Augmenting cinematic experiences with smells
is as old as cinema.
SCRATCH ’N’ SNIFF SCHEMATIC
; Arduino microcontroller drives
five Glade Flameless Candles
(transistor version).
that our sense of smell is more susceptible
to suggestion.
A successful smell interaction will take these
peculiarities into account. Here’s a list of further considerations:
» Give people a clear indication of when they
should smell something. Don’t expect them
to react to ambient smells.
» Smell takes time to diffuse and disappear.
Make sure you account for this time in
your design.
» Choose distinct smells. Everyone knows
Play-Doh, but few will identify marjoram.
» Test your setup in a variety of conditions.
Scents behave differently in large, crowded
spaces than they do in small, empty rooms.
» Don’t overwhelm users with smell. Olfactory
fatigue sets in quickly in the presence of
overpowering smells.
» Be prepared for some people to not “get”
the smell. Remember, smell is subjective,
so have at least a couple of different types
of smell on hand. ;
Resources
» Demeter Fragrance Library:
demeterfragrance.com
» Novelty fragrance oils: saveonscents.com
» DIY Home Perfumery: MAKE Volume 22,
page 135
» A listing of hundreds of chemical compounds
that make up the smells we recognize:
flavornet.org
» Avery Gilbert’s book What the Nose Knows
(Crown Publishers, 2008) and his amazing
smell blog: firstnerve.com
» Smell marketers index: scentmarketing.org
Alex Kauffmann is a New York-based writer/artist/designer.
His work, like his life, is beautiful, simple, and absurd. You can
see a bit of both at chinaalbino.com.
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