Business needs to let science inform design and communications, not just R&D if it wants to stay relevant says a new report from brand design agency Coley Porter Bell.
The study called Eureka examines the way that the renewed interest in science is informing our visual culture, in particular a new visual language for brands.
It suggests that traditionally when times are hard, consumers have drawn comfort from the past. But after the longest economic downturn since records began, consumers are looking to science and the future to provide them with hope and certainty.
The report includes contributions from leading scientists including Baroness Susan Greenfield, Lord Robert Winston and social psychologist Bertolt Meyer, better known as the bionic man. It draws on dozens of examples from both high end and mass culture, from packaging, fashion, retailing, technology, the arts and architecture.
It looks at the growth of intelligent labeling, infographics and the way that brands are using geometric motifs in design and. It cites a high tech robotic dress with animated robotic limbs that protect the wearer, it highlights the fashion for molecular gastronomy, the growth of ‘lab chic’ in utensil design, it refers to the explosion of TV science programmes as well as Zaha Hadid’s futuristic Galaxy Soho building in Beijing and Richard Branson’s promotion of space tourism with the Virgin Galactic Spaceship Two.
The paper argues that the new interest in science or ‘reenlightenment’ is a response to both structural changes in the role that science plays in society and the economic cycle.
And because science is so pervasive in our daily lives, it has become more accessible, more inspirational and less scary. Advances like the Large Hadron collider at Cern, 3D printing and bioengineering all reinforce the idea that science is interesting and useful.
But the new interest in science also reflects attitudes engendered by the economic cycle. “After years of gloom, it seems that science is one of our main sources of hope. We used to look to the past for comfort but there’s not much left of the past to plunder. It no longer holds the answers so now we are increasingly looking to the future. There’s a growing hope that science is going to help us solve our problems –social, economic and environmental,” said Vicky Bullen ceo of Coley Porter Bell.
The report argues that the trend has significant implications for brands and the way that they are marketed to us. It concludes that we will be seeing more scientific imagery in packaging, retail design, architecture, fashion and communications.
The report argues that the trend has significant implications for brands and the way that they are marketed to us. It concludes that a renewed interest in Science and technology means that it can add immense value to some of the softer aspects of a brand – its design, naming and language for example – and in turn better connect with the consumer zeitgeist.
“By embracing science, brands will not only be able to fulfil their traditional role of providing reassurance, they will be able to provide consumers with hope,” said Vicky Bullen.
“So, increasingly science will inform not just a company’s R&D, it will enrich softer area such as design, naming and language.”
Brands will wear their science on the outside in the same way that IBM has made a film by animating individual atoms and employs scientific imagery in its Smarter Planet initiative, she adds.
“Consumers expect business to be more open and collaborative, showing what’s behind the scenes, sharing secrets and developing the brands future together. Forward looking brands have an opportunity to lift the wizard’s curtain and show the tech behind the experience -whether a coffee percolator, a fashion store or via the use of infographics on a pack.” ENDS