HUMAN BEHAVIOR: After talking about the first 4 Waves of Branding, from 1875 to 2005, let’s pause for a moment and look at our basic instinctual needs: food, shelter, and reproduction. These could be said to add up to one thing: survival. But humans also have a significant collective tendency as part of our instinct […]
THE FIRST TWO WAVES: In my last article, I talked about the first two major waves of branding, back when a brand was the only way to get consistency and quality, and later when brands became “people” – they were associated with characters such as Betty Crocker or Uncle Ben. This second wave created the […]
GOOD BRANDING MEANS SUCCESS: In order to understand the importance of branding and why you need it, let’s take a quick look at the history of Branding. There are 5 Waves in this history; we are currently in the middle of Wave 5. Each wave has something to teach us, and their elements are all […]
A WEBSITE IS A PRESENTATION: A website is vital marketing tool – perhaps your most vital tool – and its design is not a matter of being “pretty” or “cool”, but a matter of being effective. Dr. Carmen Simon of the Rexi Method teaches that to be memorable, a presentation must have Attention Triggers, Memory […]
DO THIS, DON’T DO THAT: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “But so-and-so said I should (or should not) do this.” But we all know rules are made to be broken, and it’s often the rule-breakers who create something new, notable, or memorable. We also know that things change and it’s better […]
WORDS MAKE A DIFFERENCE: Researchers now know that humans are hardwired to associate sounds and words with images. We have an instinctual reaction to words that goes far below our surface awareness. This is why when using emotional design to create a website, both words and images are extremely important. THE FIVE MOST PERSUASIVE WORDS […]
EMOTION & DESIRE: How many times have you heard the phrase, “People buy based on emotion”? If you’re trying to educate yourself on the road to being successful, then the answer probably is, “A lot”. The reason for that is that it’s true. As in so many other things, it was Apple that pioneered the […]
FACEBOOK: Facebook users spend around 60 Billion minutes a month on the social media site. Youtube comes in a distant second at around 10 Billion. In a given month, Facebook will be viewed by more than 750 Million unique visitors, while Twitter, the next largest, comes in at around 150 Million. ADVERTISING: While Facebook, by […]
According to Dr. Carmen Simin, “Combining neuroscience and cognitive psychology gives us clues about where attention is processed in the brain, how memories are formed, and how decisions are made. This information can be applied to practical applications, such as making content memorable and actionable.” This is an extremely important factor in designing a website. […]
In our last article, I recommended that you “throw ideas at the wall” – in other words just write out everything that comes to mind with no filters or editing – in answer to these four questions: 1. WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT’S YOUR STORY? 2. WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IN? 3. WHAT MAKES YOU […]
