Last week I was fortunate to receive extremely valuable feedback from each person that I spoke with. They all gave me very specific suggestions from different angles, including function, audience, form, and build.

Monica Seyfried

Monica and I talked a lot about the main function of my thesis project – scent. We talked about how scent is a powerful tool for building associations with memory. On the one hand, it can be a very personal thing. At the same time, it can also evoke more universal reactions among larger groups of people, such as aromatherapy where certain scents can help us “cure” or address different emotional or physical states.

From our discussion, I was inspired to start thinking more about universal associations with scents that can cross the boundaries between cultures. That is, I want to evoke a highly personal emotion but with a universal scent.

My first thought was that I need to figure out a way to isolate and amplify scent in my final product, because (for me personally at least) how I recall or imagine a scent depends on my other four senses. For example, if I’m watching a commercial for a cologne or perfume, even if I haven’t smelled it before, I will have an impression of what it’s like. That’s a powerful reaction, but it’s one I would like to avoid in my product because one of the main purposes of my design is to reduce the impact of visual stimulation in our lives (such as screens, which are distracting and can make procrastination worse).

So finding a common scent that can reinforce a certain emotional state is a big challenge. I know that the way we interpret things visually is highly dependent on culture (for example, associations with different colors, expressions, etc.). Does scent have the same cultural-specific associations? Is there some wiggle room, or are these associations set in stone? And is there any way we can use a scent to evoke as powerful an emotion as a say, an advertisement or a song? These are some of the questions that Monica inspired me to start thinking about.

Rudi Cossvich

Rudi is fantastic instructor who taught us a lot about Arduino last summer. We mainly talk about the feasibility of building my project, which was extremely helpful. In particular, I was exploring the idea of building a diffuser. Rudi suggested that, instead of building one from the ground up (which might be dangerous), I should consider buying necessary components on Taobao and assembling them myself. Then I could focus on user testing.
He offered to help me with the build if I was able to make it to Shanghai, but if not, he is also happy to help me on Zoom. That was extremely nice of him, and knowing that I can receive his support when I need it immediately made my stress levels go down A LOT.

Rudi also made an interesting point about positioning my project as something more intimate and private. Not just something that uses scent to build reinforcements with anybody, but perhaps something that’s focused on sharing with our friends and families – the people we truly care about. In this way, the associations and reinforcements can be much more powerful. Rudi said, “Think something that companies like Apple and Xiaomi wouldn’t make.” That really got me thinking about the positioning of my end product and who my main audience will be.

Nathier Fernandez

Nathier and I mostly talked about users. Nathier pointed out that the way that neurodivergent people experience chronic procrastination is very different from the way that neurotypical people do, so I should choose one group and stick with them, then create a prototype as quickly as I can, because testing can bring a ton of answers and also raise new questions that I need to answer.

Tong Wu

My conversation with Tong Wu mostly focused on form. Since my background is in industrial design, it’s easy for me to place too much focus on function – how to take an existing situation to a preferred situation through some sort of action or functionality. She pointed out that making your audience or user think also creates value, so my end product or project doesn’t necessarily have to provide any sort of concrete functionality. She said I could consider making something that is a social comment on the chronic procrastination, for example, finding an interesting and incisive way of sharing the experience and pain of chronic procrastination with others. In effect, I could help my audience think about this problem from a different perspective, and from there change their relationship with this issue. This was a really inspiring conversation, and it got me thinking about what form my final project should ultimately take.