Sensory Inputs
Research projects during MFA @ ArtCenter College of Design
- Multisensory Integration Experiments
- Sensory Album Prototype
-
Exploring an alternative way of human communication and interactions

1.
Multisensory Integration - What’s the role of touch, smell or taste in shaping reality?
Collaborator | Schei Wang
Translating touch to visuals
One of our experiments is about unveiling the interrelation between olfactory, gustatory, tactile, visual, and acoustic impressions. Participants were asked to touch different objects with their eyes covered, and then draw or describe how they think the objects look like, smell like, taste like, and sound like. With 15 interviewees, we found that the sense of taste correlates well with tactile, visual, olfactory impressions.

Translating smell to visuals
Most of subjects tend to link the smell to physical objects. The interesting finding in this experiment is that the subjects used the same color, brown, as a correspondence with a particular scent, Chinese hot pot powder, consisting of Star anise and so on, even if they thought of the smell as different objects, such as a feeling of sickness, beans, and coffee.

Translating taste to visuals
The patterns of communicating our gustatory experience via touch were explored. The tactile patterns are related to the feelings on our tongues while eating.
By utilizing multi-sensory integration, how might we amplify human senses?
2.
Sensory Album
We have photos and videos saved in albums for preserving our memories and telling our stories in the future. Other than visuals and sound, I was particularly drawn to the rather unique ability of odors to vividly evock emotional experiences. I explored different interactions of smell streaming and discovered how people perceive and interpret the same set of smell.
Prototype
Different types of interactions were found - one is that participants smell one at a time in a left to right order; another one is that participants smell fast and repeatedly, from left to right and then right to left.
When I asked participants to think of it as a message from their partners, they interpreted it in an ambiguous but interesting way. E.g. “My partner wants me to do something, so he says something sweet first.” “It’s time to do laundry because I smell something dirty and then something fresh.”



3.
Exploring an alternative way of human communication and interactions
Encrypted Messaging System
Nowadays, everything is monitored. What if we developed a new communication method which is Invisible?
Given the close connection between olfaction and hippocampus where it plays a role in emotion, memory and learning, I explored the potentiality of encoding and decoding messages with smell in this project.

Body Mapping
Building on top of the messaging system, I prototyped olfactory wearables and discovered how it could change social dynamics. It was fascinating to see that a new kind of physical interactions could emerge with this system. And the interactions can indicate superiority, level of trust, relationships, and how much information a person is willing to reveal.











Special Thanks Amanda Jensen [ Model, Participant ]
Anjuli Sethi [ Model, Participant ]
Christine Meinders [ Participant ]
Dana El Masri [Interviewee, Perfumer/Founder at Jazmin Saraϊ]
Hyejin Lim [ Model ]
Jessie Mar [ Photographer ]
Jade Milan [ Participant ]
Josh Bookman [ Summery Editor ]
Kiana Bahramian [ Participant ]
Olivia Yang [ Participant ]
Schei Wang [ Participant ]
Speculative Design Workshop Attendees [ Participants ]
Advisors
Elise Co [ Lead Advisor | Principal of Aeolab ]
Claire L. Evans [ Adjunct Advisor | Singer, writer and artist ]
Mike Milley [ Adjunct Advisor | Director of Designworks BMW group company ]
Department & School
Media Design Practices | Lab
2017 Art Center College of Design | Pasadena, CA
Anjuli Sethi [ Model, Participant ]
Christine Meinders [ Participant ]
Dana El Masri [Interviewee, Perfumer/Founder at Jazmin Saraϊ]
Hyejin Lim [ Model ]
Jessie Mar [ Photographer ]
Jade Milan [ Participant ]
Josh Bookman [ Summery Editor ]
Kiana Bahramian [ Participant ]
Olivia Yang [ Participant ]
Schei Wang [ Participant ]
Speculative Design Workshop Attendees [ Participants ]
Advisors
Elise Co [ Lead Advisor | Principal of Aeolab ]
Claire L. Evans [ Adjunct Advisor | Singer, writer and artist ]
Mike Milley [ Adjunct Advisor | Director of Designworks BMW group company ]
Department & School
Media Design Practices | Lab
2017 Art Center College of Design | Pasadena, CA
References
David Eagleman: Can we create new senses for humans? | TED Talk
Dunne & Raby: Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction and Social Dreaming
Dysfunction as Early Markers for Neurodegenerative and Neuropsychiatric Diseases
Luca Turin: The science of scent | TED Talk
Lucy McRae: How can technology transform the human body? | TED Talk Olfactory Stimulation for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Peter de Cupere: Olfactory Art Selwa Sweidan & Jay Hong: Radical Sensing
Sissel Tolaas: An alphabet for the noseSpice Chess Susana Soares: Bee's Smell and Taste
The Connection between Smells and Memory The Institute for Art and Olfaction
The Smell Test: Another Sense Lost to Aging
The Influence of Odor and Emotion on Memory
The Myth That Humans Have Poor Smell Is Nonscents
David Eagleman: Can we create new senses for humans? | TED Talk
Dunne & Raby: Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction and Social Dreaming
Dysfunction as Early Markers for Neurodegenerative and Neuropsychiatric Diseases
Luca Turin: The science of scent | TED Talk
Lucy McRae: How can technology transform the human body? | TED Talk Olfactory Stimulation for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Peter de Cupere: Olfactory Art Selwa Sweidan & Jay Hong: Radical Sensing
Sissel Tolaas: An alphabet for the noseSpice Chess Susana Soares: Bee's Smell and Taste
The Connection between Smells and Memory The Institute for Art and Olfaction
The Smell Test: Another Sense Lost to Aging
The Influence of Odor and Emotion on Memory
The Myth That Humans Have Poor Smell Is Nonscents