Scientists have been busy unlocking the secrets of the human brain: how it works, how it fails and what all that means. The field of neuroscience is making new discoveries daily, but who’s to explain the science to the rest of us? John Medina (Dr. Medina, that is) is a neuroscientist at the University of Washington. He’s not only a researcher but also an educator training up young scientists-to-be. But what you really need to know about him is that he’s been able to translate the obtuse language of the academy into a few simple statements. The research on the human brain can be summed up and applied to daily life and Medina writes about it in his book, Brain Rules.

It’s not an option to ignore what’s being gleaned from this research. Cognitive function affects literally everything that happens so it’s recklessly irresponsible to remain uninformed. Rule number ten (of 12) says that “Vision trumps all other senses.” This means that the brain weights what is seen more than what’s heard, tasted, touched or smelled. Every other sense acts as a supporting character to sight, like Diana Ross and the Supremes (or not).

Visual dominance isn’t just what comes in through our eyes, but what our eyes expect to see. Written language is still words and requires the brain to access the secondary language center rather than the primary visual center. Each letter is dissected by the brain into its constituent shapes then matched against patterns for recognition before being recombined into words that have meaning.

“Little Billy was sad because his ice cream cone fell on the ground.” We think about the situation. We process the language and we have a logical understanding of the situation. But all that is communicated with a wordless picture showing an ice cream cone slowly melting on the pavement or the tears welling up in the eyes of a child. Signage isn’t just about conveying information to people but connecting with human beings. Connections are made through vision and image.

Instead of showing streams of text on a billboard, install a Planar EP-Series display that can show full, high-definition video in a light, durable, energy-efficient package. The EP-Series uses edge-lit LED backlight technology to reduce energy cost and high quality LCD components to increase reliability so you can run them all day and night for years.

Or choose the Clarity Matrix™ display wall that marries a grid of displays into one giant screen or into a screen with multiple, independent sections. The slim mounting EasyAxis system means the LCD screens will stick out just four inches into the room. The remote power and video processing mean that the wall will be quiet, cool and won’t require any electrical outlets for the screens.

Take advantage of the primacy of vision. Connect with people in the most powerful way possible.