Palo Alto marketing strategist Lisa Bertelsen-Kivett speaks at the Pacific Art League on Friday, Sept. 18, about how names shape perception.

Her talk, "When Advertising and Art Collide: The Art and Science of Naming," runs from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at PAL's Birge Clark-designed building at 668 Ramona St. Admission is free for members and $20 for non-members.

The evening splits into two parts.

The first half uses thought experiments to examine how product names influence buyers without their awareness, according to the PAL event listing. The second draws on Bertelsen-Kivett's interviews with nine artists about how they title their work, pulling from memory, music, politics, private symbolism and the desire to sell.

Bertelsen-Kivett has more than 30 years of experience in market research, brand strategy and corporate strategy. Her clients have included Google, Merrill Lynch, Salesforce, Bain & Company, Visa and FedEx. She has lectured at NYU, UC Berkeley, USC's Marshall School of Business and Parsons School of Design. She lives in Palo Alto and works as an interior designer.

Registration for the Sept. 18 talk is available at pacificartleague.org.