BLOG 05.20.13

 The title of this BrandSquare Live Session sounds abstract, but the benefits to you as a brand marketer are tangible. In “Decoding the Meaning of Design,” Rob Swan and Michael Colton of Brandimage (a Schawk, Inc. brand development group) offer an eye-opening look at how we humans take meaning from everything we see.

And how we marketers can use those insights to create much more impactful, meaningful design strategies.

Swan’s and Colton’s examples are striking, starting with five simple cartoon faces with no eyes, nose or mouth, just a different length of beard for each. Each beard sent a very different message about its faceless owner, from hipster to “wizard.”

Their point is clear: The slightest differences in visual stimuli carry significant meaning (“decoding”), and when brand marketers are more alert to meaning in their design strategy, the more effective their communications (“recoding”) are.

“Decoding the Meaning of Design” generated a lively discussion among the large BrandSquare online audience, and the entire marketing webinar is available now on YouTube. It would make an excellent “lunch-and-learn” event for you and your brand development, marketing and design staffs.