Meaningful design - what impact does it have on human senses?

Designing an interior space is a creative process that engages our imagination as we are forced to think across multiple planes, from colors to shapes, textures, fabrics, materials, light, and plants.

But have you ever thought about how meaningful design affects the human senses? How might one design impact a person and his experience of that environment, versus the same design and a different person?

Interiors need to do more than just look good nowadays, the evidence proving that our environment can have a direct impact on our mood, stress levels, anxiety, and happiness is beyond doubt. Changes in ambient lighting, for example, can significantly affect these emotional and physiological responses.

It is for this reason that Biofilico and the wider community of biophilic interior designers and wellness interior designers aim to create environments that are ‘human senses friendly’, genuine oases of positivity.

Introduction to Multi-Sensory Design

Multi-sensory design is an innovative approach that takes into account the full spectrum of human senses, including sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. This method recognizes that human perception is a complex interplay of multiple senses working together to create a rich and immersive experience. By designing for multiple senses, designers can craft environments that are not only visually appealing but also engaging and memorable. This holistic approach to sensory design ensures that spaces resonate on a deeper level, enhancing the overall sensory experience and making a lasting impact on human senses.

Brief History of Multi-Sensory Design

The concept of multi-sensory design has been evolving for decades, gaining significant traction in recent years. During the 1950s and 1960s, artists and designers began experimenting with multi-sensory experiences, utilizing light, sound, and smell to create immersive environments. This era marked the beginning of a shift towards sensory integration in design. By the 1970s and 1980s, these techniques were being applied to product design, resulting in items that engaged multiple senses. Today, multi-sensory design is a rapidly growing field, with designers and researchers continually exploring new ways to create immersive and engaging experiences that captivate all the senses.

The Importance of Considering Multiple Senses in Design

Incorporating multiple senses in design is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, it allows designers to create experiences that are more engaging and memorable. By stimulating multiple sensory modalities, designers can craft environments that are immersive and interactive, leading to increased user engagement and satisfaction. Secondly, considering multiple senses in design promotes accessibility and inclusivity. By designing for a broader spectrum of sensory experiences, designers can create spaces that are accessible to people with disabilities and enjoyable for individuals of all ages and backgrounds. This approach ensures that the sensory qualities of a space cater to a diverse target audience, enhancing the overall user experience.

How do people perceive spaces and objects around them?

Often when you enter a room, you get a specific feeling or vibe that will immediately promote an emotional response that is highly individual and linked to our past.

Human beings receive information from the outside world through our senses, all of which are intricately connected, meaning humans perceive spaces and objects through multiple sensory stimuli including vision, sound, and touch.

In the simplest of terms, the sound is all to do with physical vibrations**,** while sight relies on light hitting our retina, and touch is connected to our somatosensory system that includes touch receptors and nerve endings.

The Science of Human Senses

Human senses are incredibly complex and capable of perceiving a wide range of stimuli. While the five traditional senses of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell are well-known, they are just the beginning. There are many other senses that play a crucial role in our perception of the world. For instance, the sense of balance and proprioception (the sense of body position and movement) are essential for our ability to navigate our surroundings. Understanding the full spectrum of human senses allows designers to create environments that engage all the senses, leading to a more comprehensive and enriching sensory experience.

The Five-Sense Myth: Understanding the Complexity of Human Senses

The notion that humans have only five senses is a myth that has been debunked by scientists and researchers. In reality, humans possess a multitude of senses that are capable of perceiving a wide array of stimuli. For example, the sense of touch extends beyond the skin to include pressure, temperature, and vibration. Similarly, the sense of smell is intricately linked to taste and the ability to detect pheromones. By acknowledging the complexity of human senses, designers can create experiences that are more engaging, memorable, and effective. Designing for multiple senses allows for a more immersive and interactive experience, ultimately leading to increased user engagement and satisfaction.

By integrating these new sections, the article will provide a comprehensive overview of multi-sensory design, its history, importance, and the science behind human senses, all while maintaining a consistent tone and style.

How can people get tied to space and objects via senses? 

Since human beings are destined to perceive the world around them via their senses, interiors that make use of multi-sensory design strategies and consider various sensory aspects can have a huge impact on mood.

Whenever you step into space, a specific smell or a sound can evoke an emotional response, perhaps nostalgia, sadness, or optimism.

The multisensory connections inside the human brain have the capability to make us remember emotions in response to the physical environment we find ourselves in. Consequently, we can all become tied to certain spaces, objects, and experiences.

Why is meaningful design so influential on sensory experience?

Multi-sensory design, or ‘meaningful design’, has physical aspects that affect our mood, energy, how we think, act and feel. Our perception of comes to us both consciously and unconsciously in fact.

In order to design a multi-sensory environment one must understand how we as human beings engage with the spaces around us. Understanding sensory engagement is crucial for designing multi-sensory environments that challenge visual dominance and promote a more inclusive understanding of space. We tend to be influenced by what we see, hear, touch, taste and smell. All those senses are responsible for memorable human reactions at the level of wellness interior design.

For healthy interior design consultants like us who want to make residents or office workers feel comfortable and in a positive mood, green interior designhealthy environment strategies help to evoke a certain emotional response.

How to design space that stimulates human senses through multi sensory design?

Now that we are aware how much meaningful design can impact senses, the question is - what might that type of interior design look like? How can we evoke certain experiences or moods through our interior design choices?

No matter whether it is the color of a wall, the sound of walking across a certain type of flooring, the choice of lighting in a room, or the textile and materials used for the furniture, each and every element, including sensory features, can collectively amount to a specific feeling. For us, choosing the right materials is especially important to this process.

The importance of choosing the right biophilic design materials 

Vision is one of our most evocative senses so we tend to notice furniture, flooring, textures and materials first when walking into a room. Natural materials such as wood, brick, stone and bamboo help establish a connection with nature indoors.

If an interior design features an abundance of air-purfying plants and elements of water such as fountains or aquariums,  a healthy interior at home can become an oasis of productivity and creativity. 

For a truly meaningful design that is multi-sensory in every way possible, natural lighting is one of the other key elements to consider for a wellness design consultant.

Ambient lighting has a great impact on the mood and productivity

Did you know that natural light has numerous health benefits? It's presence in the interior can reduce the risk of many diseases, can prevent weight gain and even help skin absorb vitamin D that is essential for overall health. It also affects the secretion of happiness hormones that make people feel productive, happy, and motivated. 

If natural light isn't possible in the interior, LED lights could be a great substitute since they are the least harmful type of indoor light. However, the combination of the natural light and natural materials is ideal for a wellness design or meaningful design concept that will impact the human senses. 

Biophilic + meaningful design - a match made in heaven

Biophilic design, for instance, can translate as meaningful in so many ways - it is based on natural, healthy principles, sustainabilitywellness, which is why we strongly believe that it can be a good start in your search for your own urban oasis. 

A wellness design space can activate the five basic senses helping to ensure you feel happy, motivated and relaxed in your residence or workplace, or why not, even a gym!