Louis Cheskin

Who was Louis Cheskin?

Louis Cheskin was a scientific researcher, clinical psychologist, and important marketing innovator. Born in Ukraine on February 17, 1907, he was a one-time Works Progress Administration artistic supervisor. He died of a heart attack at Stanford University Hospital on October 10, 1981, age 72.

He observed that people’s perceptions of products and services were directly related to aesthetic design, and named this relationship sensation transference.

Cheskin spent most of his life investigating how design elements impacted people's perceptions of value, appeal, and relevance. He also discovered that most people could not resist transferring their feelings towards the packaging to the product itself.

Based on consumer feedback, Cheskin recommended changing the colour of Jelke’s Good Luck margarine from traditional white to yellow. Furthermore, he changed the wrapper material from waxed paper to foil to represent a higher quality product. These simple recommendations dramatically improved the product’s sales, and are still in use for many margarine and dairy products.