Preview: Visual ASMR

04 : 04 : 2016 The-Emotional Economy : Advertising : Digital

Global – This week’s microtrend profiles a new type of visual fetishism emerging in creative communications.

  • Digital creatives are drawing on sensory phenomena such as ASMR
  • Visual stimuli are used to evoke a pleasurable sensation
Physlab by Anny Wang and Tim Söderström Physlab by Anny Wang and Tim Söderström
Physlab by Anny Wang and Tim Söderström Physlab by Anny Wang and Tim Söderström
Physlab by Anny Wang and Tim Söderström Physlab by Anny Wang and Tim Söderström
Physlab by Anny Wang and Tim Söderström Physlab by Anny Wang and Tim Söderström
Physlab by Anny Wang and Tim Söderström Physlab by Anny Wang and Tim Söderström

ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) is characterised by pleasurable tingling in response to certain sounds such as whispering. Now, new creatives are experimenting with using moving images to imitate tactility and give viewers similar sensory satisfaction.

‘The goal is for the the viewer to be able to imagine the tactile sensation from knowing the real-life experience,’ Tim Söderström, one half of the duo behind the Physlab series of animations, tells LS:N Global. Working with designer and illustrator Anny Wang, Söderström created short vignettes that depict inflated objects squeezing through tight openings, and ceramic vases being shattered in slow motion. The videos elicit a palpable, sensory satisfaction.

The Big Picture

In The E-motional Economy brands are increasingly using visual and tactile cues to create more emotive and sensory communications. To find out more about this new visual language, read our Visual ASMR microtrend.

Discover More Daily Signals
Channel 4 captures the raw energy of women’s football in new campaign

Daily Signals

Channel 4 captures the raw energy of women’s football in new campaign

Channel 4 has launched Pure Football, a mixed media campaign celebrating its coverage of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup, placing authenticity and fan cul...
Marketing : Channel 4 : Womens Sport
What Remedy Place’s NAD+ pen reveals about the future of longevity treatments

Daily Signals

What Remedy Place’s NAD+ pen reveals about the future of longevity treatments

Social wellness club Remedy Place is bringing clinical wellness into the home with a new NAD+ Smart Pen, developed in partnership with UK-based NAD...
Wellness : Longevity : Health
Stat: How happiness is reshaping policymaking priorities

Daily Signals

Stat: How happiness is reshaping policymaking priorities

The 2026 World Happiness Report reinforces wellbeing as a critical measure of progress, drawing on nationally representative data from ne...
Social Media : Gen Z : Statistic
Huggies puts its product claims to the ultimate stress test

Daily Signals

Huggies puts its product claims to the ultimate stress test

Nappy brand Huggies’ latest campaign, Expensive Sh*t’, sees 18 babies wearing Huggies Little Snugglers on luxury goods worth £373,000 ($500,000, €4...
Advertising : Humour : Parenting
What Zara’s archival strategy signals for the future of high street retail

Daily Signals

What Zara’s archival strategy signals for the future of high street retail

Fashion retailer Zara is repositioning itself between mass market and luxury with a two-year partnership with acclaimed fashion designer John Galli...
Retail : Fashion : Design
Stat: Parents sound alarm as children’s digital identities form too early

Daily Signals

Stat: Parents sound alarm as children’s digital identities form too early

A new survey from Proton reveals that concern about children’s online privacy has become the norm, not the exception, as digital identities are for...
Online Safety : Parenting : Statistic
How WMH&I is uniting land and people through design

Daily Signals

How WMH&I is uniting land and people through design

Environmental charity Natural Habitat has unveiled a new identity by WMH&I, designed to reconnect communities with land through emotionally res...
Sustainability : Design : Branding
Foresight Friday: Savannah Scott, creative director

Daily Signals

Foresight Friday: Savannah Scott, creative director

Every Friday, we offer an end-of-week wrap-up of the topics, issues, ideas and virals we’re all talking about. This week, our creative director Sav...
Foresight Friday : SXSW : Creativity
Stat: Gen Z turns to social for food inspiration as video dominates media habits

Daily Signals

Stat: Gen Z turns to social for food inspiration as video dominates media habits

Gen Z’s media habits are evolving rapidly, with video platforms and social feeds reshaping how young audiences consume content – and what influence...
Drinks : Social Media : Inspiration
SXSW 2026: How can brands move on the pulse of culture? 

Daily Signals

SXSW 2026: How can brands move on the pulse of culture? 

On day three of SXSW 2026, the conversation turned to one of the biggest buzzwords in modern marketing: community.
Global Events : SXSW : Marketing
You have 2 free Daily Signals remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN