Written by Kelli Binnings, Brand Expert & Entrepreneur
Kelli Binnings is a multi-disciplined creative who loves talking and writing about brands, psychology, and leadership. She is the founder and chief brand strategist at Build Smart Brands and is the soon-to-be author of The Breakout Creative, which is set for release in late '25. She is also in the process of completing her Master’s from Goldsmiths University in London in the Psychology of Arts, Neuroaesthetics, and Creativity.
Think about the last time you walked into a beautifully designed store, scrolled through a visually stunning website, or unboxed a product that felt luxurious from the moment you touched it. Those moments weren’t just good design; they were carefully crafted experiences based on the psychology of aesthetics.
In today’s competitive market, brands must go beyond just looking good; they must create experiences that feel good, resonate deeply, and form lasting connections with their audience. This is where design thinking and scientific aesthetics merge. By combining the art of beauty with the logic of science, brands can create truly human-centric experiences that drive loyalty, emotion, and engagement.
Let’s explore how a scientific approach to aesthetics can revolutionize branding, using advanced design thinking to create more meaningful consumer experiences.
Science and art in branding
For centuries, art and science have been seen as two separate worlds. However, when we look at design thinking, we realize that true innovation happens when these disciplines merge. Think about visionaries like Leonardo da Vinci. His work was both artistic and scientific, blending aesthetics with deep analytical thought.
Brands today can take the same approach. By applying scientific principles to aesthetics, companies can understand how humans perceive, evaluate, and respond to sensory experiences and then use this knowledge to create emotionally compelling brand interactions.
So, what happens when we mix aesthetic science with design thinking? We get branding strategies that don’t just look great but feel intuitive, ultimately driving consumer decision-making in powerful ways.
In this article, I’ll cover 3 main areas in which brands can use science to inform and shape the experiences they create for others. Those areas are emotional connection, sensory experiences, perception, and attention.
Emotional connection: Designing for feelings
Science tells us that emotions drive decision-making more than logic does. It might not be as prominent in all our purchases, but we gravitate toward certain brands over others not because of their features but because of how they make us feel.
Aesthetic science and psychology play a big role here. Fluency theory, for example, explains that our brains are wired to prefer things that are easy to process. A clean, simple, and visually balanced brand identity feels "right" because our brain processes it effortlessly, while cluttered or chaotic designs create cognitive overload, causing us to disengage.
Brands like Apple, Nike, and Airbnb excel because they use minimalist, intuitive designs that make customers feel calm, inspired, and in control of their experience. They don’t just sell products; they sell experiences that evoke emotions and limit overwhelm.
In short, If your brand doesn’t make your audience feel something, it will be forgotten.
Sensory experience: Designing for the senses
Brands aren’t just seen; they are experienced through all our senses. The texture of packaging, the scent of a store, and the sound of an app notification all contribute to brand perception and memory recall.
Luxury brands like Chanel (scent and packaging), Tesla (car interiors and buying experience), Apple (swoon-worthy packaging and store environments), and many hotels (lobby scents and music) use multi-sensory design to create immersive brand experiences. How do they do it?
Visual aesthetics (sleek logos, curated Instagram feeds, refined product design)
Tactile experiences (soft touch items, premium packaging, smooth UI interactions)
Auditory branding (startup sounds, curated playlists, voice tones in ads, sound cues)
Olfactory design (signature scents in retail stores and packaging)
Gustatory experiences (in-store sampling, taste/memory associations)
This approach isn’t just about making things look pretty; it’s about engaging the brain in a way that creates stronger emotional bonds. Research shows that multi-sensory integration leads to higher memory recall and deeper brand connections.
In short, A brand that stimulates multiple senses creates a stronger, more memorable experience.
Perception & attention: The science of standing out
In a world full of distractions, grabbing and holding consumer attention is harder than ever. This is where scientific aesthetics and Gestalt psychology come in.
Gestalt principles show that our brains seek order and patterns, helping us process information faster. Smart brands use this to guide consumer attention through carefully structured designs:
Figure-ground principle (contrasting elements that make key messages stand out)
Law of proximity (grouping related elements together for easy navigation)
The Von Restorff effect (using bold colors, shapes, or typography to highlight important info)
Think about Google’s clean homepage or Coca-Cola’s iconic red branding; they leverage these psychological principles to direct consumer attention where they want it.
While the above examples focus on the visual, smart brands, understand the value internal branding plays in shaping perception. The science of brand goes deeper than visual aesthetics, and it goes to the core of how your brand makes people feel.
In short, The way people perceive your brand is as important as what you’re offering.
Data-driven creativity
With AI, neuroscience, and biometric research advancing rapidly, brands now have data-driven tools to measure emotional and cognitive responses to their designs.
Eye-tracking studies, neuroimaging, and biometrics are helping designers understand what colors create the strongest emotional impact, how layout and composition affect consumer decision-making, and which sensory elements increase engagement and retention. This means branding is no longer just about aesthetics; it’s about scientific precision in design. Companies that integrate this data-driven approach will gain a competitive edge in creating human-centered experiences that truly connect.
The future of branding isn’t just creative; it’s scientifically optimized to create desired human experiences.
What’s next?
Branding isn’t just about a logo or color scheme; it’s about creating experiences that feel natural, immersive, and emotionally engaging. The brands that win in the future will be the ones that understand human psychology, sensory experiences, and attention science and use them strategically.
So, the next time you think about branding, don’t just ask, “How does this look?” Ask, “How does this feel and stimulate our senses?” Because at the end of the day, great branding isn’t just seen; it’s felt, remembered, and loved.
If you’d like to learn more about how to shape audience perception through brand-building strategies, check out my ebook, Transforming Brand Perception: 7 Actions to Change the Way People See Your Brand. In this ebook, I discuss 7 behavior-focused efforts that can improve your brand value and audience perception, a GREAT place to start as you entertain the idea of emotional connection in branding. Download it here and find out how you can start implementing some of these strategies. If you’re curious about learning how to build a smart brand, my course offers a self-guided deep dive into the psychology behind building an authentic brand.
"This is an adapted article from research performed for an Aesthetic Science course project: “Ho a scientific approach to aesthetics can humanize brand experiences through advanced design thinking” at Goldsmiths University in London."
Connect with me on LinkedIn, Instagram or visit Build Smart Brands to read more of my thoughts and learn about my unique brand-building process.
Read more from Kelli Binnings
Kelli Binnings, Brand Expert & Entrepreneur
Kelli Binnings is a fearless thinking, multi-disciplined creative who loves talking and writing about brands, psychology, work culture, and leadership. As a life-long learner and "design your life" believer, she thrives on bringing ideas to life and joy to others through her work. Outside of her brand business and love of writing, she’s a published music photographer, wellness athlete, and soon-to-be author of her first book, titled The Breakout Creative, set for late '25. She is also in the process of completing her Master’s from Goldsmiths University in London in the Psychology of Arts, Neuroaesthetics, and Creativity. Her mission is to reframe the way people think and apply positive psychology to their professional lives.
