Thought Process Behind Each Sense:

Sense 1: Visuals

After gathering alumni feedback, I decided to adopt a more medieval art style. Initially, my approach featured a modern design with handwritten content and large, realistic projections, but user testing revealed that it was hard to read. Users preferred a more suggestive art style.

Through my exploration of medieval artwork in old books, I noticed that decorations typically framed the text, which kept it legible and allowed me to explore simple 2-D animations along the page borders for visual excerpts.

I initially used Resolume Arena for projection mapping, creating realistic animations with effects reminiscent of live performances. However, I found the harsh contrasts unsatisfactory. I aimed for animations that felt more innocent and comforting.

I then switched to Adobe Animate, producing three easy-on-the-eyes animations to accompany specific excerpts needing visuals. My interactions with the text improved, and I added further visuals through hand-drawn artwork.

Using the Canterbury typeface added a medieval touch, while print formatting kept it modern. The excerpts were cut ruggedly for a distressed look, and I used water pens for the visuals to avoid damaging the fragile paper. After completing the visuals, I moved on to the next sensory element.

Sense 2: Olfactory

To incorporate smell with the writings, there were two potential ways in which I wanted to impart the sense: 1. Diffusing fragrance oil. 2. Scratch and Sniff paper/sticker.

At the time of user testing, I was still torn with the results since there was an equal preference for both of these ways of experiencing the sense. For this reason, I went ahead and incorporated both of these ways of imparting scent. 

Style 1: Stickers: 

While the initial idea was to create a custom scratch-and-sniff scent, the stickers that happened to be readily available did have the nuance required to depict the emotion, to my surprise.

During user testing, the scratch-and-sniff stickers received an unexpectedly positive response. Many people associate them with childhood, and they are commonly found in children’s books. The 2D graphics and familiar scents evoked nostalgia, which users preferred over more dimensional designs. The lightheartedness of the stickers also tapped into something primal, enhancing the self-reflective nature of the pieces.

I had to abandon my initial direction and prioritize user testing results. Although I wanted to create a more nuanced fragrance, I decided to keep it familiar to avoid overstimulation, given the immersive nature of the text. A complex scent would have led to sensory overload.

The added benefit of Scratch and Sniff Stickers – Since these stickers need to be manually scratched and smelled, it adds an additional dimension of touch due to the scratch texture involved in doing so. Due to this reason, I made sure to inculcate this style of emitting smell in pieces that required touch as a sense as well. 

Style 2: Dispersion:

Since diffusing fragrance was also an experience that users enjoyed during the testing phase, I chose to incorporate at least one instance of ambient fragrance in my work.

I considered limiting the use of multiple scents because they can linger and create a confusing mix that may overwhelm the senses. Using it once reduces this risk while still enhancing the overall scent experience.

I chose to create an ambient scent based on seasons, as they are atmospheric and experienced through involuntary sensation. It made sense for the piece to come from the environment rather than having the user seek it out.

I selected four fragrance oils to represent the essence of each season:

- Fallen Leaf (Autumn): A grassy scent with a stale, dried quality, reminiscent of leaves decaying in the soil.

- Surfs Up (Summer): An oceanic and coconut scent, evoking sipping a piña colada by the beach on a warm day.

- Ice Crystals (Winter): A strong menthol scent that cools the nose, like fallen ice.

- Lovely Lilac (Spring): A blend of lilac and orchid blossoms, capturing the freshness of blooming flowers.

These scents effectively convey the changing seasons.

In my experiment, I wanted to explore the multi-dimensionality of scent, building on the linearity and nostalgia of scratch-and-sniff stickers. As a fragrance enthusiast, I appreciate how olfactory notes develop over time. Since the excerpt discusses cycles and the non-linearity of human nature, I aimed to enhance this concept by creating my own scent concoction.

For the final, I aimed to evoke the 5th dimension, where all 4 seasons occur simultaneously. I mixed the scents of each season on cardboard to create a 5th scent, representing the confusion and uncertainty of human cycles compared to nature's predictable rhythms.

I used thick, stiff, A4-sized cardboard to disperse the scent because it absorbs and releases it while users experience the piece. Unlike the mechanical and artificial nature of a fan, cardboard allows for customizable waving motions that mimic natural wind and breeze patterns.

I alternated between no motion, breezy motion, and fast motion to create varying sensations of temperature and scent intensity. This immersive piece combined sound and scent, encouraging involuntary interaction while users had their eyes closed. The wind gusts against the skin and adds a tactile element, making it one of the more experimental works in the book.

Sense 3: Touch/Feel

For Touch, I spent the most time wondering if I should include haptic sensor-based touch elements or keep it purely analog and mess around with materiality instead.

Since I decided upon a more ancient, old feel of the book with a few modern elements being depicted in the visuals, I thought it would be a good idea to keep the touch elements more material-based and natural. It made the most sense since all the writings in my book were inspired by nature and naturally found, and materials were the only way to do complete justice to the final vision that I had planned.

As mentioned above, one of the touch elements was a by-product of scent dispersion, where the breeze was creating sensations felt during changing seasons. While I did intend for the piece to have an elemental sensation, I did not explicitly categorize it as touch when I was allocating a sense to it.

I took inspiration from that development and chose for a piece to have an explicit sensation element coupled with sound. 

This piece, in particular, talks about rain, and it seemed like the obvious choice to include a mist-like sensation while the user was experiencing the piece.

I used a fine-mist spray bottle, which I would spray lightly from up above to create the sensation of rain or drizzle. 

This piece is intended to be coupled with sound, and hence, the user would be keeping their eyes closed and experiencing it involuntarily from the atmosphere.

The sound itself was a narration of the piece supplemented with sounds of thunder and lightning.

The other touch elements that I wanted to incorporate were material-based and tactile. I wanted the user to interact with the piece with their hands while experiencing the words.

Most of the written excerpts are heavy in nature, provoking a lot of emotions of existentialism, reflection, and, to some degree, anxiety. To counteract these feelings or rather juxtapose these with calming elements, which in a way exhibit the comfort that one must find through acceptance of the discomfort that often comes with life, I chose to incorporate materials that are associated with creating a sense of calm, i.e., sensory strips. 

For some of the excerpts, I wanted the material to reflect articles gathered from nature since all of the excerpts are reflections of nature.

Certain excerpts involved trees and sands, for that reason, I chose to inculcate real trees and sand to create texture. 

The other type of texture is 3D paint, which has a 3D glue-like texture on dry down. The swirl patterns are meant to create an unruly feel of sand dunes.

These textures are meant to be felt while reading/hearing excerpts.

The overarching experience: the book itself.

The book itself was chosen to be of an old/grunge style. Some elements of it were already distressed and in addition, I used craft scissors to distress it further for more visuals. The rugged feel of the book elevated the natural textures that I added to it.

Sense 3: Sound

Sound was a sense that was best coupled with other senses since mere listening can sometimes not be immune to distractions and the wandering mind. An additional sense helps ground the user to the piece they are listening to.

Three excerpts, which I thought benefitted from an ambient, environmental experience, were chosen to be sound pieces. The excerpts were either coupled with scent or touch that seemed to be coming from the environment to create the effect of being present in nature/outdoors. This stimulates the imagination of the reader since the eyes are meant to be kept closed. The narration of the excerpts is coupled with environmental sounds as well to further immerse the reader into the ambience. 

Initially, I tried to use a voice synthesizer for the narrations, but that created a robotic effect, so I chose to narrate the pieces manually instead.

I wanted to create an ethereal, voice-from-above effect with the narrations, so I used Adobe Audition to add effects. 

Users were given earphones to listen to the piece and were asked to shut their eyes to experience it.

Instructions on what to do with each excerpt:

On the left side of each page excerpt, there are instructions that let the users know what to do before the start of the excerpt to maximize their experience of it.

During user testing where no instructions were provided, it was difficult and time-consuming for the users to figure out what interaction needed to be done along with the excerpt and hence instructions were mentioned to counteract this issue. 

The handwritten notes are meant to add a human touch to the work such that the reader feels a connection with the writer of the book.

Bonus: Taste

Toward the end of the book, during the live demonstration, a blank page was opened up to the reader to write their own thoughts or reflections as a space for catharsis. It was not a mandatory interaction, but users could take the time to write if they so wished.

Keeping in mind the heavy nature of the book, a candy was given to each user towards the end for comfort and to gently bring them back into reality.