THE SMELL OF EXPERIENCE:
THE HISTORY OF EMPIRE
& THE DESIGN OF SENSATION
I was talking to a friend and client
about the notion of brand in sensationalism —
the holism of experience strategy.
That comes down to one point,
a reflexive point —
how big
do
you feel?
We were talking about levels of whole sensational touch —
and in that instance,
how how fully,
how far
do you feel?
We all have emotions, but our ability to walk through our emotionality to deeper sorting and introspective analysis — the touch of experience, the way of holding wholly what you observe, the surveillance of sentience — all, to feeling: sentire. But as well, that watchful feelingness can go deeper, you feel something, but what do you sense? In your sensing of place, there is a vibe; and the question will be: “how open you are will allow your sensation to fully embrace the layered sphericity of impression.”
How do you sense?
Traveling,
I
find
my
self.
And I find myself
setting journeys of sensationalism.
How to find places and feel more deeply.
That’s a personal journey,
but too,
it’s a design journey.
And as a designer,
it should be about
brand.
So I look for
junctures that
take me there.
Which
might
be:
here.
One place for amazement is Istanbul, which perhaps like Florence, a place of astonishing layers of sense experience. Istanbul is an ancient place, a nexus, a crossroads of more than 1000 years.
Going there, you can enter
an ancient legacy with mazes of sensation.
For me, a lot of this comes to a synaesthetic combination —
tastes that sound on the tongue,
hearing that you can touch,
texture that you smell,
the hand that sees.
All: balanced.
As a designer, you might think, what would that be —
a brand that I know —
a robustly holistic experience layering —
for me?
I ask that question. Is there a brand that might combine these sensations?
I note:
In Florence, that would be Santa Maria Novella, Profumeria & Farmaceutica. Founded, 1612.
Paris? Fauchon.
Late 1800s.
Place De La Madeleine, Paris.
In Istanbul, there are many potentials to examine the intermingling of sensation and brand: scent, taste, touch, hearing, sight.
The Grand Bazaar, alone, is a labyrinth.
But to brand, that environment?
Lokum.
There is a risk in building any brand in a manner that speaks broadly to holism in offerings — food, scent and spice.
As in any sensation management, the more broadly expansive the storytelling, the more complex its selling and experience strategy.
But as any perfume designer knows,
what smells good is the same layering
of palpable sensation of taste.
What smells good,
could taste good.
Fragrance designers now move to designing perfumes that layer memory and experience in the context of sprayed essential flavor additives — for food and drinks, Mandy Aftel, for one.
Lokum offers that layering:
Lokum offers a return to a tradition of cultural experiences,
lavish sensuality, that existed hundreds of years ago,
in Türkiye.
The Ottoman legacy.
As the brand story notes, from their site, a telling emerges:
THE JOURNEY OF THE BRAND…
“Lokum Istanbul” brand embarked on a journey to bring back Ottoman-Turkish cultures’ centuries old delicacies and habits that no longer enjoy the popularity they deserve today with universal touches and adaptations.
Turkish Delight, Akide Candies and Cologne Water, our almost forgotten cultural items that no longer receive the demand they deserve, came back to life, meeting “Lokum Istanbul” designs, and began regaining their popularity in the national and international markets.
Brand’s main characters today are Turkish Delights, Akide Candies, Cologne Water, Candles, Books and personal printed matter collection.
All of these characters were defeated against the modern circumstances throughout their historical journeys, loosing their popularity, but in fact each of these are values that help people to feel happy. As such, Zeynep Keyman, creator of the brand, acting on this perspective, redesigned these values to add authentic and essential characteristics to modern life. Each of Z. Keyman’s “Lokum Istanbul” stores is a lifestyle store that aims to appeal to five senses of human being with their unique design and adaptations.
Main philosophy of the brand is to bring back the delights, flavours, knowledge and beauty of offering gifts and treats of Ottoman-Turkish culture to modern life and setting their direction for the future based on its unique interpretation.
Still, Lokum isn’t old, it’s the inspired visioning of
Zeynep C. Keyman — who worked to build a revisitation of cultural legacy,
in addition to her fascination with design.
You can experience that idea of layered context in Istanbul at:
Kuruçeşme Caddesi No.19
As a training exercise,
in attentionality,
as you walk
into a place, consider:
how many senses
you’re amassing
in your impressions of place and experience?
And what comes of that?
Tim | Decatur Island Studios
––––
Rethinking Beauty:
Brand Strategy & Visualization
Girvin BrandJourneys
http://bit.ly/1sSgbOB