Multisensory Design

Our users have senses which they use to perceive information in different ways. Some perceive best through sight, some through hearing, others through touch. Designers often prioritize visual information, excluding those who benefit from other sensory modalities.

In this class, we’ll take a multisensory approach to design that makes interfaces more accessible to disabled and nondisabled users. Students will learn how to design for the senses (think tactile controls combined with atmospheric sounds and olfactory or taste experiences), while gaining an understanding of accessibility and the assumptions we make about our users’ sensory preferences.

Georgina Kleege holds a white cane on her left shoulder and pets a multisensory white cat pillow that purrs and smells like cat shampoo, while 3 students observe.

Over the course of 14 weeks, students will design an physical interface for the 5 senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell), culminating in one final project that includes at least 3 sensory modalities.

Students can expect to learn technical processes for the user research, usability testing, and iterative design of multisensory interfaces and should come with prior experience with at least one of the following physical computing and fabrication skills:

Arduino/microcontroller programming
sensors
laser cutting
3D-printing
CNC
paper craft
graphic design
interaction design
art and crafting skills (textiles, painting, sculpting)