sensory maps

Filename: Sensory Map Guide and Template v3.3 ©2017 Moar Ltd Version date: 09/February/2017 13:51 of 12

The Sensory Map

An invaluable tool for product designers and marketing professionals, the Sensory Map unlocks the minds of those we need to influence, satisfy or impress.

We know that nothing is perfect. Products can always be improved and messages made more persuasive. These improvements will be achieved more effectively if we have the ability to see inside the minds and bodies of our customers and service users. Sensory Maps enable us to do this. They are a highly effective means of identifying those marginal, decisive insights which can transform customer and user perceptions.

You may already be familiar with Empathy Maps, which offer some limited psychological insights. However, Sensory Maps (see graphic below) go one step further. They examine the combined physical, psychological and emotional experiences of a defined role, persona or customer type within a specific real-world context. If that context is critical to the success of your product or business, invaluable information will emerge. Typical contexts might include: listening to a radio advert, passing a point-of-sale display, examining goods in a retail environment or the first direct experience of consuming/using a new product.

For example, you may have three target customer personas. You may also have identified two contexts in which prospective customers will decide whether or not to purchase your product. Each of these six persona/context combinations will generate a unique Sensory Map.

Sensory Maps support design processes in digital and non-digital industries and are limited only by the commitment and imagination of development teams.


The Maps are typically created in small groups, similar to brainstorming. Attendees might include key developers and stakeholders, such as business analysts, product designers, client representatives and end users. The mapping team explores each persona/context combination, adding thoughts, ideas and notes to a large, printed template (example below). Allow 30 minutes per map. Be creative and imaginative, but it’s also important that your ideas or comments remain grounded and realistic.

Upon completing each Map examine the insights which have emerged. Product designs, marketing campaigns and communication methods can now be optimised for each persona/context combination. The following Workshop Guide includes suggestions for doing this.

A Sensory Map template is also supplied on the next page. For group work, use at least paper size A 2. Print the template and complete the header information. You are now ready to create your first Sensory Map.

Advantages of a Sensory Map

The mapping exercise will stimulate innovative thinking, resulting in improved designs, novel features, more effective communications and occasionally new products.

Sensory Maps are free to use and require no specialist software or user training.

The inclusion of a mapping exercise will ensure that your project has incorporated human-centred design thinking.

Sensory Maps are an effective reference point, ensuring that each of the human senses have been fully considered within your project.

All members of a mapping team can interact, share ideas and learn from one another.

Mapping exercises are enjoyable and contribute to project team building.

Sensory Maps may be treated as project documentation, enabling traceability of design decisions.

Prospects

Experienced analysts, designers and developers are encouraged to trial Sensory Maps in real-world projects. Only then will the true value of this method become clear. If successful (and subject to popular demand) a supporting website may be built on the following reserved domain names: SensoryMap.org and/or SensoryMap.com.

It is hoped that a large number of case studies will be submitted to the author as evidence of either success or failure when applying this technique. After anonymisation, lessons from these real-world studies will be shared for the benefit of all practitioners.

Let’s improve this process together. Please send feedback, comments or criticisms to the creator of Sensory Maps, Peter Moar, at the following address: [email protected]

Version Control

Sensory Maps are new and will evolve based on your feedback. The latest version of this document may be downloaded from either Slideshare or Dropbox, using these links:

Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/pjmoar/sensory-map-template or http://bit.ly/Sensory-Maps

Dropbox: http://bit.ly/Sensory-Map

http://www.slideshare.net/pjmoar/sensory-map-template

http://bit.ly/Sensory-Maps

http://bit.ly/Sensory-Map


Sensory Maps were created in 2016 by Peter Moar, an Enterprise Consultant based in Manchester (UK). Do you find Sensory Maps useful (or not)? Please provide feedback, including examples of how they have helped (or hindered) your creativity. The best examples may be shared or published, although your confidentiality will be assured, along with that of your clients. Send comments and case studies to: [email protected]

For working in groups, photocopy or scan this page to create a larger version


Sensory Maps: Workshop Guide

Sensory Maps are used to examine the combined physical, psychological and emotional experiences of a defined role, persona or customer type within a specific real-world context. This guide supports the process of generating and analysing Sensory Maps.

Within this document the term ‘sense’ is employed in a pragmatic and practical way. In addition to the five senses we all learn at school (sight, sound, taste, smell and touch), scientists recognise a number of others, such as the sensations of hunger, thirst, heat and balance. The template map supplied with this document incorporates some of these additional senses. It also includes the concepts of pain, pleasure and emotion, which are often perceived as ‘sensations’ (e.g. senses of joy, frustration, pride) and may significantly impact the behaviour of our subjects.

This broad interpretation enables the generation of insightful data for use in the optimisation and improvement of goods, services, advertisements, marketing techniques, point-of-sale displays, packaging materials and communications.

In this section workshop participants are provided with a series of prompts for examining each of the senses. The final section will offer some suggestions for analysing and applying the results of a mapping exercise to your creative process.

Throughout this guide, the terms ‘persona’ and ‘subject’ will be used interchangeably. They refer to our prospective customers, message recipients and product users.

Mapping The Senses

Hear

Live the context through the ears of your persona.

Think about the environment from an aural perspective. Is it noisy or quiet, discordant or harmonious? Are the sounds mechanical or natural? Consider volume, pitch and duration. Is the persona aurally impaired in any way? Are they listening through a device, such as a hearing aid or headphones? Can the sounds be controlled by the subject?

Some sounds may be imperceptible to the human ear (i.e. inaudible frequencies), but even these might have some significance for the design of your solution.

See

Live the context through the eyes of your persona.

Think about the whole environment from a visual perspective. Consider colour, patterns, shapes, luminosity, lustre, reflections, ambient light and shadows. Will there be people, eye-catching objects or unusual decor? Are there likely to be written signs, works of art or graffiti? Will the field of vision be static or is there movement? Is the persona visually impaired (e.g. colour blind) or looking through a device, such as spectacles, a window or a TV screen? Can any of these visual elements be controlled by the subject?


Most humans are only conscious of the visible wavelengths of the spectrum, but the invisible wavelengths such as infrared (heat energy) and X-rays (radiation) can be detected and viewed through devices. Depending upon context, these may be highly significant.

Smell

Live the context through the nose of your persona.

Think about the environment from an olfactory perspective. Are the smells pleasant or repulsive, overpowering or barely perceptible? Are they blended or individually recognisable? Is the persona’s ability to smell impaired in any way (e.g. by illness)? Can the smells be controlled by the subject?

Taste

Live the context through the mouth of your persona.

What might the persona be tasting in the chosen context? Are there any ‘legacy’ flavours from a previous encounter with food or drink? Think about the flavour sensations on offer. Are they powerful or mild? Are they sweet, salty, sour, bitter or umami? Do they vary with time? Is the persona’s taste impaired in some way (e.g. by illness)? Can the flavour sensations be controlled by the subject, e.g. does he/she have any choice over the food or drink available?

Touch

Live the context through the skin of your persona.

Think about the whole environment from a tactile/haptic perspective. What might the persona be touching? Consider the texture and friction of surfaces. Are they novel or familiar? Do subjects experience this context through hands, feet or other areas of their body? Even food has a texture in the mouth.

Are the tactile experiences variable or consistent? Is the persona impaired in some way (e.g. numb with cold) or constrained by physical barriers (e.g. gloves, shoes). Can the tactile elements be controlled by the persona?

Hunger/Thirst

Live the context through the stomach of your persona.

Is the subject likely to be feeling hungry or thirsty in the chosen context? When did your persona last eat or drink? Is he or she already sated? Is food and drink visible or accessible in this context? Is it free or on sale? Does the subject have control over when, where and how much to consume?

Temperature

Live the context through your persona’s awareness of temperature.

Is the location hot, warm, cool or cold? Does it matter? Do the temperatures vary over time or within different areas of the subject’s environment (e.g. different rooms)? Consider the temperatures of specific surfaces and objects. Can temperatures be controlled by the persona (e.g. by turning a dial or by adding/removing layers of clothing)?


Balance/Orientation

Live the context through the balance and orientation of your persona.

What is the physical position of the subject? For example, is your persona upright, leaning, slouching, sitting or lying? Is the environment physically unstable, especially beneath the subject’s feet? Is this physical instability constant or variable? Is he or she constrained by an impairment of some kind (e.g. a high centre of gravity caused by a backpack)? Perhaps your subject is in total darkness and disorientated? Does he or she have any control over personal orientation? Apart from gravity, is the subject likely to be experiencing any acceleration or deceleration?

Emotion

Live the context through the emotions of your persona.

Although emotions are not technically senses, they can be interpreted in this way by our subjects. In the chosen context, one or more emotions may be uppermost in the subject’s mind alongside other more conventional sensory information.

Consider the various emotions which may be influencing the thoughts and behaviours of each persona. Are they experiencing anger, elation, apathy, worry, surprise, boredom, confidence, pride, envy, lust, hope, embarrassment, fear, guilt, gratitude, shame, pity, distrust, disgust, curiosity, courage, contempt? There are many others to consider. An online search for the term emotion produces long lists of examples. It may even be argued that ‘tiredness’ should be included because of its importance in so many contexts.

Will the persona be bringing his or her emotions to the context, or does the context create the emotions? Will the subject’s emotions vary throughout the contact period?

Pain

Live the context through the pain of your persona.

Pain is closely correlated with emotions, but in the fields of commerce and design it needs to be treated as a separate item. In rare circumstances, pain might actually be a physical sensation experienced by the subject within the chosen context. However, in the commercial world ‘pain’ usually refers to a frustration or annoyance, e.g. with a particular product or with some aspect of daily life.

What does the subject want to overcome or improve, either within the context or in their personal life more generally? Is there only one pain, or more than one? Is the pain ever-present or is it infrequent? Think about user convenience and practicality, because inconvenience and impracticality are frequent sources of annoyance.

Look for unnecessary tasks, inefficient processes, ‘fitness for purpose’, uncertainties, waste, and the inability to deliver on promises.

Pleasure

Live the context through your persona’s pleasure receptors.

Pleasure is closely correlated with emotions, but in the fields of commerce and design it deserves to be treated as a separate item. In some circumstances, pleasure will actually be physical, a bodily sensation. However, in the world of marketing and product design the term is more likely to imply a sense of gratification or satisfaction within a particular context. This is probably the ultimate goal of your sensory mapping exercise.


What is the persona enjoying or seeking to enjoy? Is there only one pleasure available, or many? What is the nature of the pleasure: is it physical, aesthetic or does it take some other form? Will it be constant or infrequent?

Does the subject have any means of indicating pleasure, beyond a smile and ‘thank you’? Is there any equivalent to ‘liking’, as used in the online world?


Analysing Your Maps

Introduction

It is assumed that you have already gathered data about each persona within one or more contexts critical to the success of your project. Armed with this information, you should now be able to create better products, messages, marketing materials and packaging. So, your next task is to analyse this data – all the thoughts, notes and ideas of your mapping team.

Sensory Maps may be deployed for many purposes, both commercial and non-commercial. However, this section will focus primarily upon design and marketing processes, because it is likely that Sensory Maps will prove particularly valuable for analysts working in these areas.

As a Sensory Map analyst you are looking for unique insights which will catalyse new ideas and offer creative solutions to your professional challenges.

Let’s examine each of the senses in turn, applying the information we have gathered to some practical examples.

Hear

Does sound have an impact within your chosen context? Will the sounds attract or repel the listener? Perhaps they evoke memories.

Excessive noise can prevent the transmission of vital information, such as audible feedback and verbal instructions. Someone emerging from a noisy environment may be suffering from temporary hearing impairment. Conversely, louder sounds can be used to mask those which are unwanted.

Music and the spoken word are powerful tools in the hands of marketers and designers. Could they help you in this context?

Sounds which are inaudible to the human ear may be perceived by electronic devices, or even by other species, such as dogs. ‘Listening dogs’ are trained to support people without hearing.

Could sound be used for product differentiation? For example, some types of packaging can be very noisy to open, notably stiff plastic and heavy card. If the context demands a lower noise profile (e.g. a library or school examination room), consider using ‘quieter’ materials, such as fabrics.

See

Vision is arguably the most powerful and influential of all the senses. Experienced designers and marketing professionals will probably know more about the impact of vision than all other senses combined. Nevertheless, until we see the context through the eyes of our persona, we may be unaware of a critical factor likely to affect the outcome we are seeking.

Do the visuals attract or repel the observer? Do they evoke memories? Are they in the best location?

There are too many visual possibilities to consider in this short guide. Clearly, a combination of both experience and training is needed to maximise the benefits from your visual elements. User Experience (UX) professionals can add a lot of value here, especially for digital products.

As an example, there is little value in creating a well-crafted point-of-sale display if it is then to be placed beside another which is communicating a contradictory or competing message. Also, home sellers have


been known to ‘see’ the visit of a prospective buyer beyond their own property boundary, resulting in a tactical clean up of their neighbourhood and the removal of graffiti.

Smell

Designers and marketers rarely pay attention to olfactory influences, but smells offer opportunities to attract and repel, or even to evoke memories.

In some circumstances, the absence of a smell (e.g. as experienced by a person suffering from a heavy cold) could be central to the marketing message.

Some of the sophisticated scent emission technologies now available might be worth considering for your project. It should be noted that smells (like sounds) have the ability to travel around corners and permeate walls. They can even be ‘piped’ into unexpected locations offering elements of surprise and curiosity.

It is no coincidence that most department stores place perfumery counters near the main entrance. This guarantees a fragrant and uplifting start to each customer visit. The scents even drift onto the street outside, conveniently advertising the wares within.

Smell presents a particular challenge for digital designers. However, by implication this could be an opportunity for genuine innovation in the relationship between the customer’s nose and his/her use of a digital product.

Taste

Clearly the food and beverage industries are particularly interested in the impact of flavours, although this is most likely to be during the act of consumption. What about the role of ‘legacy’ flavours consumed prior to the context you are studying?

Consider whether flavours will attract or repel the taster? Will they evoke memories?

How might tastes influence the decisions and actions of your subjects? What do taste preferences tell us about their personalities or inclinations? Would they be adventurous in trying new flavours, or will they prefer something more familiar, and what does that tell you about their responsiveness to new ideas, such as your new product or campaign? For instance, could the type of food chosen from a buffet at an industry event help you to identify prospects who will be open to new ideas?

Taste presents a particular challenge for digital designers. However, by implication this could be an opportunity for genuine innovation in the relationship between the persona’s taste receptors and his/her use of a digital product.

Touch

This is probably the least understood of the ‘big five’ senses in the context of marketing and product design. However, with a little thought it is possible to exploit tactility or haptic features in pursuit of your project goals.

We are generally conscious of touch through our hands and, to a lesser extent, our feet. However, we will occasionally be aware of a fabric against our skin, or the feelings of abrasion and moisture, so there could be other dimensions worth exploring.

Do the tactile elements evoke memories? Do they attract or repel the subject?

Some objects and materials are so beautifully tactile that many people find them irresistible to stroke or play with. These range from animal furs to bubble wrap. Other textures, such as slime, can induce disgust.


What role might these responses play in packaging and product design or in communicating subtle messages to your subjects? The tactile characteristics of a high quality fabric, for instance, can convey messages about wealth, good taste and durability.

What technologies are available for customising your persona’s haptic experience?

Hunger/Thirst

We have a primal instinct to locate and consume foods and liquids. It is therefore essential, in many contexts, to understand whether these instincts will have a positive or detrimental effect upon the persona. Sometimes it will be advantageous for subjects to be ‘fed and watered’ in advance of the chosen context, e.g. hunger and thirst would be distractions. If so, ensure that this is done. Conversely, you might prefer your subjects to be hungry or thirsty, or both. This could influence the timing of your activity and its location.

Food and drink can be used as temptations, rewards and punishments. Food offerings can be high or low quality, varied in choice, plentiful or scarce. What effects might these have on your persona? What message will you be sending?

The provision of complimentary drinking water has benefits and costs, both financial and psychological. However, bespoke messages printed on complimentary water bottles will probably be viewed or read by drinkers more than once before the bottle is fully consumed, so that could be an easy win.

In order to make more effective use of delegate time when planning a longer event, consider combining the consumption of food with the consumption of content, such as a speaker or video.

Temperature

Perceptions of hot and cold may affect your subject before and during the context under consideration. Think about their clothing. Will you need to make provision for hanging coats, hats and scarves? Conversely, do you need to provide additional layers of warmth, such as a blanket? Could the temperature be a distractor? Will it induce tiredness (e.g. warm rooms) or keep people alert (e.g. chilly aircon)? Does the ambient temperature attract or repel the subject?

An uncomfortable environment could encourage your persona to speed up a task in order to leave at the earliest opportunity. Is this your goal? It might be. Some fast food outlets create a deliberately unwelcoming environment in order to deter lengthy stays!

If a product is unpleasantly cold to touch, consider the material it is made from. Metallic surfaces draw heat from the body, so are perceived as being colder than surfaces made from insulators and those which trap air, such as textured finishes and fabrics. Do not expect your subjects to grip handles which are either too hot or too cold. What might be the effect of sunlight through a window? Will you need to erect screens?

Balance/Orientation

You can probably visualise the orientation of your persona in the chosen context. Will it be significant? Could it, perhaps, be unnerving or annoying for them?

For example, a desktop computer application will probably be used sitting down, whereas software for mobile devices targeted at urban commuters may frequently be used standing up in a rocking/vibrating bus or train carriage. So should the icons be bigger?


How many hands will your persona be able to use? Could they be holding something for stability while interacting with your product? Do they need grips, handles or handrails? If your subject needs to look down in order concentrate on where they are walking, will they notice your eye-level point-of-sale display?

Offering a choice of orientations could be perceived as adding value. For example, would customers appreciate having the option to watch a movie or eat in a restaurant while standing up, or even lying down? It might sound crazy, but have you asked them?

Emotion

It will be useful to identify the emotions you wish to engender in your personas, then contrast these with the emotions they bring with them into the context. It may be necessary to begin by suppressing or neutralising unhelpful emotions before engendering those which are helpful to you or your product. Depending upon circumstances, ‘negative’ emotions such as envy, disgust and guilt could in fact be perceived as a goal for your particular creative process. Hence, any emotion may be viewed as either desirable or undesirable, depending upon the intended outcome.

Imagery and music are both proven means of influencing emotions. Could these be deployed to your advantage? Carefully chosen words can also change moods and attitudes.

Are the identified emotions evoking memories in the subject? Are they helping or hindering the process of persuasion?

In this document tiredness has been defined as a type of emotion (although not strictly true). The need for sleep is a feeling which everyone can relate to and could be significant for your project. Think about the risk implications of using certain products when tired, such as power tools and computers. The ability to communicate could also be affected. Of course, tiredness can even be a pleasure. Indeed one well-known London department store recently created a large, darkened room in which tired customers could take a nap.

Pain

Only a limited number of persona/context combinations will involve sensations of physical pain. However, these will undoubtedly benefit from a Sensory Map analysis focused on pain alleviation and distracting pleasures.

As a business analyst or designer, it is more likely that your subject’s ‘pain’ is a form of unmet need, such as a frustration with the operation of a product. It is probably unwise to deliberately design a pain into your context, unless you are trying to prove a point in order to achieve a subsequent benefit. If so, how long could the pain (either physical or psychological) be tolerated for? What are the ethical considerations of doing this?

Your goal is probably to alleviate the pain which the persona has brought with them, or acquired within the context. You can only do this by understanding what that pain is. How will you ascertain or measure the pain, especially if it is variable? Could you introduce a diagnostic mechanism for identifying potential customers from their ‘revealed’ pains? It might be as simple as asking them a question, although more subtle methods could include observing people for behavioural clues to their inner woes. There are digital technologies capable of recognising a person’s physical and behavioural traits in real time. Perhaps these could be integrated with point-of-sale displays so that they respond automatically to target customers. For example, an advertisement aimed at relieving joint pain could respond to people who walk slowly and stiffly. A person frowning, or with a furrowed brow, might be assumed to need assistance of some kind, thereby paging the nearest available assistant or triggering on-screen advice.


Software applications which detect users struggling with standard features should respond immediately with friendly assistance. Frustrated software users are easily lost to competitors.

Pleasure

It might be assumed that the goal of most projects is to add value by inducing some form of satisfaction. The possibilities for pleasure are endless and likely to be very project specific.

One particularly challenging analysis will be the relationship between pleasures you wish to induce and those which may already be part of the subject’s contextual experience. In other words, your pleasure inducement may face direct competition from others. In order to capture the attention of your subject’s pleasure receptors, will it be necessary to suppress these ‘competitors’ first?

The inducement of pleasure is also relative. It is possible that your subject will be very dissatisfied with their current circumstances. If so, raising their pleasure rating from low to neutral could be a significant achievement. Consider the work of a corporate customer complaints team. Managing the expectations of a complainant to the point where he or she will agree to a satisfactory resolution (potentially returning as a future customer) should be viewed as a success.

The knowledge gained through sensory mapping ought to enable a range of physical and psychological pleasures to be induced in your subjects. If there is a cost-effective opportunity to induce multiple simultaneous pleasures, it would seem sensible to do this. For example, you could exploit the visual aesthetic of fine decor, the aural aesthetic of sounds (or even silence), delicious food and drink, calming aromas, beautifully tactile fabrics and places to relax, even to sleep. If this sounds rather like the description of a fabulous hotel, could it be evidence that hoteliers have already mastered the art of the Sensory Map?

The Author

Peter Moar is a UK-based Enterprise Analyst and Consultant with special interests in product innovation and design, digital solutions, data management, entrepreneurship and risk assurance.

Peter has worked in many sectors including retail, higher education, financial services, safety engineering, international development and vocational training. Among his previous employers are the Business & Technology Education Council (BTEC), General Electric Corporation (GE), Genworth Financial Corporation and Risktec Solutions.

Peter welcomes your feedback, comments and criticisms of the Sensory Map tool. Case studies will be particularly valuable. Please contact him at the following address: [email protected]