How Brands Use Design & Marketing to Control Your Mind

Buy the books I used to research this video. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ALL OF THEM. "Influence" was my favorite, though:

As we navigate through the world, we are constantly being influenced by subtle design tactics that most of us aren't even aware of. These branding tactics can be found everywhere - in the layout of your favorite store, the colors of a pop-up ad, or even the design of your favorite app. But it's not just about understanding these principles. It's about considering the ethics behind their use, questioning the motives, and equipping ourselves to recognize and resist manipulation.

Big shout out to Marc Levinson and Kyle Dexheimer for reading over my script and giving feedback on it!

All content directed and written by John Mauriello. John Mauriello has been working professionally as an industrial designer since 2010. He is an Adjunct Professor of industrial design at California College of the Arts.

Time stamps:
0:00 Intro
1:08 BS Continuum
1:38 Information Asymmetry (example from Rory Sutherland's book "Alchemy")
3:29 Emotional Alchemy (example from Rory Sutherland's book "Alchemy")
4:56 Tropical Storm: Visual Signaling
7:30 Seller Reputation & Trustworthiness (Sephora example and some other packaging examples from Rory Sutherland's book "Alchemy")
9:20 Category 1: The Debt of Kindness (Reciprocity as described in Cialdini's book "Influence". Envelope example is from Sutherland's book "Alchemy")
11:41 Category 2: Follow the Herd (Social Proof as described in Cialdini's book "Influence")
14:58 Ekster
15:57 Category 3: Obey Authority (Credibility as described in Cialdini's book "Influence")
18:58 Category 4: The Deception of Exclusivity (Scarcity as described in Cialdini's book "Influence")
22:41 Category 5: Misguided Loyalty (Unity as described in Cialdini's book "Influence")
28:40 Brutally Honest Manipulation
31:43 Creating Meaning
33:32 Education vs Manipulation
36:58 What's the Most Manipulative Brand?

[Blkcoffeeroastery]

The irony of him teaching us marketing tactics, while using marketing tactics on us 😂

[Storms]

When I was in college for economics, I was required to take a semester of marketing, so I did. How it's taught in college is vastly different than the average person assumes. The entire textbook is non-stop psychological case studies and manipulation such as the Hawthorne Effect, where you can get people to behave the way you want when you let them know they're being watched (hence street cameras everywhere), and the acquiescence effect where the average person is a mindless sheep that wants to fit in with the herd, so control what the herd likes to make the individual comply. The entire thing is basically psychological warfare for ownership over the lives of the general public. It's been 15 years since I sat in that classroom, and I am still disgusted by it.

[samuelyor]

“If you don't live in fear you can act more authentically”. That is a bar right there

[artyb]

Being able to turn a merch drop into an absurdist punchline that not only employs most if not all of the discussed tactics but also _makes me want to buy the damn shirt_ is absolutely legendary.

[pn-grtn]

The transition into his promo was so seamless and well done while being a great demonstration of the topic at hand

[bumbithejznoodledr]

"A brand is like an autographed dollar" most brilliant way of putting it.

[wind-flower]

This video encapsulates quite well why I have such a love-hate relationship with design/branding. On the one hand, I love the idea of harnessing something abstract like feelings or meaning to create something greater. On the other hand, in reality it's often abused and used to trick/manipulate people. Best advice is really just stay aware of the tactics, although you can never 100% evade them (and even if you could, doing so would probably be even detrimental in a way).

[WagnerWSanches]

The brushing teeth example shows how different cultures can be...
Here in Brazil we are used to brushing teeth after the meals, even at the office...

[DeLaSoul]

I don't think a merch announcement has ever made me laugh so hard I cried. Excellent 😆👏

[danytalksmusic]

"we don't value things, we value what they mean to us. all of the objects in our life are repositories of meaning."
That's deep!

[sachabourdeau]

Wildly thought provoking, 40 minutes flew by. Especially how it's easier for a board room to focus on what's best for a company rather than for customers, communities and the planet. Its not just pure greed, doing good can be complicated and involve many disagreements on the "ideal" solution

[JoshuaBennettMusic]

S H I R T
😂 OMG, you're killing me!
Years ago, I worked for an architectural signage company, and MAN did I learn a lot about kerning. For some clients, every listing in the building directory was hand-kerned with the direct-transfer letters manually applied one at a time using a burnisher. I'm a guy who sweats the details, and that was perhaps the most precise, painstaking, meticulous work I've ever done.
Bravo on the designer-repellent kerning! Just f*cking brilliant. 😂

[Gilotopia]

Better than a whole semester of a branding course.

[generativeresearch]

here are some of the key ways brands can influence and manipulate consumers:

- Visual shorthand - Using visual elements like stripes on toothpaste or fake vents on cars to convey benefits that may not actually exist. This takes advantage of our bias towards things that look more complex or higher effort.

- Social proof - Leveraging "wisdom of the crowds" by highlighting popularity or testimonials to make people think a product is good because others think it is good. This taps into our tendency to rely on others' judgments when uncertain.

- Authority - Presenting figures that appear authoritative like doctors or celebrities to make claims seem more valid and trustworthy. This exploits our instinct to defer to credible experts.

- Scarcity - Creating artificial scarcity and exclusivity around a product. This triggers fear of missing out and our tendency to place higher value on rare/exclusive things.

- Unity principle - Brands associate themselves with identities, causes, or communities to make customers feel a bond or kinship with the company and other customers. This taps into our tribal instincts.

- Overall, good branding attaches deeper identity/emotional meaning to products beyond just their functional utility. This meaning often relies on mental shortcuts, biases, tribalism, and other elements of human psychology that brands intentionally trigger.

[SanderSovrlic-alesov]

Incredibly informative and well researched. Had me gripped from first sentence to last even though design and marketing are low on my interest list. This video made me realize how consequential and fascinating the topic of design is.

It’s refreshing to hear someone so knowledgeable and with skin in the game break down such complex issues for the benefit of casuals.

[Uverchan]

I think another marketing scheme is outlet shopping, big brands sell a range of items at a fairly, discounted price but most of the time the items quality isn't as good as their other non-discounted items and they still earn a profit because they slab their branding on these items thinking we're getting a good deal out of it.

[vmx]

The price drop was perfectly delivered. "This exclusive shirt is $500 wait no its only $50". 👌

[colinkirkpatrick]

By far one of my favorite channels on design, this is wonderfully edited

[speedodragon]

I like how you make your own ads an example of all the tactics.

[akevabanshee]

As I'm watching this video, I realize that on some level, I understand all the techniques outlined in this video. I even use almost all of them to varying degrees. However, it has occurred to me that my feeling of vindication with everything you're saying here is also another form of marketing. One that you have employed very well. That is essentially validating your audience.

Great work thank you for this video, I learned some new things along with a new perspective on some of what I already knew. You have earned my like, and subscribe today.