How cuteness has become a powerful commodity

Cute cat videos, puppies with adorable expressions, babies with funny faces – this is the kind of cuteness that the Internet seems to thrive on. Some of us find it a bit nauseating, but you have to be a particularly hardened cynic to hate all three. And yes, these pictures, posts or tweets get a fair amount of LOL’s or awws and shares all across the web.

So why do we resort to such responses when presented with the picture of a baby or a tiny kitten? Science could well have an answer explaining our behaviour and according to research ‘cute’ things have a much more powerful impact than you would have thought.

As this piece on Fastcodesign explains, cute is no longer an adjective, “it is a powerful commodity.”

“There are cute cars and cute airplanes and cute laptop cases. The Japanese have an entire culture of cuteness–it’s called kawaii–complete with cute fashion lines, " says the article which points out that studies have shown that while the baby-type of cuteness invokes the need to be protective, the other type of cuteness which is whimsical cuteness– the one that we see a pastry shaped like a cartoon character– “sparks ideas of playfulness and self-reward that make us indulge.”

According to the report, “A series of experiments, described in an upcoming issue of Journal of Consumer Research… where researchers conducted an ice cream taste test on 33 participants. Some used a regular ice cream scoop, some used a super cute one shaped like a lady. Those in the cute group scooped themselves significantly more ice cream, despite the fact that the lady scooper actually held less (1.31 ounces, compared to 1.48).”

While some might not see the big deal as to how whimsical cuteness could have any impact in the real world, as the piece notes, “the divergent effects of baby and whimsical cuteness have big implications for designers and marketers, especially as more brands create characters for social media.”

In a larger sense when businesses try to create new products, say a brand of cookies, those with whimsical drawings or even cute animal faces on them, might just do better than a regular old cookies.

You can read more about how cuteness can affect design here.