Multisensory Experiences

Introduction

Most of our everyday life experiences are multisensory in nature. They involve many, if not all, of our senses, namely sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell, just to mention the ‘traditional’ ones. In this course, we take a journey through the world of multisensory experiences, that is, impressions formed by specific events whose sensory elements have been carefully crafted by someone.

We begin by exploring the basis of human sensation and perception. Here, we provide a general introduction to how we sense and perceive the world around us. We also learn new sensory language to describe our sensory worlds. Then, we explore how experiences form and the role of our senses in them. After that, we introduce multisensory experiences in marketing. We interact with brands through many, if not all, of our senses. As such, we experience brands through the different sensory elements associated with their touchpoints throughout the experience journey. In this context, the senses are placed at the center of the consumer experience analysis and design processes.

We introduce the field of multisensory human-computer interaction, which deals with the understanding, design, and use of computer systems that engage multiple senses, typically beyond the traditional visual and auditory channels. We discuss how our senses are increasingly meeting technology. In particular, we focus on key technologies such as mixed reality, the internet of things, AI-powered technologies, and Web 3.0. We further explore how multisensory experiences are being studied and utilized throughout the reality-virtuality continuum (for example, with augmented and virtual reality technologies) in marketing and beyond. We also explore how researchers and practitioners from around the world are now capitalizing on novel sensory-enabling technologies to deliver new experiences in digital environments. The course ends with ethical implications and responsibilities associated with multisensory experiences for individuals and society.

Course content

• Multisensory experiences: An overview
  • Understanding experiences
  • The role of the senses in our experiences
  • Defining multisensory experiences
• Sensation, perception, and consumer behaviour
  • Principles of sensation and perception
  • Principles of multisensory perception
• Multisensory experiences and marketing
  • Experience journeys and the senses
  • Brand touchpoints as multisensory devices
  • Brand names, logos, and symbols
  • Packaging, store, and atmospherics
  • Digital multisensory marketing
• Multisensory human-computer interaction
  • Introduction to human-computer interaction
  • Augmented and virtual reality
  • Internet of Things
  • AI-powered technologies
  • Web3
  • Multisensory technology
• Frameworks for multisensory experience design
• Ethics of multisensory experiences