability.
4. It’s virtually impossible to own colours
Many try, but Dairy Milk and Tiffany are pretty much the only ones to have succeeded.
5. Synesthesia
Hands up who knew what this word means. No, nor me either!
It’s a neurological condition in which stimulating one sense produces an involuntary reaction in another. So, for example, you might hear a word and taste a flavour, or smell an odour and see a colour.
Many thanks to the Museum of Brands for hosting (well worth a visit – its tunnel of brand history is incredible), the DBA for arranging, and of course Jeremy Lindley for a really fascinating talk. We look forward to the next one!
