Sensory design aims to establish an overall diagnosis of the sensory perceptions of a product, and define appropriate means to design or redesign it on that basis. It involves an observation of the diverse and varying situations in which a given product or object is used in order to measure the users' overall opinion of the product, its positive and negative aspects in terms of tactility, appearance, sound and so on.
Sensory assessment aims to quantify and describe, in a systematic manner, all human perceptions when confronted with a product or object. Contrary to traditional laboratory analysis, a sensory analysis of a product is either carried out by a panel of trained testers, or by specialized test equipment designed to mimic the perception of humans.
The result allows researchers to establish a list of specifications and to set out a precise and quantified requirement. These are applied to materials and objects using various criteria: Touch, textures, compliance, friction. Vision color, luminosity, shape, pattern. Sounds and movements made when a product is handled; Smell; Taste; Temperature and perceived thermal properties
Use in Transportation
In the transportation sphere, sensory analysis are sometimes translated into minor enhancements to the design for a vehicle interior, information system, or station environment to smooth some of the rougher edges of the travel experience. For example, specialized air purifying equipment can be used to design a more pleasant odor in train compartments.
Use in Food and Beverage Industry
Sensory design plays a critical role in the modern food and beverage industry. The food and beverage industry attempts to maintain specific sensory experiences. In addition to smell and flavor, the color (e.g. ripe fruits) and texture of food (e.g. potato chips) are also important. Even the environment is important as "Color affects the appetite, in essence, the taste of food".
Food is a multi-sensorial experience in which all five senses (vision, touch, sound, smell and taste) come together to create a strong memory.
In food marketing, the goal of the marketers is to design their products so that those food and beverage would stimulate as many senses of the customers.
At restaurants, many sensorial aspects such as the interior design (vision), texture of the chairs and tables (touch), background music and the noise level (sound), openness of the kitchen and cooking scene (smell and vision), and of course, the food itself (taste), all come together before a customer decides if he or she likes the experience and would want to revisit.
While multi-sensory experiences were only subjected to a few categories in the past, in modern day, the spectrum has expanded to acknowledge the importance of sensory design. Food used to be considered strictly as an experience for taste. Now, as the multi-sensorial trait of food has been known, marketers of food products and restaurants focus more on providing services that extend beyond the sense of taste.
In recent research, the role of vestibular sense, a system that contributes to sense of balance and space, has been highlighted in relation to food. Often be referred as "the sixth sense", researches show that vestibular senses that are exhibited through people's postures while eating, can shape their perceptions for food. In general, people tend to rate food as better-tasting when they consume it while sitting down, compared to standing up. The researches conclude that the perception of food and vestibular system is in the result of the different stress levels caused according to the postures.
Use in Architecture
Similar to food that used to be regarded merely as an experience of taste, architecture in the past used to be subjected only to sense of vision, which is why much of architectural products relied on visual forms of photographs, or television. In contrast, architecture has become a multi-sensorial experience in which people visit the architectural sites and feel the various sensorial aspects such as the texture of the building, background noise and the scent of the surrounding area, and the overall look of the building in coordination with the nature and the area.