Design and scent

Scent provides an important, but poorly understood, component of our perception of our surroundings. It is clear that while many human scent responses to do with danger are universal, or instinctive, others, particularly pleasurable aromas, are linked to memories, which are highly specific and individual. What these responses have in common above all else is their emotional component. Along with every other living organism, our ability to detect chemical changes to our environment is extremely important. This may enable us to avoid poisonous, diseased or decaying sources of food, but equally may help us locate a genetically compatible mate (Vroon et al. 1997). The most easily identifiable and universally replicated responses are linked to survival, and have been shown to be
“hard-wired” to some of the oldest (in evolutionary terms) parts of the brain, but this limbic system, or area, is also that most closely associated with the management of memory and emotion. Beyond this, the scientific understanding of human responses to scent stimulus remains extremely limited. Many studies have been undertaken, but the subjective nature of results makes the elimination of variation through control samples practically impossible.

There are specific areas in the brain where smell memories are received and stored. Smell information goes from the olfactory bulb to centres of the brain that handle strong emotions like aggression, fear and sexual arousal. This centre also plays a significant role in selecting and transmitting information between our short-and long-term memories, evoking memories from the past. Smells arouse emotions of sadness, loss, love, disgust, longing and passion, buried deep in our sub-conscious. Only a few molecules from an odour are required to convey a message to brain, creating a smell image. This can come from a flower, a memory or place, a person, or time, an olfactive evocation, or alternatively an aggression alarm or warning signal of danger. For artists and designers this
powerful sense gives rise to an equally powerful medium of expression. Whilst the incorporation of scent technology has suffered from numerous set-backs, from early gimmicks such as Smell-o-Vision of the early 1960s to the collapse of Digiscents in 2001, designers have started to take on the task of translating this technology for a consumer audience. Whilst Disney continues to “imagineer” additional sensory forms to its theme park rides, and supermarkets and shopping malls continue to pump out odours approximating to freshly-ground coffee or freshly-baked bread to its customers, there remains a question mark over the physical form, and mode of interaction this technology may take in the near future.

Introduction to book by editors Pieter M.A. Desmet, Jeroen Van Erp and Marianne Karlsson:

Eighteen authors who presented their research at the 5th international Design & Emotion conference were invited to write a chapter that shares their research approaches to and insights into the domain of design & emotion. The result is this book, an attempt to present a cross section of current developments in design & emotion research activities. Please do not let the word “emotion” mislead you. Strictly speaking, the concept of emotion refers to a particular and specific affective phenomenon: a relatively brief episode of coordinated brain, autonomic, and behavioural changes that facilitate a response to an external or internal event of significance for the organism (see Scherer et al. 2001). Readers will find, however, that many chapters do not actually discuss emotions. This is because in this book –as in the design (research) discipline in general– the word emotion is used to represent a perspective that is much wider than the formal definition would strictly allow for. What all the chapters do have in common is that their focus always includes some kind of affective aspect involved in the user-product relationship. Emotion is an affective phenomenon, but so are moods, feelings, experiences, and general pleasure. Although all of these phenomena are represented by design & emotion research, the term emotion is used because it clearly expresses, without requiring lengthy explanations, the affective basis of the research domain. This justifies the suggestion to characterise design & emotion as a research domain rather than a research topic, emphasizing its multifaceted and multidisciplinary nature. In spite of the wide variety of themes, angles and approaches, all research activities in this domain share the basic proposition that in order to understand users (or consumers) and the users’ behaviour, one must understand the affective responses that are involved in the processes of buying, using, and owning products. This proposition represents the backbone of this book. Consequently, all the chapters report and discuss (the development) of methods, theories, or tools that can assist those who want to understand the affective impact of design, and those
who want to explore the use of structured approaches to design for emotion activities.

This book was presented at the 2008 Design & Emotion conference, which was hosted by Hong Kong Polytechnic University on October 6-9.