When I was a child, I often traveled with my family. I have a lot of great memories from the trip, but as I get older, those memories fade away. When I grew up and traveled in the Netherlands, I smelled herring again, even in a different shop, on a different street, and it immediately brought back memories of my childhood. The salty smell of the seaside, the aroma of food from street vendors, the calls of seabirds and memories of family travels gradually emerge.
I find that among the various senses, smell seems to be one that cannot be recorded and is often ignored. Photography is to vision, recording is to hearing, touch can be achieved by owning that item, and taste can also be experienced by tasting the food again. I want to achieve the memory of smell through design.
Of all the sensory designs, smell is probably one of the least talked about. And the sense of smell, with its unique way of perception and transmission, is probably the most powerful due to its close connection with brain areas such as the amygdala and hippocampus. Our sense of smell can directly tap into our memories and emotions. Combined with State of the art technology, I think this will help olfactory design evolve again.
