Is Design Manipulative? How Evolutionary Biology Shapes Design Trends

One area of industrial design that’s often overlooked is the evolutionary or biological perspective. The way we perceive product design and use the tools around us is largely influenced by leftover survival mechanisms. As competition for attention becomes more and more fierce, companies are motivated to tap into our most basic primordial instincts in order to earn our business.
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All content written and edited 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.
0:00-0:35 Intro
0:36-1:34 Communicating Nonverbally
1:35-3:15 Anthropomorphism
3:16-3:34 Caveats
3:35-5:54 Pareidolia
5:55-7:57 Decision Fatigue
7:58-9:35 How This Relates to Design Language
9:36-9:45 Use These Powers for Good, Not Evil!
9:46-10:15 Cultural Influence
10:16-11:36 Kiki/Bouba
11:37-12:05 Manipulation=Bad
12:06-13:30 Design Language & Visual Shorthand
scaleofuniverse.com/powers-of... is the website I use around the 6 minute mark

[@nemonomen3340]

7:06 "That's why you don't have a nervous breakdown every time you're standing in a supermarket aisle trying to figure out what cereal to buy amidst all of this maddening chaos and complexity." You make a bold assumption, John.

[@lakeland6798]

:(

[@Alorand]

I think there is a scene like that in Hurt Locker when a Bomb expert comes back from Iraq and can't integrate back into normal life...

[@bocagelandscape]

and when you pass the cereal aisle level with your sanity in check you get toothpaste as the final boss

[@studiosbonsoir]

I've had some mad anxiety in grocery stores

[@penatio]

That was me but with headphones

[@dominicancheif117]

I personally would like to see more sensual and flowing curves implemented in designs like sports cars of old. Seeing so many jagged edges and angry looking cars gets boring and makes things look derivative from each other

[@Design.Theory]

I would, also. I think that it will come in 2022. But trends and transitions happen gradually.

[@pranitpopli9926]

curves are a sign of good fertility that's why human males are attracted to voluptuous females.

[@kazzear_]

ew curves...

[@ramdage8579]

The bad part is that we would have more weirdoes marrying their cars and having uhh you know... """"""intercourse"""""" with them.

[@noahknigsfeldt514]

I really like the mk5 supra for that reason

[@marfrandema1884]

The Ferrari GTO was designed by Bizzarrini and it never tried to emulate the shape of a sexy woman. The only thing he tried to do was made the thing as aerodynamic as possible (reduce lift and drag). The 250 GTO got a couple of different design variations aswell.

[@Design.Theory]

Yeah, fair point. Probably not the best example but I just really love that car. There are other examples of cars that are more "styled" and less aerodynamically-driven.

[@ghoulbuster1]

Well boobs are very aerodynamics.

[@alexandrianautocruiser8024]

@@Design.Theory The weird thing is, that this car contour has no relation whatsoever to the curves of a woman body.

[@InventorZahran]

Maybe that wasn't the designers' intended goal, but it is a side effect.

[@dylankuzmick3122]

Dude, I just wrote a college paper and this was basically half of it. Wish I found this earlier lol. I can now say from experience that this video was really well written and you had awesome examples so props to you man! 👍

[@Mattex21]

Don't forget that a YT video doesn't count as official source tho... 😬

[@MV-ri7zu]

@@Mattex21 why not? The video is literally made by a designer should absolutely pass as a proper source without issue.

[@Mattex21]

@@MV-ri7zu I don't make the rules ma man... As far as I know it doesn't count

[@MV-ri7zu]

@@Mattex21 what rules? As far as I know there are no universal rules for what passes as a good source.

[@massoudkamal5155]

@@MV-ri7zu no peer editing

[@NicholasBaker]

Great vid as always John. So many concepts here I feel like it could be a whole series

[@Design.Theory]

More to come! Thanks for watching, Nick!

[@onlyvontrez7961]

@@Design.Theory I’m doing a series called “ANIMa MUNDi” connecting these concepts of humanity as well. I’d love to be a part of any future projects of this nature Can I contact you or your team directly?

[@GamesForNoobs]

@@Design.Theory great video!

[@cl_audio_90]

I'm not a designer but I'm deeply passioned about design. This was one of the most interesting videos I've seen on YT on 15 years.Thank you!

[@bokenbrones3951]

Could the “angrier” looking cars be a side effect of better manufacturing capability? That is to say, with better machines and technology, it becomes more feasible to implement smaller design details which might make cars look “angrier” than previous models.

[@TheKitMurkit]

I feel almost a physical fatigue from constantly noticing those angry car face expressions. Even on older cars, I see too many stickers that cover the upper part of the headlight to make it look grumpy, like this 😈.

[@Kometheus]

It could, but id go with his thinking on it being intentional to que our biological bias towards angry expressions.

[@MALICEM12]

I would say modern manufacturing is more aware/concerned with what "face" a car has compared to older ones. Older cars generally seem to have them out of happenstance, not design.

[@MukulSharma-vx5lg]

Miata meta

[@angelgjr1999]

I’m so tired of seeing soccer mom CUVs with angry faces. It ain’t fooling anybody. I miss the days when cars looked happy to see you.

[@sergiedo4756]

I'm a petrolhead and I actually do prefer the beauty of a Classic than the angry faces of cars nowdays. I am starting to think that, maybe because as you say there is more competition, that a lot of brands are starting to overdesign their products; and they end up either in a barroque overcomplicated design or in a oversimplified desing both sides ending up in a caricaturesque product desing.

[@samiaburas3084]

ik i just dont want all supercars to have a big angry razor sharp grill with race like headlights and a oversized front splitter. i miss the simplicity of cars but the perfect proportions and symmetry. Like i personally find the ferrai 250 gt lusso the most beautiful ferrari. and it looks better than any new ferrari in today's lineup.

[@jianng7795]

I think both are good.

[@juliansmith-mclallen1784]

Fake vents in a nutshell

[@Mart-E12]

I will always prefer the smooth beauty of old jdm cars over some new BMW

[@Kometheus]

I like the baroque era over embezzlements 😂

[@DaxterL]

The fact that even skins in game make you feel better or more confident is also a thing to consider. Or when it comes to me, many times when in game i have the option to pick a character, first i consider if they look cool, or appealing in some other way. Give me a character that is the best in the game indisputedly but looks like dog shit and i wouldn't play it and would rather play the worst performing character that looks cool, just because.

[@ahtoshkaa]

Valve is making lots of money on skins in DOTA. Their most expensive cosmetics are primarily focused on female characters. So if my wife wants the new sexy Drow Ranger arcana, I'll happily buy it for her even though you'd have to pay about 100 bucks to get it (which is a LOT when we talk about game prices). Also, keep in mind that I'm from Ukraine with salaries 8-10 times lower than in the US.

[@gimmeyourrights8292]

Some companies make default skins look bad on purpose for the sole purpose of making players choose the default. But in some games I literally feel uncomfortable walking in default skins all the time and feel I have to change them. I start to feel like I've been wearing the same clothes all day.

[@SeekerGoldstone]

@@ahtoshkaa Those skins are more expensive because they provide a tactical advantage. People of all ages and genders are less likely to be aggressive toward characters that look like reproductively healthy women... if they look like they could possibly make a baby, you won't hit them as hard/shoot as many times/push an attack. Bonus points if your opponent personally finds them sexually attractive. If you want to force your opponent to play more defensively, pick a sexy character.

[@ahtoshkaa]

@@SeekerGoldstone that might be true if the character is a sexy female, but women get extremely hated on in dota for simply being female)) Not a day goes by that my wife isn't being called a whore by some random guy even though she's a good team member and doesn't do stupid shit (for her MMR). And the only reason they know she's a female is her nickname and steam profile. So it's not like she's announcing her presence in voice chat.

[@SeekerGoldstone]

@@ahtoshkaa I think that in the age of Twitch and OnlyFans, the general gaming community is understandably reticent to accept new members from a group that historically ridiculed them and currently is trying to financially manipulate them. Like a gang initiation, I think that a lot of people expect them to "do their lumps" by enduring the abuse that was the norm before the creation of Wii Sports and Gamer Girl Bathwater, for better or worse. Speaking for myself: I'm probably about to give your wife a hard time if she advertises her gender with her PFP or username. I dont need to know what your gender is to play a game with you... I'm about to assume that you're making it obvious as a manipulation tactic, and be less patient with you, mostly out of spite. I dont care if you are a 10 year old space alien that reproduces through mass cellular division, as long as you make an effort at the game and are polite. I'm not about to play with you if you are called "XoCutiePah2tyXo" or "RedEy420" or "b1gNu7z"... if I get matched with you, I wont be as nice as I am to other players, regardless of your in-game character. I also dont want to interact with you if your Looking-For-Group post says "girl host" or "no girls" or "no kids"... if your IRL gender or age is a priority to you in the context of a videogame, you are probably a person that I think sucks and almost certainly dont take the game as seriously as I'd like from a partner or opponent. If your name is "SpeedDaemon" or "NoRegerts" or "AGangOfDucks" then I dont care what you sound like on the mic. If she didnt make a big deal of her gender, nobody would even know to give her a hard time about it. Other players dont know my age or gender until I speak and even then, they often guess my age wrong. Nobody hassles me about being a squeaker or boomer because I dont have my age in my username. More to the point: it was a study done ages ago on Mortal Kombat tournament matches... all I have left is my memory as it was already old news by the time I read about it 2 decades ago. It wasn't a laboratory test and the sample group was people that chose to enter MK tournaments sponsored by local arcades back when they still existed... so the sample group was 100% male, they were in IRL punching range, they were competing under pressure with a small audience, and had usually paid to enter the tournament for a chance to win a prize. When accounting for other factors (like fatigue, prize amount, etc) habitually aggressive players were less likely to make the first attack, were less likely to reengage after creating distance, threw less punches, performed less combos, and moved their character more when pitted against a female character. Sheeva (whom has 4 arms on an otherwise human and barely-covered body) was less likely to cause the effect but the effect was stronger when she did cause it. All other factors being equal, a person is less likely to hit your in-game character if that character has boobies... even if they hate your guts IRL, or if money is on the line. If it looks like a person that can bear children and ensure the survival of the species, humans are evolutionarily coded to try not to kill it.

[@AlphabetAYT]

Booba sure does sound hella smooth

[@Design.Theory]

booooooooba

[@DerekElliott]

Great video and congrats on 50k!

[@Design.Theory]

At 49.9 ***heavy breathing**

[@Design.Theory]

Learn the process to create beautiful industrial design. Become an expert in design language, visual storytelling, and get one step closer to landing your dream design job. Enroll in my online industrial design course, Form Fundamentals: bit.ly/335vsqO . If anyone knows the original person who drew the car faces at the 1:34 mark, please let me know. I'd love to give them credit. The website I use around the 6:00 mark is here: scaleofuniverse.com/powers-of-ten/ . Also, I know the 250 GTO body styling (pic in thumbnail) is 99% driven by aerodynamics, but I included it as a comparison image anyway because I just really love the car.

[@marz.6102]

Can you do the design of ironman??

[@michaelvandeborne9382]

Thank you for this video. It's excellent. I feel that's only the beginning of the story. You could later explain why boys and girls are attracted to different topics, pictures, magazine covers, ... It's more about psychology and biology than design, though...

[@H.A.L9000]

@@michaelvandeborne9382 yes! psychology and biology dictates design choices

[@UltimateEntity]

i like how you put alot of memes into the video

[@fishfingers4548]

The Kiki / Bouba example is interesting... western cultures reading from left to right whilst some Asian cultures reading from right to left. I'm sure the experiment was conducted in such a way that it didn't preset people's conception of left / right bias, after-all who's heard of a down / up / right / left approach when up / down / left / right exists (am I right? I've no idea btw.)

[@jacksonzheng3103]

Holy shit! I didn't realise there was so much nuance and thought that goes into design! Apart from the faces in cars (which I always wondered why they were there), I never even thought about the psychology behind the design of so many of our products! Thank you for releasing this video! You have just inspired thousands of people to get into the field of product design! 30 years down the line, a famous product designer will probably tell the story of how he got interested in it and he'd mention how this one single video sparked that curiosity and it's what ultimately led him down that career!

[@Design.Theory]

Hey Jackson, thanks for leaving such a nice comment. My dream is to inspire the next generation!

[@RAiNfORAiNbOW]

There is very low chance a top designer started his curiousity from here as its already too late this is more useful as like refining existing concepts you have arrived to before by yourself and observed and this could just help you put it into words. To be good at designing you have to find it interesting and if you find it interesting you would have asked those funamental questions to yourself long time ago I think

[@KayJblue]

Being somewhat interested in Car design this is massive lol. Everything is referenced to as the face, the shoulder, the waist, all the curves etc. along with inspiration coming directly from emotions such as calmness and aggression along with animals such as fish and birds and tigers.

[@javiergarciafelipe9392]

Oh John, you don't even know how I enjoy this kind of videos. Specially of this topic, as perception psicology is one of my favourite fields of design. Thank you and keep illustrating us with this content.

[@user-fx5ii1kt8i]

Hi, I did undergrad in neuro and grad in optometry and your explanation of the fovea and the brain's integration of visual info was on point

[@perfectparadox7389]

Design philosophy is a very interesting thing to keep an eye out for, great video!

[@Design.Theory]

It really is! Thanks for checking out the video :)

[@Bmontepeque11]

This is really good stuff, I always thought design was really important because the things we buy are like an expression of ourselves, a way to send a message to others about who we are, but to actually know about how it works in our minds is really amazing :o,

[@manojdamala3111]

As a young designer, I have to say this is very insightful & thought provoking. Kudos for putting out such a content!

[@chaitanyashamanewadikar6032]

I have actually have given a thought on this theory of how our Brain is hardwired to follow the instincts we developed as we evolved as such complex beings. But didn't know how to apply in my work. This really helped me getting some clarity when I needed the most. Thanks a lot

[@theothertonydutch]

My Brian hardly wants to hang out with me anymore. He moved to another town and now makes a decent living as a cameraman. I saw your typo and I couldn't resist making a joke about it, especially because you wrote it with a capital B. Also that story about Brian is real. I miss him. :'(

[@Design.Theory]

I know what you meant, Chaitanya. Brain or Brian :) Thanks for watching

[@simonbe]

Very nice video! I think one aspect you missed is to look what potential customers are striving for. For example angry looking cars suggest a more exciting performance on the road. Generally I personally like driving in front of others rather than behind, because if I am in front their mistakes will less likely harm me. I am not sure though about the female body shaped in pretty cars. I rather think such cars should express tension and healthy proportions in general. As much as a mistake in symmetry acts like a wound of a battle distracting the expected symmetry.

[@SJ-wd5rz]

Another great video John. Love the highly specific different topics woven into a tapestry of storytelling about design and ways to rethink our practice.

[@SJ-wd5rz]

The Eames 10x10 video came to mind.

[@Design.Theory]

Hi Siviwe, thank you for watching! I had a lot of fun making this one. I almost put the 10x10 eames vid in there but couldn't find the time unfortunately

[@bobbobson4030]

@@Design.Theory Where did you get the clip then?

[@Neidfrei]

I've just watched 5 seconds checked your channel and had to sub! I'm hyped for your content! Greets from a german product designer!

[@ommanipadmehung3014]

this is one of my favourite channes ever. I've been looking for something like this, especially this video for a long time. thank you.

[@siccodegroot8710]

A part of mechanical engineering is methodical design (at least that is the direct translation from my language but I think it explains the subject very well). I just finished the course and it explains 3 things that customers feel about the final product. First up there is the standard an object is up to. So for example a vacuum cleaner clears dust and a pepper grinder grinds pepper. The designer thinks about these a lot so the customer doesn’t need to think about it at all. The second is the rate of expectation. You expect your tools to be made of metal and and your shoes to be a certain quality. Costumer care is already a thing here but the most playful one is certainly number 3. The third thing is the relatability of a product. If a product is something triggered by natural instincts or even nature itself (biomimicry). Even nostalgia plays a big part here and this is the fase were the money is made, the difference between a successful product and a not so successful one. Interesting video!

[@Design.Theory]

I'm surprised this is taught in your mechanical engineering school. Sounds like a great education!

[@zackbozz269]

Nice

[@oriolvallsolle7370]

Amazing video, congratulations 🎉 reconnecting the human with nature and understanding the importance of how shapes develop our brains 🧠 is something that designers must have on their minds to develop the material world. For me it’s scary how agressive and dangerously competitive we’re aproaching design. Im sure the perception of shapes can change us emotionaly and make us grow for a better understanding and comprehensive relationships. Design is a powerful active-passive action that shapes the future more than we think, design is in our human condition and make us very unique in the animal world. However, this uniqueness makes us feel lonely and empty and therefore we tent to harm each other’s lives cause it’s not easy to accept that your life is meaningless. Objects makes us feel unnatural emotions and feelings, we think we are superior because of that but we’re actually bored and trying to avoid the pain of existence . Never forget that design is an act of love, for yourself and for the others. If you can not see it this way design loses it’s more essential and powerful intention which is to create un-necessary functions to make this, stinky but at the same moment beautiful, planet a better place to live in in our brief space-time counscient existence

[@octoberride]

Great video, you kept me guessing 3 or 4 times that the video was ending when it wasn't which was unusual but satisfying as well. Not sure if that was intentional. Nice job.

[@AmanGupta-su9qn]

Honest review, I usually don't make any comments in KZbin videos, but this video was so touching to me.

[@Design.Theory]

Thanks for watching, Aman! I really appreciate that

[@PedroRagazzi]

Thank you! I dreamt of creating a video like this to explain design to non-designers, and I doubt I could ever achieve something as didactic and non-pedantic as you have. Great, great content!

[@Design.Theory]

You can do it! EIther way, thanks for watching, Pedro :)

[@marco.castiglia]

4:10 We Italians are really good at making comparisons and being poets. It wasn't the intent of Enzo Ferrari to design a car which resembles (with a very good imagination) to a woman, it was just the style used for sports cars back in those days.

[@Design.Theory]

I'm quite partial to Italian design.

[@marco.castiglia]

@@Design.Theory it's not about Italian design tastes but the Italian language itself

[@yuupers4327]

Havent seen ur channel before but you made a terrific video and summarized your hypothesis in a very clear manner. Keep it up!!

[@Design.Theory]

Thank you for watching!

[@tech477]

An instant subscription. Very good! I would like also to see some video on perception of colors, and color theory. It may be something starting with J. Itten theory, and continuing with modern perception studies. Anyway, thank you for great videos!

[@Design.Theory]

That sounds very interesting. I'll look into that some more. Thank you!

[@SeaweedBrain443]

this is possibly the best design video I've ever watched. great examples simplified to give us a better understanding of the biology and history of design.

[@nyft3352]

Sounds being correlated to shapes or even colors and such can be hard to understand, but man does it all makes sense once you've experienced synaesthesia or some form of it.

[@DeepakAtreja]

One of the best articulated and consice videos that I have watched. It is made in a way that was really easy to remember and follow along. Loved every second of it...

[@Design.Theory]

Wow, thank you Deepak! Thank you for watching

[@buxsin]

John, this video is amazing! Knew most of the concept you mentioned here but you completely fill the blanks for me... Just found your channel and subscribed 👍❤

[@Design.Theory]

Thanks for watching Sinan!!

[@2toothsome]

interestingly i thought the third chair (folding one) would be the most comfortable both at a glance and while focusing on it i had completely ignored the legs of it entirely and just focused on the enveloping roundedness of it, i would have to assume because i knew instinctively the legs dont matter at all

[@Disissid19]

Same. Maybe it's because I've sat in a lot of these comfortable looking chairs, but I've sat in these ugly ergonomic chairs and I'm essentially wired to think utility when it comes to chairs

[@nickelbackfan]

Yeah exactly and the other chairs didn’t look at all comfortable to me especially with the low backing on them.

[@prohacker5086]

I remember the first time my friend got his hands on a dualshock4, his first reaction was "this is like the booty man, awesome!". That reaction since always has had me thinking about this concept, finally got to know that it actually does exist and is named "pareidolia". Thanks

[@Imbetterthanpaulallen]

First video I seen on your channel just subscribed what an amazing job!

[@zepherus2172]

great video !, so many information in one video making me feel confused yet enlightened. Thanks dude

[@beaudanner]

Could I live another lifetime I would dig so deep into design ... and probably take your course too

[@Design.Theory]

Thanks for watching, Beau :)

[@therealblowers]

Fascinating - the part on filtering and prioritising information especially; it explains a lot about psychology, behaiviour and social perception in a general sense. Thinking of people who have a wide understanding of the world but don't respond so well to social situations, or those who are successfully ruthless without much grasp on its wider implications.

[@WesternUranus]

Spot on ! I guess that's why taking note of what attracts our attention during meditation is so insightful. That's the only time you purposefully observe your mind as it subconsciously prioritizes parts of reality.

[@Design.Theory]

Yup. The objects around us greatly inform our perceptions.

[@ExtinctionEntity07]

You, my friend, have earned a permanent subscriber out of me. Your videos are FASCINATING, and I’ve learned things that have blown my mind. Don’t ever stop.

[@Design.Theory]

Awesome, thank you Dominic!! I really appreciate that :)

[@dorsia6938]

I gotta let you know that this was an incredibly insightful and informative video. I was amazed but somehow not surprised and the information resonated with me a lot. Thanks for sharing and subbed!

[@Design.Theory]

Wow, thank you Dorsia! I really appreciate that nice comment.

[@yesh7183]

Awesome stuff! This reminds me of Universal Principles of Design.

[@Design.Theory]

I've read a book called "Universal Design Principles" or something similar. This isn't too different. Thank you for watching

[@yesh7183]

@@Design.Theory I forgot, yes, it's "Principles". I have the pocket version on my desk.

[@techquirks707]

I noticed when new car models come out they always look that way like this is exactly what we wanted and were waiting for. The design looks like it will never be outdated or boring, but then after just a few years, it doesn’t look that cool or fresh anymore. And contrary to that, sometimes if the new model looks odd or even ugly, but seeing it on the road too many times makes it look not that bad actually. Like if that changes something in my mind responsible for judgement of what do I consider beautiful or repulsive

[@Design.Theory]

Planned obsolescence is a hell of a strategy. And when you get used to a design, it's known as the mere exposure effect.

[@sorsorscience0787]

@@Design.Theory Might planned obsolescence and the mere exposure effect go hand-in-hand sometimes? I think about popular cellphone companies. For example, is it possible that people have gotten so used to the general look of iPhones that Apple can release slightly less attractive designs (which are attractive to the public at the time of release per the mere exposure effect) knowing that they can release a new model with a more attractive look in a few years to sell even more phones?

[@TysonFMolemela]

Brilliantly thorough video.. Thanks

[@balazsbereczky595]

Amazing video you made. I first was just clicking on that because the woman's shape with the Ferrari was so eye catching. I never tought you will tell me why is that. Thanks for the great effort and details as well :)

[@NyNyNator]

As a child, when I played outside, I often imagined the cars in our driveway to be transformers or something like that (never watched Transformers, just knew about the concept) and it was always so easy to give them a gender. Sure, my dads car was male and my mom's car female, so you could argue that I just associated them with my parents, but my great uncle's car back then was also female to me. So I can imagine that there might be some cars designed to be a "men's car" or a "women's car".

[@MV-ri7zu]

Well yeah clearly something like a Mazda Miata looks extremely feminine

[@agravemisunderstanding9668]

This made me realize that tanks and military vehicles hardly ever have these relatable faces, you don't want them to be relatable or noticeable, of course some less stealth oriented planes like the A10 do have faces literally painted on them but whatever I'm just observing

[@Design.Theory]

a lot of the old american planes had faces drawn on them though :)

[@tlshortyshorty5810]

Do they? I’ve seen faces in T-90s and Leopard IIs before.

[@azrorz1775]

Appreciate the anthropological approach, from someone who is studying Anthropology and starting to get into design in my spare time this video really nails home a lot of great points! also touching on some Psychology.

[@Design.Theory]

Glad it was helpful!

[@VladyYakovenko]

I enjoyed the video. I want to add that watching the video I came up with something: Navigating the landscape of product options I realized the fact that the designs are often so strongly communicative about the feeling they wants to express that it becomes almost tiring and makes it very difficult for you to buy products that can work well together with each other aesthetically. There are some companies that have design languages that I really appreciate but it is difficult to find products in some categories that reflect that direction. I am noticing, however, that in different markets we are reaching a certain convergence from the point of view of design language and in my opinion also a return to the classic form of what design is thought to be (braun). For now, to have an ecosystem of products with consistent design language requires spending a lot of money but I am seeing that the whole industry is moving in a positive direction.

[@Design.Theory]

As you have observed, products are becoming increasingly homogenized for a number of reasons. So your wish for a unified design language is coming soon. IMHO this is kind of a bad thing though. So many products are incredibly boring and stale with their overly minimalist aesthetic.

[@VladyYakovenko]

@@Design.Theory I perfectly understand your point. I would just like to be able to mix and match different brands without breaking consistency completely

[@Fasteroid]

I want to see a study on whether "predatory-looking" cars are more likely to avoid accidents. In theory since our brains supposedly spot them faster, this should actually improve safety, for the same reason flashing hazard lights do.

[@brendanvanbiljon3861]

I have a suspicion that it could cause more accidents. Imagine looking into your rear view mirror seeing a "predatory-looking" car come up behind you, triggering your flight response. I feel that all these angry cars are causing nervousness in those not in them and as a result causing erratic driving to avoid the perceived threat.

[@Design.Theory]

This is a very interesting question. Not sure if there are any studies on it...it would also be kind of hard to test.

[@619Shippo]

4:10 I'd hardly call that car a symbol of objectified women. Even if that were the case, far too many modern women objectify themselves more than they claim anyone else does to; its egregiously hypocritical. A sign of the hyper-sensitive times I guess.

[@dylanjulve5374]

this is a super reactionary position; and to use the minority of women who commodify themselves on social media because of the pre existing incentive structures that exist for the purpose of the commodification of minds, and bodies, as a monolith for "far to many women" what ever that means is misleading at best. its not a "sign of the hyper-sensitive times", its just a sign of late stage capitalism. as for the car being a symbol of objectified femininity, what gendered pronoun is most commonly used when referring to cars? to use she/her pronouns for an in-animate object at your control is pretty objectifying and dehumanizing to actual women in my opinion. (I do recognize its not all that common for people to gender their cars but i think I'm getting my general point across).

[@619Shippo]

@@dylanjulve5374 I didn't read the reply but if you say so bro.

[@Design.Theory]

I would say it's more womanification of objects rather than objectification of women. It's a subtle, but important distinction

[@dylanjulve5374]

@@Design.Theory OK sure but if your womanifiying (is that a word?) objects isn’t that the exact same thing as objectifying women. “Oh, I use she her pronouns for all my possessions i’m sure this has no adverse affects on how I perceive and treat women” if you womanifi objects aren’t you just implicitly objectifying women instead of explicitly. Also can’t you make the argument that that implicit bias could become an explicit bias in a short amount of time.

[@ferchotorrico8032]

@@Design.Theory I believe term is better ("womification of Objects"), nobody feels attracted to objects unless you have a kind of weirdo fetish. Our goal as humans is reproduction, such as the rest of species. So, it's common to feel attracted to sexy women, or bodies. Its something inherent.

[@Cobra-yo7fx]

I found this video in my Up Next feed after I searched up the song 30 by Fukkit. Nice video and nice channel!

[@richard-mai]

Your hard work in this video really shows, and gets me the feels

[@johnnyb8629]

Don't doubt this one bit and although evolutionary psychology might not be directly testable it does have quite compelling experimentally testable conclusions today. If you ready books written by Richard Dawkins and Jared Diamond you can draw conclusions that fit well with these ideas. I would also go as far to say that this socially motivated behavior and visual adaptations could be an extended phenotype. One thing you didn't mention here but also has been manipulated in this way is our food by the food industry. Food scientists have figured out long ago the right combinations of salt and sugars to addict us and thus sell more product. In the western world we are but sheep or cattle and our driven to consume at every age to the point of poor health, (diseases of prosperity) and in death we are used for proffit by medical industry and pharmaceutical industry and then finally in death, our last purchases of cremation and ceremony are price gauged.

[@grantgoldner7940]

Can you share more about what you gleaned from the readings you mentioned?

[@TheGreatArlei]

We live in an era where simply pointing out that an object is inspired by the beautiful curves of a woman could be interpreted as some sort of sexist practice. It is truly scary the direction everything is going. Great video non the less! Keep it up.

[@LordTechPro]

I second that. I really don't understand how it could be termed as "objectification" when that probably wasn't even the inspiration for the design of the 250 GTO.

[@feliperamedeiros]

well, nothing to be afraid of if you know your intentions and all the complex interactions humans have in our even more complex society.

[@feliperamedeiros]

I mean... whats to be scared of? really?

[@Design.Theory]

I think of it more as humanizing the car rather than objectifying the woman. But I thought I'd ask

[@xxxod]

@@Design.Theory the 350Z is the Nicki Minaj of cars

[@nosopeingnarwhal5573]

I've seen some pretty awfully explained videos, but this ain't one. Well done man. I understood all the concepts so clearly and never felt overwhelmed or left behind. 9.9/10

[@Design.Theory]

Thanks for watching :) I really appreciate that

[@Kinos141]

The best part of design theory is that it can be attributed to all aspects of life and business. I write documentation at work, and pick certain font and style to convey info quickly at a glance. I got the idea from game UI design and how to make it intuitive.

[@Design.Theory]

thats really cool. That was Steve Jobs' original intent for integrating different fonts in old Apple computers.

[@Emppu_T.]

It's not objectification of women It's womanification of objects. Women are beautiful, and men like that. A certain mimicry is flatterance.

[@Design.Theory]

I agree, which is why I left it in the video and used it as the thumbnail

[@mikethompson7046]

4:10 this does not go too far. Don't be afraid to be cancelled just because you state something that can be seen very easily. Maybe it just means the shape of a woman is very aerodynamic :D

[@flrn84791]

WTAF man. You have some fucking sexism issues to deal with. Also, "the shape of a woman (what, photoshopped in ads and magazines?) is very aerodynamic", sure.

[@nekemli2622]

@@flrn84791 He didn't talk about photoshopped ads. You have some reading issues.

[@nekemli2622]

@SomeoneOnlyWeKnow What if he's a woman? Shut up feminist

[@nekemli2622]

@SomeoneOnlyWeKnow lol ok feminist creature person lol XD lmao

[@nekemli2622]

@SomeoneOnlyWeKnow Maybe think what you're actually commenting instead of trolling. It probably doesn't even matter cuz of the 2 brain cells not being able to understand anything what I'm saying. I guess people like you will always exist.

[@workouteverycorner]

THE THUMBNAIL made me subscribe straight away plus the video turned to be so good and informative

[@Design.Theory]

Thanks for watching!

[@Funnytv]

Culture as you mentioned ends up influencing the decisions designers and buyers make. There is also this relationship between what we buy to use in private vs what we buy to use in public that also informs our purchases. If I'm buying a flashlight to go camping with a group of friends, there's a big chance I might end up buying the kiki vs the bouba to display to others the confidence in my camping abilities.

[@GermanGlitchhunter]

Sure, eluvtion/biology probably plays a role in this. However, I highly doubt that it's the only/main factor. I assume culture plays a bigger role. I doubt that animals find things like curves or other things attractive in the same way humans do since we aren't about procreations as much as animals are.

[@Design.Theory]

Oh its definitely not the only/main factor. just an important one to be aware of

[@carlosandleon]

Animals don't think about procreation neither. They just have desire to fuck. I think animal instincts are very much inline with emotions. After all, emotions aren't learned, they just come to you. I think animals are far more emotional for the sole fact that they run largely on instinct. We can afford to set aside how we feel (instinct) and be rational.

[@GermanGlitchhunter]

@@carlosandleon I may have worded myself a bit bad but animals shurely don't think about procreation. With "being about procreation" I just meant that us humans we can have sexual intercourse without having procreation as a result and we have a different sexual drive. It obviously depends on the animal since it isn't just binary but there is a huge difference between how human and animals sexuality works. Most animals have a biological sex-drive. They have specific organs designed to recognize pheromones to know wether or not a female is a ble to procreate. However, humans don't have organs to properly recognise hormones (we can maybe smell them but we don't have an organ that reacts to them). Humans have a cultural sex-drive. Culture in this case means that what and how we find something attractive is highly different compared to animals. Animals maybe have sexual displays. Pheasants for instance can have huge, ornate feathers which don't really serve any proper purpose aside from maybe showing something to the female like being healthy and strong, despite it not being truly known wether or not females actually care about these feathers. For us humans however "attractiveness" can vastly change differ with culture.

[@FF-px4qm]

Thank you for the insight! I heard a lot from what I know from Consumer Behavior. Especially, these biological cues that play into design are very interesting. This dates back as far as 1960 with the Motivational Research of Ernest Dichter. Especially his take on automobilies is just 1:1 here. I think I just fell in love with your channel :)

[@berdugosocials9854]

This channel is gold. Thanks KZbin!

[@WyattCayer]

I've needed this video so bad. I always wondered how we make the connection between human anatomy and design in machines.

[@Design.Theory]

Thanks for watching! I really appreciate the comment

[@ahsanmohammed1]

Thank you. Well done. Informative. Helpful. Appreciated.

[@Design.Theory]

Thanks for watching!!

[@mythoughts8062]

I just subscribed when you told me to I didn’t even give a thought to it , Excellent🔥🔥

[@Bohmartistry]

Such an incredible breakdown of these concepts! Instant subscribe

[@Design.Theory]

Thanks Jack! I appreciate you watching

[@cerviche101]

Happy I came across this video, thanks a million for the time and effort you put into this, really appreciated.

[@Design.Theory]

Glad you enjoyed it! One of the more difficult videos I've made.

[@cerviche101]

@@Design.Theory You did an amazing job, looking forward to catching up on past and future content on you channel, Cheers :D

[@jaredt.murphy8257]

I willingly seek out your videos after the algorithm brought your videos to me once. Thank you for your work.

[@antoinehernandez135]

Loved every minute and learned a bunch. Thank you so much. Sheers

[@scratchman21]

this even helps as a marketing management major

[@uioup7453]

Beautifully said and done, great video!

[@pavelbelun5117]

Man you provide valuable content, thank you!

[@AmxrJ99]

Thanks for dropping all these golden nuggets through your videos! As a self studying UX designer, you provide interesting and thought provoking learning.

[@Design.Theory]

Glad you like them Amarjeet :O

[@dariogentle5628]

Most difficult video. That's why the result ended up to be so clear! Great job!

[@Design.Theory]

You watched to the end ;o thank you!!

[@saachamaa]

That was soooooo interesting, thank you really much for your work !

[@fabulous5158]

This video is amazing1 Thank you I've learned so much!

[@Solisium-Channel]

When I was a kids I always sat faces in products but never understood why and my parents couldn't give me an answer. I never knew this so thanks!

[@rickotter]

Wow. I rarely subscribe after seeing one video but this one was just so informative, entertaining and relaxing so I had to! I can't wait to see more.

[@Design.Theory]

Thanks Ricky! I really appreciate that.

[@zeeahm9354]

@10:36, in my country a tree is called 'kikar', it is known for its so many thorns

[@septimiusthedestroyer7394]

How interesting

[@pranaykenkre2203]

touched on so many points seamlessly. Spectacular story telling.

[@Design.Theory]

Thank you for watching!

[@marcoferrero1558]

amazing and informative, this video is great

[@sanketpatil1795]

Awesome Video! Instantly subscribed! Hope to see more from this channel.

[@prblyyusuf5895]

Such a great watch. Appreciate it

[@rsssnd_]

4:40 dammnnn that e60 m5 😩❤️❤️

[@StackinnBuddah]

Fantastic analysis! Subbed right away!!

[@Design.Theory]

Much appreciated, Stotle!!

[@marilynmauriello4878]

Very good! This video challenges one to look closely and really “see”

[@Bruno-Lars]

Very concise and informative video, I learned a lot! I feel like human nature gets overlooked way too often nowadays we kind of forgot where we came from. Anyway thanks a lot!

[@Design.Theory]

Well said! Thanks for watching :)

[@hosmanadam]

I've been wondering why cars are becoming angrier and angrier for more than a decade but never bothered looking it up. I'm so glad I found this video.

[@Dr_NIBRAS_TEHSIN_MARAKKAR]

Thankyou so much brother for the idea

[@acarhankayraunal]

I love the happy face of Mazda mx5 from the moment I first saw it in nfsu2. I smile back at it everytime I see it on the streets.

[@Design.Theory]

Agreed!

[@ther1kid]

Outstanding video, thanks for taking the time to educate.

[@Design.Theory]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@OneTyphun]

you really opened a door in my mind, now I must explore the room.

[@Design.Theory]

lol, I love that analogy. Thanks for checking it out!

[@DjWojtas1]

So much information in 13 min, great job, I loved all examples

[@Design.Theory]

Thanks for watching! This was a tough vid for me to make

[@bogdanrucsandescu3540]

Dude i usually never comment, but this time i feel the need to... Your analysis was on point, was nothing super special but was really on point. Keep up the good work!

[@Design.Theory]

I appreciate that! Thanks for watching Bogdan.

[@kotijaye474]

Thank you that was really interesting I think this gonna help me give name to the character weapons or vehicles I design!