Bloom Thinks: Design vs Distraction Part 3

What kind of design holds our attention for longest?  

There's a good reason why the drip drip of distracting content makes us feel so unsatisfied. It’s because of the way our brains process information.

Very simplistically, the more logical left side of the brain is good at filtering stuff. It’s switched on when something either grabs our attention or fails to. The right side is good at engaging with and understanding stuff. It’s switched on when something truly pricks our interest.

Swiping through shallow, narrow content stimulates our left brain without engaging our right. It’s like sugary, fatty junk food that excites our taste buds but leaves us still hungry an hour later.

Marshall McLuhan famously explained how media could be hot or cool, depending on whether it demands interaction from us.

Hot media is consumed passively. Cool media is more involving. A film is hot. A phone call is cool. A digital watch is hot. An analogue watch is cool. Cool media asks us to do some light work to understand and decode the content it carries. So cool media is more likely to engage both sides of our brain.

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Brands can learn from this to stand out among the distraction. The most attention-holding brand designs create patterns. They have distinctive, recognisable assets that flex, playfully merging with other styles or codes. First it attracts our attention, then it involves us deeply. It’s moreish because our brains love decoding codes. Keep it up and the audience comes back for more.

Think of it like the most engaging entertainment. Franchises like Star Wars, Harry Potter or the Marvel Universe are rooted in fixed codes – characters, costumes, accessories, music, language, set designs. But they flex over time – subplots, origin stories, spin-offs, collabs. Get the balance right and passive audiences become active fans.

Brands like Swatch, McDonalds, Lego or Loewe do the same thing. They have familiar assets. But they play with them fluidly. What you see is a playful pattern, evolving over time. It’s entertaining and rewarding to follow, from the most fleeting social post to the biggest NDP launch.

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Whatever the medium, hot or cool, digital or analogue, brands need to fight distraction. Adaptive, flexible design is what they need to hold and reward our attention.