Design for All 5 Senses | Jinsop Lee | TED Talks

Summary

In a humorous exploration of sensory experiences, the speaker examines why sex is so pleasurable, linking it to the five senses. Through personal anecdotes, including a comparison of solar-powered clocks with a friend’s innovative design that incorporates smell, the speaker emphasizes the importance of sensory engagement in both life and design. Highlighting various experiences, such as eating instant noodles and clubbing, the speaker demonstrates how great sex uniquely activates all five senses. Concluding with creative product ideas, the talk encourages leveraging sensory theory to enhance everyday experiences and product design, leaving the audience with a thought-provoking invitation to explore further.

Takeaways

• 😀 The exploration of why sex is enjoyable can be linked to the stimulation of the five senses.
• 🕒 Chris Hosmer's innovative solar-powered clock design highlights the importance of smell in daily experiences.
• 🌻 Sunflowers can be used to create a unique time-telling method, emphasizing the beauty of nature in design.
• 📊 Jinsop Lee developed a 'five senses graph' to analyze memorable experiences and their sensory components.
• 🍜 Different experiences, like eating instant noodles, reveal how certain senses dominate in various activities.
• 🎉 Clubbing experiences are enhanced by taste and social interactions, particularly kissing.
• 🚬 The design of cigarettes is effective in engaging the sense of touch, illustrating how products can be optimized for sensory appeal.
• 🌈 The ideal experience on the five senses graph would hit all senses at the highest levels, with great sex being a prime example.
• 🛠️ The design field can benefit from incorporating the five senses into products, moving beyond just visual aesthetics.
• 🎶 Ideas for enhancing everyday products include scented irons, candy-flavored toothbrushes, and tactile remote controls.

Q & A

What is the main question the speaker seeks to answer in the talk?

The speaker aims to answer the question: 'Why is sex so damn good?'

Who is Chris Hosmer, and why does the speaker mention him?

Chris Hosmer is a friend from the speaker's university days, and he is mentioned to illustrate the speaker's feelings of envy and competition regarding their respective solar-powered clock projects.

What was the speaker's project involving solar-powered clocks?

The speaker's project involved creating a clock that used a dwarf sunflower to track the sun's position, providing a general sense of time based on the flower's orientation.

How did Chris's solar-powered clock differ from the speaker's?

Chris's clock used five magnifying glasses to warm scented oils in shot glasses, emitting different smells at various times of the day, allowing users to tell the time by smell.

What revelation did the speaker have regarding the five senses?

The speaker realized that evaluating experiences through the five senses could explain why certain experiences, including sex, are pleasurable and memorable.

What method did the speaker use to evaluate experiences based on the five senses?

The speaker developed a 'five senses graph,' plotting memorable experiences along a scale from zero to ten for each of the five senses.

What were some findings from the speaker's research on various experiences?

The speaker found that experiences like eating instant noodles highlighted the significance of smell and sound, while clubbing emphasized taste and physical intimacy.

According to the speaker, what constitutes a 'perfect experience' on the five senses graph?

A perfect experience would be represented by a horizontal line at the top of the graph, indicating high intensity across all five senses, with sex being one of the few experiences that approaches this ideal.

How did the speaker relate the five senses theory to product design?

The speaker suggested that incorporating multiple senses in product design, as exemplified by Chris's clock, can lead to innovative and more enjoyable products.

What are some examples of product ideas the speaker proposed based on the five senses?

The speaker proposed a scented iron called 'the perfumator,' a candy-flavored toothbrush that indicates when to replace it, and a television remote control that incorporates the tactile experience of flute keys.