Innovation Embodies Seeing Differently
Dr. Beau Lotto is one of our Guest Speakers at Color Marketing Group®’s 2018 International Summit this November in Philadelphia. His perception of the world comes from a background in neuroscience and is fascinating. Our recent interview with Dr. Lotto got us seeing things differently and we are excited to hear more in November.
How do you relax if your perception is always changing or questioning what is reality?
Questioning what is reality is the basis of freedom. It’s an essential part of a successful life – though not necessarily of a stress-free one! Indeed, it’s often much, much easier to not question. Not to know is hard. But we’ll never do anything interesting if we don’t begin with doubt.
People seek out certain design aesthetics because they find comfort with the lines, forms or colors that make them comfortable, what design aesthetic are you drawn to?
Design that decreases uncertainty: Clarity, utility, elegance … and colour only where it’s needed.
“Perception underpins everything that we feel, think and believe“, says Dr. Beau Lotto
If good design is a manifestation of the creator telling the right story, what advice would you give a designer just entering into the market?
Find out what you care about. And I don’t mean whether it is Interior Design or Architecture. I mean WHY you’re interested in Interior Design … or indeed any other form. Recently I asked this of my daughter. After a beautiful conversation, it turns out that it’s not Design as such that she’s interested in. It’s in creating spaces of joy for others. With that kind of motivation, it’ll help you get passed the many things that will be difficult. It also will help you adapt, as there are many ways to express what is the driver inside you. What you need to do is find it … in fact create it!
Is the trend changing our perception or does the perception drive the trend?
Trends are predicated on many things – all related to perception one way or another. But either way, trends create and nurture a positive feedback look. So they drive each other.
How do you relate perceptions to societal trends?
Design and color are greatly influenced by societal trends. As an example, we have observed a trend of disconnecting and seeking comfort which in turn we have seen softer colors, textures, spaces. It seems society’s perception of reality would need to be influenced before this would manifest into what we would then identify as a trend.
The brain loves that thing that is just a little bit different from average. What is average varies for everyone. But a trend captures a meaningful small difference that takes the collective brain into a new, but safe place. What’s far more interesting than trends, are the things that survive them … that endure.
What is your favorite perceived color?
It’s a colour relationship, as opposed to a colour. The nature of which changes with context. But if I had to choose palettes, it’s the one we experience with the landscape in front of you. It is roofed by deep, deep dark grey clouds. The sun is a strong orange/red behind you, low on the horizon, under the clouds illuminating the area ahead which you are looking at.
Speaker Dr. Beau Lotto
CMG International Summit, November 9 – 11, Philadelphia
Dr. Beau Lotto is a professor of neuroscience who specializes in the biology and psychology of perception, which is at the core of complexity, well-being, and innovation. His work – which has been published in two books, and over 60 papers and reviews in international journals – blurs the boundaries between neuroscience, design, and the arts. The aim of this work is to offer a deeper understanding of what it is to be alive.
Dr. Beau Lotto is the Founder and CEO of Lab of Misfits, the world’s first neuro-design studio. Uncertainty and the brain’s need to resolve it is essential for thinking about not only branding and business but design, leadership, and innovation. Misfits is a team of scientists, designers, and producers who discover the essential questions about the nature of uncertainty. Their work provides a deeper, scientific basis for an organizations DNA & Strategy, creates content that expands PR & marketing potential, and strengthens its internal and external relationships. By focusing on how the perceptual brain resolves the fundamental challenge of uncertainty, The Lab of Misfits gives audiences and clients the opportunity to create … and more than this … to embody innovation. Their results inform and transform. They have worked with the Edelman Group and TJ Max, Golin and L’Oreal, and are currently working Cirque du Soleil. Lotto is one of the few speakers to have given two TED talks, which have amassed over 6 million views combined. He has also spoken at Google’s Zeitgest Minds, Wired, G8 and made significant programme contributions to BBC’s Horizon, National Geographic Channel and PBS in the US.
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