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Scent As a Medium for Design: an Experimental Design Inquiry

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Scent As a Medium for Design: an Experimental Design Inquiry Scent as a Medium for Design: An Experimental Design Inquiry A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree Master of Fine Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Alessandra Cerqueira Mattos, MBA Graduate Program in Industrial, Interior and Visual Communication Design The Ohio State University 2011 Master’s Examination Committee Professors Peter Chan, Advisor, PhD Elizabeth B.-N. Sanders, PhD Carolina Gill Copyright by Alessandra Cerqueira Mattos © 2011 All rights reserved Abstract The roles of Designers and Researchers are blending together and each one is trying to work in and improve on the other’s domain. This represents an important shift for both fields, but it is fundamental that the next steps are taken by studying and acquiring more knowledge across both fields. Thus, this study aims to adapt Experimental Design as a method to be used by Designers. The use of experiments as a method for Design Research is a relatively unexplored domain within the field of Design that has implications for positive and useful applications. With the application of rigorous methods of experimental study, results can be generalized to broader situations. Scientific methods address concern of bias, replication, and disclosure of the problem and findings. Experimentally-based findings will be well respected not only by Designers, but also by the Scientific community. The experiment consisted of interviews with ninety people who were asked to associate the presented smells with words. Quantitative analysis was done using statistical tests to understand whether people’s responses did or did not occur by ii chance. This helped support, scientifically, the findings. Additionally, qualitative analysis was done by creating different types of visualizations of the data. These visualizations helped to reveal patterns and to create unique “fingerprints” for the smells. The sense of smell was chosen as a medium for the Experimental Design. In Psychology or Neuroscience it is easy to find information about how the sense of smell works. It is a sense that hits us directly through the limbic system, which supports a variety of functions including emotion, behavior and long- term memory. Therefore, our associations with smells are incredibly strong, emotional, and cognitively bonded to memory, which shows opportunities for Design explorations. However, there are not a clear understanding about people’s psychological perceptions and associations to the odors. Understanding this will enable the use of smells in a more conscious way according to people’s perceptions. iii Dedicated to my family: My mother, who believes in me more than anyone else. Everything I am, I owe her. Phil, who keeps her happy giving me piece of mind. Bruno, who is and will always be my best friend, love, and life partner. iv Acknowledgements During my six years of professional experience, prior to coming to The Ohio State University, I have worked creating and developing concepts, products, and ideas. However, rarely have I actually had time to research and understand the real problems to develop better solutions early in the process. Being exposed to Design Research methods during the first year of the Design Development Master Program, studying Design Research and User Experience under the direction of Professors Liz Sanders, Heike Goeller, Paul Nini, Carolina Gill, and Brian Stone, made me re-evaluate my personal interests and create a new direction for my thesis ideas, focusing more on research techniques and data analysis rather than practical Design applications. My committee was essential to feed my interest for Design Research and keep me on track. I would like to thank Dr. Peter Chan, my main advisor, who guided me calmly through all the steps on this journey. He was open to my ideas and helped me polish them to create an interesting and useful project. His patience was essential to keep me going. Thanks to Carolina Gill who happily embraced my topic and always gave me considerable and thoughtful feedback. Last but v not least, I would like to thank Dr. Elizabeth Sanders who not only inspired me throughout my time at The Ohio State University, but also involved and immersed herself in this study with me. vi Vita 1979 Born – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2004 B.S. Industrial and Visual Communication Design, Escola Superior de Desenho Industrial, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2004-2009 Design and Branding Manager, Uncle K Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2007 MBA in Marketing Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2009-2010 University Fellowship Recipient, The Ohio State University 2010-2011 Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: Industrial, Interior and Visual Communication Design vii Table of Contents Abstract............................................................................................. .....ii Acknowledgements............................................................................... .....v Vita................................................................................................. .....vii Chapter 1 Introduction..............................................................................................1 1.1 Objectives and scope ................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background information ........................................................................... 2 1.3 Introduction to Research Methods ........................................................... 7 1.4 Roadmap to the study.............................................................................. 10 Chapter 2 The sense of smell....................................................................................13 2.1 Describing and identifying odors ............................................................. 16 2.2 Odor classification systems ...................................................................... 17 2.2.1 Zwaardemaker smell system, 1895 .......................................................................... 18 2.2.2 Henning odor system, 1916 ...................................................................................... 19 2.2.3 Crocker-Henderson smell classification, 1927 ........................................................ 20 2.2.4 Stereochemical smell theory or the Seven Basic Smells, 1952 ................................ 20 2.2.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 21 2.3 Designing fragrances ................................................................................ 21 2.3.1 Traditional fragrance classification ........................................................................ 23 2.3.2 Modern fragrance classification .............................................................................. 23 2.3.3 Fragrance wheel ....................................................................................................... 23 2.4 Using smells as a Design element ........................................................... 24 viii Chapter 3 Design Research methods exploration...................................................... .....28 Chapter 4 Designing and conducting the experiment................................................ .....36 4.1 Exploratory Study #1 ............................................................................... 36 4.2 Exploratory Study #2 .............................................................................. 46 4.3 Final Experimental Design .................................................................... 53 Chapter 5 Experiment Analysis..................................................................................61 5.1 Quantitative Analysis ................................................................................ 61 5.2 Qualitative analysis ................................................................................. 73 5.2.1 Word clouds .............................................................................................................. 75 5.2.2 Gender Comparison word clouds ........................................................................... 80 5.2.3 Categories’ comparison ............................................................................................ 82 5.2.4 Words’ comparison................................................................................................... 91 5.2.5 Summary of the smells ............................................................................................. 93 Chapter 6 Exploring Smell Tool concepts/ideas/prototypes......................................... .....97 Chapter 7 Discussions and Conclusion......................................................................103 7.1 Discussion: exploring and applying the research’s findings ................. 103 7.1.1 Checking if a chosen smell is consistent with pre-defined concepts ...................... 104 7.1.2 Looking for smells associated to specific concepts ................................................ 106 7.1.3 Researching associations for a new smell ............................................................. 108 ix 7.1.4 Probing deeper into patterns .................................................................................. 109 7.2 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 109 Appendix ..............................................................................................111
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