Fast lane for curious minds
What is Neurodesign
Our biology
Data & perception
Film
How we react
What spaces do to us
Social spaces
Our biases
How we can work

D s gn
happens
in our brain.

Your brain just completed the first word, right? Science says it’s actually rewarding to our brain**. Designers know this, and would understanding the science deeper help us design even better?

Design + neuroscience + radical empathy bring us the delightful side effects of data: When we understand our neuro responses, we can design for connection and trust.

For systems:
Fewer errors, faster flows, lower costs. Saved lives.

For societies:
Smarter systems, processes, more time. Better wellbeing, health& safety.

For people:
Less friction, more connection. More time (with loved ones, not tax office bot).

In practise: Sustainability, inclusiveness, equity. Also, accessibility, engagement, resilience. Belonging.

(Again, my “why”. In mental health/climate/sustainability/polarity crises, I’d rather build trust than division. I know neurodesign can help solve our deepest systemic problems.)

Designing with science can save time, recources, support our wellbeing, and yes, save lives.

Our environments shape us in ways we’ve barely begun to understand. Our biology responds – even when we don’t know it.

What Big Tech uses to get inside our brain:
– infinite scroll
– variable rewards
– read receipts & streaks
– push notifications
– autoplay
– algorithmic echo chambers
– social comparison triggers
– scarcity loops
– micro-dopamine hits
– etc. Endlessly.

Design can break or build wellbeing.

On the other hand:
Understanding our brain can save lives.

Medical errors is the 3rd leading cause of death in U.S. (Makary & Daniel, 2016). Interruptions in work raise risks – redesigning the critical points of the work flow cut errors 88 % (Kliger et al., 2009; 2012).

Imagine this, scaled in societies.

Perception is not raw data. Our brain composes our reality from neural signals it gets and stiching it together with all of our other experieces. (Short version.)

Our brain has about 86 billion neurons, with over 1 quadrillion (1,000 trillion) connections.

It sits locked inside the skull, in darkness, as neuroscientist David Eagleman says.

The brain can’t sense the world directly — only what our many senses deliver: not just the usual five, but 34. (Yes, science currently identifies we have 34 senses.)

The information comes in as patterns of neural signals. What we call “perception” is the brain stitching it together, filtered, shaped by memory, colored by emotion, and guided by expectation

Perception is not a mirror of reality. It is the brain’s best version of it.

Guess which environment we are designed for?
Click the video and see how you feel.

(I know. That’s why I cut to savannah after 1,5 seconds. Even that felt too long, right?)

Our brain hasn’t changed much in 10,000 years. We’re designed for nature, not for 100,000-person stadium concerts with 110 dB bass in our ribcage.

That’s why we design with science.

We respond to our surroundings. Mostly not knowing.

  • Threat (cortisol):
    Body in guard mode — fast, narrow, error-prone.
    HR ↑
    Executive control ↓
    Shallow breath
    Fear-biased memory
    BDNF ↓
    Inflammation ↑
    Decision errors ↑

    (Note, I wrote perceived. They don’t have to be real threats.)

  • Safety (coherence/HRV):
    Body in connect mode — open, clear, adaptive.
    HRV ↑
    Open attention
    Deep breath
    Trust ↑
    Memory encoding ↑
    Impulsivity ↓
    Immune stability ↑ ·
    Learning ↑

Note. I wrote perceived threat. It doesn’t have to be real. (And mostly it isn’t.)

We have inherited the responses from our ancestors, who dealt with lions and mammoths. But our reaction to our inbox on Monday morning is exactly the same.

Most of our reactions are automatic, like a raised heart rate, or a shallow breathing. Are you familiar with email apnea*?

*Former Apple and Microsoft executive Linda Stone worked on this. She coined a term screen/email apnea. Yes, it’s the moment we barely breathe (or stop altogether), when we see an email from our boss pop up.

Physical spaces do affect us.
Far more than we know.

Our brain constantly interprets spatial cues: openness, symmetry, light, sound. When we understand how environments affect us, we can design spaces that support wellbeing.

Architecture, space, light and layout are cognitive and psychological tools. According to UN, by 2050, 70% of us live in urban setting.

Science shows, our spaces shape our creativity, wellbeing, comfortableness. They also affect directly our health.

Spaces shape us. Natural light and spatial clarity reduce cortisol levels and increase cognitive performance by up to 25%. (Küller et al. 2006; Mehta & Zhu 2009)

And yes. Nature. Studies show hospital stay is 9% shorter with just view to the nature*.

Source: Evolutionary mismatch hypothesis (Williams 1966).

Team performance, innovation and radical creativity can be boosted with science.

Social space is also a space.

We can design better, when wSocial space is also a space. e understand the neuroscience of how to foster social space, empathy, innovation and creativity.

(Human) belonging isn’t just emotional nice-to-have – it creates the neurobiological conditions for stress regulation, immune resilience and cognitive flexibility. And million other things.

When we hear a compelling story, the storyteller’s and listener’s brains synchronize – literally. (Silbert et al., 2014)

Fun is a serious neurochemistry thing.
Shared laughter = shared trust. (That’s not a metaphor. That’s oxytocin.)

Empathy is co-regulation. Mirror neurons activate when we witness others’ emotions — it’s how we connect (Rizzolatti & Craighero, 2004).

Source: Evolutionary mismatch hypothesis (Williams 1966).

We think we are rational. We are not.

I hate to break it, but we are far from rational.

Optical, haptic and other illusions mess with our senses. (Check Herman’s Grid.)

Cognitive biases shape how we see, decide, and act — mostly without us realizing.

How can we work together?

Radical empathy, ethics and human-centered design + neuroscience guide my work, so we can design for connection.

The beauty in HCD is we can work in micro and macro, from single moment to whole system.

01. The toolkit
Neuroscience (cognitive, social & affective)
+ human-centred design HCD + psychology & phenomenology
+ biology, architecture, spatial & city design, behavioral science, engineering

Methods (e.g.): fNIRS, HRV, GSR, eye-tracking, light/sound, rapid prototyping, think-aloud.

2. What it changes?
This can change everything. Our education and healthcare, work and cities, media, digital services, accessibility and equality, sustainability and complex problem-solving.

We aim for measurable calm, focus, and belonging. Connection, inspiration, wellbeing.

03. How I apply it
HCD allowes us to zoom in to a single moment and out the whole system — brands, communities, societies — to guide decisions.

True connection, value and wellbeing are created in those moments.

Again, my “why”.

Q&A: What is neurodesign and neuro-informed designing?

Questions? Good! I have listed few here. If you don’t find an answer, ask me directly ingacassidy@outlook.com

  • In my work, it’s the tool to understand our neuro responses in our lives to support better wellbeing.

  • There are many approaches to neurodesign and neuromarketing, but no, I would say the work I do is focused on increasing wellbeing, not conversions.

  • No, but I do.
    Understanding how the brain filters, reacts and forms meaning helps me design systems that don’t just look good, but work on a cognitive level. It’s not aesthetics first – it’s perception first.

  • Everything, especially now.
    Design decisions shape behavior – consciously or not. In AI-driven systems, ethics isn’t a layer on top. It’s the architecture, my dear. You can read more about my ethics and values on the page dedicated to them.

  • It’s design for how the brain handles complexity.
    Cognitive load, attention, decision friction – these are not abstract terms. They’re measurable brain states. I design to reduce mental fatigue and support clarity.

  • We don’t – unless we design for it.
    Synthetic media can mimic tone, style and even emotion. But it can’t recreate intention. That’s where human design still matters: what’s made with care, contradiction and responsibility stands apart. Trust me. I’m pretty sure soon there will come out papers where this is being studied.

  • Not by being louder – but by being clearer, calmer. More human.
    When attention is a constantly being hijacked, nervous system–aligned, ethical design becomes a competitive edge.

Sources: McEwen (2007); Porges (2011); Arnsten (2009); Ulrich (1984); Kaplan & Kaplan (1989); Sapolsky (2004); Thayer & Lane (2000);
Park et al. (2010); van der Kolk (2014); Tang et al. (2015); Davidson (2000); Raichlen & Polk (2013); Lehrer et al. (2000); Hölzel et al. (2011); Kim et al. (2013). **Wagemans et al., 2012