Rustam K. Lead Designer

The Reptilian Brain: Emotion and Design

Although the human brain has evolved to give us capacities that are much above those of other animals, this does not indicate that our motivations are any different from those of other animals. These desires show up in our behavior, and if you can apply the correct strategy to pique these desires, you can affect customer decisions. The techniques listed below can be used to activate the "reptilian" brain, a theory put out by neurologist Paul MacLean in his "Triune Brain" model, either to draw users or to enhance their experience:

Eat, drink, love

What drives us more than love, food, and drink? Not a lot. Since the beginning of trade in human history, merchants have utilized food, wine, and love—or, more commonly, sex—to entice customers. You will undoubtedly find at least one of these being used to activate the primal brain on any page. The photo up top was captured through the shop window of a clothes store. Since garments are mostly meant to protect us from the weather and the majority of people are average-looking and possibly somewhat out of shape (at least in the West), why not use a photo of someone walking comfortably in the rain who is also average-looking and possibly slightly out of shape? The majority of clients should be able to tell from that that this shop is for them, but it doesn't seem all that interesting, does it? Well, regardless of what they are doing, the human brain is programmed to like seeing attractive people (within reason). Even though the majority of the more explicit instances may be directed at men, ladies also enjoy the company of handsome people.

Designers and advertisers utilize various techniques to stimulate the male and female primal brains, respectively, because it is thought that men and women react differently. An earlier campaign by Coca-Cola featured a man, typically in his thirties, engaged in a practical duty, like mowing the grass. Contrast this with advertisements made for the male reptile brain, where women are frequently younger, dressed more casually, and engaged in activities that flaunt their physical characteristics. Remember to keep an eye out for trends in how men and women are portrayed in advertising and design. Some choices are influenced by science, while others are motivated by sexism or ingrained stereotypes. It's your obligation as a budding designer to do your homework and make sure you're handling data sensibly.

In this regard, there are distinctions not just between men and women, but also between cultures and age groups. In nations with more traditional customs, men and women are less likely to be shown in such an overt and, some might say, explicit manner. Advertisers, though, are equally likely to exploit people of the opposite sex to draw in customers. Every time a beautiful person appears in an advertisement or on a website, the designers are appealing to your reptile brain. So, even though the depictions of people may not be as overt as those of the models above, the need for sex is still the motivation behind the presence of faces and other human beings in general. Products marketed to older age groups typically exhibit more restraint when it comes to sex in advertising. Instead, families and activities that take place at home are used to sell items.

It's common to combine the power of food, wine, and love. Early 21st-century advertisements tend to include large groups of young people eating and drinking to demonstrate how much fun they are having with the advertised goods. It is simple to create scenarios that appeal to our reptile brain, but they must be plausible, authentic, and almost dreamlike in order to grab the audience's attention and elicit the desired emotional responses. As a designer, you want to create the impression that the viewer will become just as cool and happening as the models depicted if they possess a product (or actively participate in a service) in this kind of setting. Because reality is all-encompassing, you must connect that dream to the user's reality.