Creating Meaningful Memories Through Sensory Experiences | Rebekah Matheny | TEDxOhioStateUniversity

Summary

In this inspiring talk, a design professor from Ohio State University shares her journey from architecture to interior design, emphasizing the power of storytelling and design thinking to create memorable experiences. She explores the concept of sensory memory, highlighting how our five senses contribute to lasting memories. Through personal anecdotes and examples, she encourages us to engage all our senses, not just sight, to fully experience and create meaningful memories in the spaces we inhabit.

Takeaways

• 🎨 The speaker identifies as a storyteller and design thinker focused on creating meaningful experiences through design.
• 🏠 Interior design is described as guiding individuals through the interior environment, which is more than just architecture's role of leading to the front door.
• 🌟 Memorable spaces are those that create emotional responses and lasting memories, often through engaging multiple senses.
• 👀 In our culture, there's a tendency to focus predominantly on sight, which can limit our engagement with other senses.
• 🎶 Sound can trigger strong memories and is a powerful tool in design for evoking emotions and creating sensory experiences.
• 👣 The sound of footsteps on different surfaces can immediately convey information about a space and its character.
• 🌿 Materials and textures used in design can communicate a story and set the tone for the space, influencing how it's perceived.
• 🌍 Travel experiences, like living in Japan, can significantly influence design philosophies and the sensory memories associated with places.
• 🍣 Vivid and engaging design in places like restaurants can create memorable experiences that connect people to the purpose of the space.
• 📱 The speaker encourages breaking away from digital devices to fully experience and create meaningful memories through all senses.
• ⏳ There's a concern about the future of sensory memory and the risk of becoming a culture that relies solely on visual memories captured by devices.

Q & A

What does the speaker identify as their primary profession?

The speaker identifies as a design professor at Ohio State.

What type of design does the speaker teach?

The speaker teaches Interior Design.

What was the speaker's educational background before becoming a design professor?

The speaker has a background in architecture.

How does the speaker define themselves beyond their profession?

The speaker defines themselves as a storyteller and a design thinker who creates meaningful experiences for people.

What pivotal event in the speaker's childhood influenced their career path towards architecture?

A science fair project set the speaker on the course towards architecture.

What is the significance of 'sensory memory' in the context of the speaker's talk?

Sensory memory refers to the memories formed through our five senses, which contribute to creating lasting memories and are integral to the design process.

How does the speaker suggest we have become as a culture, and what impact does this have on our sensory experiences?

The speaker suggests we have become ocularcentric, focusing primarily on sight through digital devices, which may lead to neglecting other senses.

What example does the speaker provide to illustrate how sound can evoke memories?

The speaker uses the example of hearing different types of footsteps on various surfaces to evoke memories of different spaces.

How does the speaker describe the sensory experience of being in a Zen temple in Japan?

The speaker describes feeling the vibrations of prayer through the ancient wooden floorboards, creating a layered sensory experience that was transcending.

What does the speaker argue about the importance of creating memorable spaces?

The speaker argues that memorable spaces have a purpose and tell a story, connecting people to the environment and creating meaningful experiences.

What is the speaker's concern about the future of sensory memory in a culture dominated by digital devices?

The speaker is concerned that an over-reliance on digital devices may lead to a future where people have fewer immersive, sensory memories and instead only have visual memories through photographs.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Design and Storytelling

The speaker, a design professor at Ohio State, shares her journey from an interest in fashion design to architecture and interior design. She emphasizes her identity as a storyteller and design thinker, aiming to create meaningful experiences. Her passion began in childhood with creating textile patterns, leading to studies in architecture and interior design. She describes architecture as landscape sculpture, while interior design guides individuals through interior spaces. The professor's goal is to inspire her students and audience to view the world through a designer's lens, focusing on sensory memory as a key to creating lasting memories. She explains sensory memory in relation to the five senses, noting the brief recall time for sight compared to sound, and how sensory memory contributes to emotional responses and lasting memories.

05:02

🌧️ Sensory Memory and Environmental Storytelling

The speaker explores how materials and environments can evoke stories and personalities, using examples like reclaimed wood and vibrant textures to illustrate how design communicates narratives. She shares personal experiences, such as living in Japan and feeling the vibrations of prayer through floorboards, to highlight how sensory experiences can create lasting memories. The speaker contrasts memorable spaces, like a sushi restaurant in London, with unmemorable ones, emphasizing the importance of purpose and storytelling in design. She encourages the audience to engage all their senses, not just sight, to fully experience and remember moments.

10:04

📱 The Future of Sensory Memory

The speaker contemplates the future of sensory memory in a culture increasingly focused on visual experiences through digital devices. She questions whether our reliance on seeing through screens might diminish our other senses and the richness of our memories. The speaker calls for a return to experiencing the world with all our senses, arguing that this is essential for creating meaningful memories. She concludes by urging the audience to reconstruct their reality through sensorial memories to build a future rich with experiences and recollections.

Keywords

💡Storyteller

A storyteller is someone who tells stories, often with the intention of entertaining, educating, or inspiring an audience. In the context of the video, the speaker identifies as a storyteller, emphasizing the narrative aspect of design. They aim to create meaningful experiences for people through their work, which involves not just the physical design but also the stories and emotions that spaces can evoke. The speaker's storytelling is evident as they recount personal experiences and how they inform their design philosophy.

💡Design Thinker

A design thinker is an individual who employs a solution-based approach to problem-solving, often involving creativity, empathy, and experimentation. In the video, the speaker describes themselves as a design thinker, suggesting that they approach design challenges by thinking beyond traditional boundaries and considering user experiences and emotions. This mindset is crucial for creating spaces that resonate with people on a deeper level, as it involves understanding human needs and desires.

💡Interior Design

Interior design refers to the art and science of creating functional and aesthetically pleasing indoor spaces. The speaker discusses their expertise in interior design, highlighting its importance in shaping the experience of interior environments. They compare it to architecture, noting that while architecture sets the stage, interior design guides the user through the space, creating an immersive and memorable journey.

💡Architecture

Architecture is the design and construction of buildings and other physical structures. The speaker mentions their education in architecture, which provides a foundation for understanding the broader context of the built environment. Architecture is integral to the speaker's work, as it influences the overall form and function of spaces, setting the stage for interior design to enhance the user experience.

💡Sensory Memory

Sensory memory is the immediate and fleeting memory of sensory information, involving the five senses. The speaker delves into the concept of sensory memory, explaining how it is formed through the interplay of our senses and how it contributes to lasting memories. They argue that by engaging all the senses, designers can create spaces that evoke strong emotional responses and memorable experiences.

💡Ocularcentric

Ocularcentric refers to a focus on or preference for visual information over other sensory inputs. The speaker critiques the modern culture's ocularcentric tendencies, where people are often absorbed in visual stimuli from digital devices, potentially neglecting other senses. This term is used to highlight the importance of balancing visual experiences with those of sound, touch, and other senses in design.

💡Sensorial Memories

Sensorial memories are memories that are triggered by sensory experiences, such as sounds, smells, or textures. The speaker uses the term 'sensorial memories' to describe the vivid and immersive recollections that can be evoked by engaging multiple senses. They share personal anecdotes and examples from their design work to illustrate how these memories can be powerful tools for creating meaningful spaces.

💡Authenticity

Authenticity in design refers to the genuineness and sincerity of a space or experience, often achieved by reflecting the true character, history, or purpose of a place. The speaker discusses the importance of authenticity in creating memorable spaces, suggesting that spaces that lack a clear purpose or story fail to resonate with users. Authenticity is key to establishing a connection between people and the places they inhabit.

💡Environmental Design

Environmental design encompasses the planning and design of the natural and built environments to enhance human well-being and interaction with the surroundings. The speaker's discussion of creating meaningful experiences for people through design suggests an approach to environmental design that considers not just aesthetics but also the emotional and sensory impact of spaces.

💡Cultural Memory

Cultural memory refers to the collective memories and traditions shared by a group of people, often influencing their identity and values. The speaker raises concerns about the potential loss of cultural memory in a society increasingly reliant on digital devices. They advocate for designing spaces and experiences that foster sensory engagement and contribute to a rich, shared cultural memory.

Highlights

Introduction of the speaker as a design professor and storyteller.

The speaker's educational background in architecture and interior design.

The importance of storytelling and design thinking in creating meaningful experiences.

The speaker's childhood interest in design, starting from creating textile patterns.

The influence of a science fair project that set the speaker on the path to architecture.

The professor's analogy of architecture and interior design, influencing the speaker's career choice.

The concept that interior design guides people through their interior environment.

The question of what makes a space memorable and the role of design in creating memories.

The speaker's goal to inspire the audience to experience the world through a designer's lens.

The definition and importance of sensory memory in relation to design.

The differences in recall time between sight and sound in sensory memory.

The impact of being ocularcentric and its effects on our engagement with the world.

The power of sound in evoking memories and its subconscious awareness.

The demonstration of how different sounds can convey information about a space.

The speaker's personal sensory memory of living in Japan and the connection to the environment.

The experience of a sushi restaurant in London and its memorable design.

The contrast between memorable and unmemorable spaces and the importance of storytelling.

The use of sensory elements in design to create meaningful spaces, exemplified by the Hunter's store.

The call to action for the audience to experience the world beyond their devices.

Reflections on the future of design and the potential impact on our sensory and lasting memories.

The speaker's closing thoughts on the importance of creating meaningful memories through sensorial experiences.

Transcripts

Translator: Theresa Ranft Reviewer: Leonardo Silva

When people ask me what it is that I do,

I say I'm a design professor here at Ohio State.

But what kind of design do you teach?

Interior Design.

But didn't you go to school for architecture?

Yep, I did that too.

But if I could define who I am rather than what I do,

I would say that I'm a storyteller and a design thinker

who strives to create meaningful experiences for people.

So, where did that all begin?

Well, if you ask my parents,

it started in first grade when they went to a parent-teacher conference

and sat down to a little stack of three-by-three squares,

and they asked my teacher,

"Did Rebekah create a memory game?"

And she said, "No, she invented textile patterns."

So from first through fourth grade I wanted to be a fashion designer,

and as hopefully many of you can relate, I was undecided from fourth through sixth.

But a science fair project set me on my course towards architecture

and I haven't looked back since.

When I started to look for colleges, I met a professor

who said that architecture is the sculpture in the landscape

that brings you to the front door.

And of course, it's much more than that,

but he went on to say that interior design holds the hand of the person

and walks them through the unraveling journey of the interior environment.

I was sold; that was the story that I wanted to live,

because every one of us walks through space every day, it's what surrounds us,

from our classrooms to a quick run to the shop, our libraries and even our own home.

But what makes a space a memorable place?

And isn't that something we all strive for,

to create meaningful memories?

When my students come to me as sophomores,

I tell them you come in seeing the world like a civilian,

but when you leave

you're going to experience the world through the lens of a designer.

And that's my goal for this presentation,

to hopefully inspire all of you to start experiencing the world around you,

to start to reconstruct your own reality through that same lens,

and to build that reality through sensory memory.

But what is sensory memory?

We have three types of memory: long-term, short-term, and sensory.

And as many of you can imagine

our sensory memory is made up of our five senses.

But what's surprising is that our sense of sight

only has a hundred milliseconds of recall,

whereas sound has three to four seconds.

So together our senses forge an emotional response to the moment that we're in,

and those create a sensory memory

which contribute to the creation of our lasting memory.

But as a culture, we become ocularcentric.

We walk around immersed in our digital devices

and seeing the world through the lens of our phone, or maybe a different device.

But what does that do?

Does that allow us to only see, and forsake our other senses?

What will that future be?

Many of us have a soundtrack to our lives. I know I do.

I can viscerally recall the first time I heard "Thriller" when I was six.

Now that might date me a little bit, but hopefully you get the idea.

Certain songs trigger certain memories,

and as soon as I hear it I'm immediately transported to that place.

But we also have a subconscious awareness to our environment.

Different sounds in our space conjure up a memory as well,

we're just not keyed into it.

So I'm going to make us hyper-aware.

Let's take a moment and pause, and listen rather than see.

(Different sounds of footsteps)

So we just heard different shoes walking across different floor surfaces.

From a high heel on a marble, to wood, to carpet,

and then a thudding of a boot on concrete.

What does that tell us about our space?

Just simply by hearing the sound of high heels on marble,

we understand the space that we're in.

This space has a certain presence to it, even film captures it.

When I say the "clacker", understand that I'm referring to the "fashionistas"

walking across the marble lobby on their way to a high-power magazine job.

There's an essence to that space: high-class sophistication.

There's a personality.

What personality does this material have?

And this?

What are its characteristics?

When we see this material in its environment,

we're communicated to a story,

we're told a story about what that space is, its mission.

So when we see that material, we understand that it's reclaimed,

it's environmentally and socially responsible.

That's the same personality of the people that come to the Toms Roasting store.

When we see this textual material

in its smooth but undulating form, and its vibrant colors,

we're immediately taken to a fall day,

and maybe we even hear the crackling of that leaf underfoot.

So I'm going to take you on a journey

through some of my most sensorial memories.

I spent a summer living in Japan.

Each morning we'd wake up to the hot, humid, muggy day.

It was like swimming through the air, and we'd sit on the front porch,

or in this case, in a Zen temple that's referred to as the "engawa",

and we would watercolor.

And I would look out at the tranquility of the garden in front of me.

But one day I realized that the engawa that I was sitting on,

these ancient wood floor boards,

were actually connected to Osho doing zazen behind me.

So each morning I would hear his prayer,

but this morning in particular I felt his prayer.

It radiated through the floor boards,

so there was this layering of symphonic crescendo

that was being built, by not only the temple I was in,

but the temple surrounding me.

And as that symphony built around me, it transported me to a different place.

It was transcending.

I'll never forget that moment, even though it's been ten years.

A memorable place doesn't have to be a sacred space.

It can be the sushi restaurant I walked into in London last year,

and immediately its vibrancy that pops of color, its energy,

transported me back to Tokyo, in the Harajuku district,

and a sushi restaurant I had there.

People were engaged in the atmosphere,

there was pop culture music playing in the background,

and the sushi was incredible, the fresh salmon and mango - delicious!

It's memorable, it had a story to tell me,

and it connected me to the purpose of the restaurant.

But what makes something unmemorable?

It doesn't have a purpose, it doesn't tell us a story.

I walk into the Union to eat sushi

and there's no connection from me as a person to the place that I'm in,

and the purpose that I'm there for.

It doesn't tell me anything, it's not authentic.

So let's take another moment and listen.

What memories do these sounds conjure for you?

(Sound of thunder and rain)

(Sound of rain on a roof)

(Sound of voices and splashing)

Each of us has our own memory that it evokes.

For me, the thunder rolling in puts me on my parents' front porch

on a summer day, here in Ohio.

That's not the same experience I had with rain in Oregon.

The tinkling sound of rain on the tin roof

makes me think of sitting on the back porch of my grandpa's house.

The splashing of puddles and the playful laughter

makes me think of being a child playing in my own backyard

with my little raincoat and boots.

Those are the tools as a designer we use to create meaningful and memorable spaces.

Like the Hunter's store in London, the design of the space left room

for each person to bring their own memories to the environment.

They used digitally projected rain cloud screens up above,

so that we understood the movement of the clouds

as it transports us to that place.

We don't hear the sound of rain,

but by feeling the texture of the corrugated metal beside us

and seeing the rain cloud shadows moving,

we bring our own sense of sound to this space.

And, of course, those bright-colored rain boots are illuminated

by the essence of light peeking through the clouds.

I'm six again, splashing in the puddles of my parents' backyard.

These are all things we can't get

by looking through the lens of our devices,

by forsaking our other senses.

We can't get this experience by seeing.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for Instagram, and I love photography,

but we've got to put our phone down and take in the moment,

and experience it.

As a designer, I'm always thinking about the future,

whether it's designing a store of the future, for 5 to 20 years from now,

and what that might be;

or designing today in order for people to have memories in the future.

But it got me thinking:

if we continue on the path that we're on, what will our future be?

What memories will we have? And is our sensory memory at stake?

In 20 years from now, when you think back,

what kind of memories will you have?

Will you only have pictures, but not really be immersed in that moment?

I don't know about you, but I don't want to become a culture without memories.

So let's start reconstructing our own reality,

a reality built through sensorial memories,

in order to create meaningful memories.

Thank you.

(Applause)