As human beings, our DNA is hardwired to want to care for living things that we consider cute. Why? Because it taps into the ‘survival of the fittest’ portion of our existence. Since human babies depend on their parents for their survival quite a lot longer than other species, we are pretty empathetic creatures. We have an urgent need to care for younglings that need us. We need to be needed. So what do we consider cute? Well, since we love our babies so much, we look for the physical attributes that are associated with babies…big eyes, big heads, and round bodies. Today’s tees perfectly illustrate these features! Want to create a design that accesses our primordial instinct to care? Here are some tips:
1. Give the subject ginormous eyes.
Humans are born with their eyes already the size they will be when they are full grown adults. No wonder we melt when we gaze into huge peepers that seem to effortlessly capture our souls.
2. Give the subject an exceedingly large head.
Humans actually have large brains when compared to other species. As infants, our heads are disproportionately large to the rest of our body, but eventually things even out. Large heads tug at our heart strings and cause us to take notice and give a darn.
3. Give the subject a round body.
Humans are basically immobile blobs at birth. We can’t even hold our gargantuan heads up. That sense of helplessness sends out a direct call to our nurturing instinct, and we must love this pile of incapacitated dependence.
So now that you are armed with the knowledge of why you go goo-goo eyed over impossibly adorable creatures, what other features do you find cute?