Month: April 2023
The process of odor setting
For the preliminary research on scent, the team members looked up literature, did online questionnaires to collect data, and conducted offline interviews with passers-by of different age groups. Based on this, we summarised people’s impressions of odors in different age groups and selected the most representative 2-3 odors for each life stage.
After identifying the representative scents for the different age groups, we started to purchase essential oils and perfumes. We went to essential oil shops and soap shops to experience the different scents for ourselves and to buy the ones we needed. At the same time, we also purchased some of the specified scents online. After receiving all the scents, we formulated a scent for each age group based on our previous research and recorded the ratios.
In the end, we formulated the scents for each of the five scenes, melted them in water, and used an aromatherapy machine to enable the scents to be dispersed.
Sticker 2 and Life Stage Card
For the souvenir stickers, we chose a screenshot of the video as the main motif and overlaid it with some colors and textures. We also chose some words that describe the qualities of the life stage. Two versions of the sticker were created and we finally chose one of them. For the souvenir card design, we set up an area for each life stage to put stickers on. Once visitors have chosen the stickers for each stage, they can stick them in the corresponding area.
Sticker 1
I chose a screenshot of the most representative frame from each video, as well as made a color gradient map using the tones of the video. The two were overlaid together to create the final sticker effect, although this version was not used in the end.
Souvenir Area
Souvenir-making process: After experiencing the entire exhibition, visitors can come to the souvenir area to make their own life stage card. First, visitors can pick up a blank life stage card. Then choose a sticker for each life stage and stick them in the corresponding area. Finally, visitors can choose one or several scents of perfume and use a dropper to put them on their cards. After completing the whole process, visitors can take away their personally made card as a souvenir.
Significance: each visitor makes a card that is unique, whether it is an image or a scent, chosen by them personally. When visitors see the cards again in the future, they will recall the thoughts they had about their own lives when they visited the exhibition, even if it was just a few fragments, a few moments.
The video of Childhood
I am responsible for the production of two videos for the childhood stage. There are two options for the childhood stage: happy and challenging. Most people who have a happy childhood have memories of toys, sweets, and cakes. At the same time, I noticed that when we are children we see the world from a naive point of view and the things we see are significantly bigger. Therefore, I enlarged the graphics of the elements and gave them bright and vibrant colors. Also, there are some people who did not have such a good childhood. They may have been influenced by the background of their families and perhaps they would have been more mature and rational earlier. Therefore, in another childhood video, I chose to reduce the saturation of the overall color style, while designing special effects such as brokenness and cracks.
I chose to superimpose images and keywords on the same frame, while the video has a certain narrative quality, introducing the experience to a life stage of the experience.
I completed two videos of around 50 seconds. The content of the videos is mainly abstract drawings with occasional flashes of figurative images.
The Video of Youth
I am responsible for the production of two videos for the youth stage. There are two options for the youth stage: the positive and the rebellious. I asked ChatGPT for the impressions of these two different youth stages. For the positive youth stage, I chose some bright colors. The video incorporates light-hearted elements such as grass, blue sky, and water. For the rebellious youth stage, I chose lights in the dark as a creative element. Rebellious teenagers like to stay up late and seek excitement, so I chose the colors of neon lights late at night for my creation.
I would choose an abstract video clip and a figurative video clip and overlay the two videos or add some video effects. At the same time, I added some adjectives to represent the stage when the images were switched to lead the viewer to associate and think.
I have completed two videos of 40-50 seconds. The content of the videos is a combination of abstract and figurative drawings.
The Journey Video of Stage of Life Project
Video of the journey of the Perception team in DMSP. Described and recorded how our DMSP project stage of life was designed and built.
[https://media.ed.ac.uk/media/1_nbsyfppe]
https://media.ed.ac.uk/media/1_nbsyfppe
Associations between odours and stages of life (Questionnaire)
Hello, thank you for filling out our questionnaire! We the postgraduate student from the University of Edinburgh conduct research on how different odours relate to different life stages. The questionnaire will take approximately 10 minutes to complete and your responses will be confidential. Thank you for participating.
1. When you smell this odour, what age group comes into your mind first? Please select at least one odour for each age group.
Age group: 出生 Born 成年 Eighteen 家庭 Family 暮年 Seniors 死亡 Dying
Odour: 洗衣液 (Laundry detergent) 花香 (Floral scent) 青草 (Grassy aroma) 雨后泥土 (Earthy smell after rain) 糖果 (Candy) 香草 (Vanilla) 蛋糕 (Cake) 奶粉 (Milk powder) 柑橘 (Citrus) 木头 (Wood) 烟熏味 (Smoky) 酒精 (Alcohol) 咖啡味 (Coffee) 汽油味 (Gasoline) 油墨 (Ink) 柴火燃烧 (Burning firewood) 肉桂 (Cinnamon) 八角 (Star anise) 黑胡椒 (Black pepper) 百里香 (Thyme) 皮革 (Leather) 烟草 (Tobacco) 发霉 (Musty) 酸味 (Sour) 茶叶味 (Tea) 药味 (Medicinal) 坚果 (Nuts) 消毒水 (Disinfectant)
2. Can you describe a scent you’ve smelled before? What age group do you think it belongs to?
3.What stage of life do you think you are in?
出生 Born 成年 Eighteen 家庭 Family 暮年 Seniors 死亡 Dying 其他Other
Associations between odours and stages of life
Associations between odours and stages of life
1. Smells like teen spirit: Associations between odours and stages of life – A preliminary study
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2017.02.016
Food Quality and Preference Volume 59, July 2017, Pages 150-155
Odour samples
For this study seven different odours were selected: fruity-citrus (lemon oil), vanilla (vanillin), floral (linalool), spicy-brown (eugenol), confectionery (isoamyl acetate), green ((E,Z)-nona-2,6-dienal) and nutty (2-methoxy-3-methyl pyrazine).
Participants
The data was obtained from a total of 397 participants.
The participants for this study were recruited from four different age groups: (i) kids 6 to 10 years; (ii) adolescents 11–20 years; (iii) adults 21–65 years; (iv) seniors 65+ years. Total of at least 50 people per age group.(76 kids, 103 adolescents, 163 adults, 55 seniors)
Test procedure
The test procedure the participants were asked to take the sniffing strips out of the covers and to sniff the offered odours. After sniffing, the participants were asked to answer questions on a paper questionnaire, which consisted of the following two parts:
(i) question for the age-associated assignment: ‘Which age group comes into your mind first, when you smell this odour? Please choose one.’ (kids, adolescents, adults, seniors);
(ii) questions concerning the liking of the odours and the familiarity with the presented odours. ‘I like the odour.’ (yes/no), and ‘I know the odour.’ (yes/no), followed by a request to describe the odour.
Results
| Empty Cell | Kids [%] | Adolescents [%] | Adults [%] | Seniors [%] | Liking of
odour [%] |
Identification
rate [%] |
| Total cohort, N = 379, females, 56.4%, average age 30.5 years | ||||||
| Confectionery | 48 | 23 | 17 | 12 | 74 | 74 |
| Floral | 13 | 19 | 40 | 28 | 65 | 59 |
| Fruity-citrus | 27 | 31 | 27 | 15 | 85 | 85 |
| Green | 9 | 10 | 37 | 44 | 40 | 61 |
| Nutty | 9 | 11 | 27 | 53 | 19 | 45 |
| Spicy-brown | 19 | 17 | 39 | 25 | 78 | 82 |
| Vanilla | 42 | 27 | 22 | 9 | 87 | 80 |
| Total | 24 | 20 | 30 | 26 | ||
Relationship between liking and life stage assignment
Participants assigned pleasant smells to the youth and unpleasant smells to the elderly might appear a bit offending, but this matter of fact could have its roots in certain conceptions of the final period of life. The fear or unpopularity of higher age life stage might be a reason for these correlations.
