Recently in Senses Category

Podcast from Jeff Parks at Boxes and Arrows - Michael Recchiuti talks about the experience of making chocolate and how different flavors inspire new creations for the business and his customers. Looking at different professions outside of the web world in which most UX practitioners work can inspire innovation and creativity.

Flavor tripping in which some fruits alters the body's snse of taste seems a pure example of experience design, according to Design for Service.

Three quotes from the synthesis:

(1) Cooking is a language through which all the following properties may be expressed: harmony, creativity, happiness, beauty, poetry, complexity, magic, humour, provocation and culture.

(2) The information given off by a dish is enjoyed through the senses; it is also enjoyed and interpreted by reflection.

(3) Knowledge and/or collaboration with experts from different fields (gastronomic culture, history, industrial design, etc.,) is essential for progress in cooking. In particular collaboration with the food industry and the scientific world has brought about fundamental advances. Sharing this knowledge among cooking professionals has contributed to this evolution.

Victor Lombardi (of NBS fame) introduces the concept of the Food Guide to guide people during their dinner through the dishes, tastes and textures. Quite a concept. "(...) the food is the focus and the restaurant provides a food-centric experience."

At the 2008 conference on 'Design & Emotion' (Oct. 6-8 2008, Hongkong), one of the conference themes relates to similarities and differences between product experience design and design of food and fragrances. The theme caption reads "What emotional responses do we experience in response to foods and fragrances? Are these particular and distinct emotions, or are these the same emotions we also experience in response to product appearance? How can we describe and design for food and fragrance emotions? This theme invites papers that discuss the experiential impact of food and fragrance design."

Nathan Shedroff has been one of the very first identifying similarities between webdesign and gastronomy. Nathan is a thought leader in the field of Experience Design and a long time new media guru. From a culinary point of view, he connected the dots of the various design disciplines.

How to communicate food, cooking and recipes with online videos, just have a look at the Food Network Video Guide.

Food stylists and food photographers help us get appetite browsing through illustrated cookbooks. Looking at sites regularly does not urge me to browse further. How do they do it? Foodesigns provides some inspiration. The Tweezer Times is their "e-zine that covers timely and informative news about the world of food photography. It includes articles on food styling techniques, profiles featuring professional stylists and shooters, and reviews of tools and equipment. Content provided by recognized professionals in the business of food photography." - Visual design in optima forma.

How does a chef think? How does (s)he strive towards perfection and to serve perfect food? The mind and soul of a chef reveals a lot of the psychological and emotional processes involved. Micheal Ruhlman takes you on this journey towards the dark hearts of the profession.

Perception through the senses is the way people experience. Besides experiencing through their eyes, ears and skin, their tongue and nose determine the taste of food. But what constitutes their taste? And how can we influence people's taste? This book provides some answers.

Dutch food designer Marije Vogelzang describes on her blog 'Proef ('Taste') Amsterdam' how she integrates food, design and art. For her, food is a material to design with and less to eat. Including to make it fun for children. And ... she's does not cook, but designs.

In the family of 'Crunch', Web 2.0 trendwatcher M. Arrington ('TechCrunch') started the blog CrunchFood on "(...) a subject still near and dear to the hearts of geeks".