It doesn't matter if we are designer or developer or business owner, we may end up building something in the future. So if you want to make it cool, check out the science of coolness and see how you can boost your design cool factors.
4. 1. It is socially constructed
• Cool is how an subject perceived by others
• “Objects and people are cool only to the
consider them cool”
The Four Traits of Cool Design
5. 2. It is subjective and dynamic
• What people consider cool change over
different people.
• Because perceptions changes
• A cool design needed to constantly
The Four Traits of Cool Design
6. The Four Traits of Cool Design
3. It is desirable
• Coolness is perceived to be a positive
quality
• People like products and brands that are
cool.
• Cool is valued
7. The Four Traits of Cool Design
4. It is set apart from others
• Cool people and brands follow its own
path, regardless of the norms, beliefs, or
expectation of others.
• Being different without going over the line
• “Different isn’t always better, but better is
always different.”
8.
9. 1. Find a spot in the market
• Consider what to design and
who is it for
• Are there other similar
design in the market?
• Identify the gap between
you and your competitors
10. Cheeseburger Wrapping Set
Gift Couture
• Set your product apart and
grab audience’s attention.
• An unusual design for an
ordinary product can
generate ‘coolness’ and
excites people.
11. 2. Understand your audience
• Find out what is perceived
to be acceptably strange.
• If it goes over the line, it
won’t be cool anymore
• Research & research
12. Dumb Ways To Die
Melbourne’s Metro Trains
• Reduce 21% in accident and
deaths as a result
• Melbourne’s Metro Trains combined
elements that loved universally: catchy
music and cute characters
13. 3. Try to appear effortless
• Cool design should appear
effortless and natural
(even though it’s not)
• It also should appear to
not rely on the approval of
others (even though it
does)
14. Apple Products
Apple
• The Apple produces are
functionality focused, beautifully
designed, and are super cool
• Design something interesting to
provoke curiosity, yet simple to
understand
15. 4. Adapt to the time
• What it perceived
to be ‘cool’ comes
and goes.
• To stay cool you
need to keep an
eye on trends
16. • Many brands have refined their logos to
minimalism/flat design trend
• Keeping up on the game will help your designs be
fresh, current, and cool
17. 5. Look to the past
• ‘Coolness’ comes and goes;
and sometimes it comes
around again.
• To anticipate what will be
cool is to look at
what has been cool.
18. 5. Look to the past
CIRQ. Home Page
CIRQ.
• Determine the reason it was
popular then and think about
if it has relevance to today.
• Don’t reproduce it, reinvent
it.
19. 1. Find a spot in the market
2. Understand you audience
3. Try to appear effortless
4. Adapt to the time
5. Look to the past
Le Do Nguyet Minh | Junior Graphic Designer | minh.le@iconnect360.com
Editor's Notes
Hello, my name is Minh, just in case some of you don’t remember my name. I’m the junior graphic designer in the Marketing team.
It doesn’t matter if we are designer or developer, we may end up building up something in the future.
So today I will go through The science of coolness: 5 simple steps to boost your design cool factors. So all of us can make something cool later.But first….
Many of us use the word ‘cool’ on a daily basis.
But how do we perceive something as ‘cool’?
Here are Caleb Warren and Margaret C. Campbell.
They are marketing scholars who are dedicated to understand what leads consumers to perceive brands as cool
And they identified 4 critical traits of cool design.
1.
- Cool is not a feature but how the object/ person is perceived by an audience
People and design are not naturally cool; rather, people consider them to be cool.
As Warren & Campbell wrote: “Objects and people are cool only to the extent that others consider them cool”
2.
What people perceive as cool depends on each individual, depending on their values, their taste, their cultural context.
Example: 2 person, who do you think is cooler? Are both of them cool equally? Or does A cooler than B?
Coolness also changes overtime. What is cool one year can be uncool the next year.
‘Cool’ changes because people’s perceptions change.
This means that a cool design needed to constantly changing and in fact being or staying ‘cool’ is what drives changes in design
1.
- Cool is not a feature but how the object/ person is perceived by an audience
People and design are not naturally cool; rather, people consider them to be cool.
As Warren & Campbell wrote: “Objects and people are cool only to the extent that others consider them cool”
2.
What people perceive as cool depends on each individual, depending on their values, their taste, their cultural context.
Example: 2 person, who do you think is cooler? Are both of them cool equally? Or does A cooler than B?
Coolness also changes overtime. What is cool one year can be uncool the next year.
‘Cool’ changes because people’s perceptions change.
This means that a cool design needed to constantly changing and in fact being or staying ‘cool’ is what drives changes in design
3.
- The word cool is a flattering term
We use the word ‘cool’ to express positivity towards people, places and things
People likes things that are considered as cool as it is valued, by themselves and others.
4.
Cool people and brands go their own way and do their own thing.
Coolness is being different/weird without going over the line.
“Different isn’t always better, but better is always different.”
3.
- The word cool is a flattering term
We use the word ‘cool’ to express positivity towards people, places and things
People likes things that are considered as cool as it is valued, by themselves and others.
4.
Cool people and brands go their own way and do their own thing.
Coolness is being different/weird without going over the line.
“Different isn’t always better, but better is always different.”
So how do we create designs with these four traits?Here a five simple steps to boost your design’s cool factor
- Consider what you are designing and the people you are designing it for (what and who)
- Are there other similar products/design in the market?
- Identifying the gap between you and your competitors will help focus your design direction toward something that can overpass them effectively.
- For example: The wrapping paper company called Gift Couture saw a gap in the market for wrapping paper set.
So they created a series of themed papers that coordinate together to create sets like the Cheeseburger with the bun, meat, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.
Finding a natural gap in the market will set your product apart and grab audience’s attention.
An unusual design for a somewhat ordinary product can generate some quality of ‘cool’ and excites people.
It is essential to understand your audience in order to know what they perceive to be acceptably strange.
Because if it goes over the line, it won’t be cool anymore. Not cool man, not cool.
Research, research and research.
It may be as simple as asking questions about likes, dislikes and hobbies, or noting what they wear or places they like to go.
Do you guys know of this video Dumb Ways To Die?
Melbourne’s Metro Trains didn’t want a typical public service ad, which noone will look at. So they went for the entertainment route.
They combined 2 elements that are loved almost universally: catchy music and cute cartoon characters, with some really black humor to catch up with the trend.
And it works, all these elements charm the young people into paying attention and reduce 21% in accident and deaths as a result
Cool design should appear effortless and natural (even though it’s not).
Cool design should also appear to not rely on the approval of others (even though it does).
The character of being different, regardless of the standards, beliefs, and expectations appearance add extra quality that defines coolness and set you apart from others.
Apple was voted the #1 cool brand in the UK in September 2014. What made Apple the coolest?
The products are functionality focused, beautifully designed, and are super cool because you don’t have to figure out how they work — they are natural and human.”
Just keep in mind to design something interesting enough to provoke curiosity, yet simple enough to understand, that’s what makes a cool design
- What it perceived to be ‘cool’ comes and goes.
- To stay cool you need to keep an eye on trends and developments for tapping into new markets or targeting markets in new ways.
Many brands have refined their logos to keep up with the minimalism /flat design trends, appear simple and cool.
Stay aware of trends by reading design blogs and magazines, following designers and design projects, and design something new everyday
Take notice of trends and collect successful examples – bookmark, pin them to find commonalities and track the shifts in graphic design.
Keeping up on the game will help your designs be fresh, current, and cool
- ‘Coolness’ comes and goes; and sometimes it comes around again.
- Therefore, one way to anticipate what will be cool is to look at what has been cool.
So, key styles of the past come back into fashion at some point.
Determine the reason it was popular then and think about if it has relevance to today.
One tip: when you look to the past for design inspiration, don’t reproduce it, reinvent it.
A cool design demonstrates an understanding of your audience’s perception
However, as their perceptions constantly shifting, so do their perceptions of ‘cool.’
So keep on the game, look to the past for inspiration, and be creative as you design the next ‘cool’ thing.