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Sniffs of failure: discomfort, unease and serendipity in sensory communication design

McLean, Kate (2022) Sniffs of failure: discomfort, unease and serendipity in sensory communication design. In: #Failurists: Reflections on and critical interventions in the field. Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam, Netherlands. (In press) (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:97247)

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Abstract

Failure is integral to my practice; throughout my career as a smellscape mapper I have rejected the mindset that design solves problems in the quest for novel approaches to experience and record human smell perceptions. To do so I deliberately provoke an unwitting public into a state of being uncomfortable as they foreground an alternate sensory modality. The fear of failure (a perceived inability to identify smells) is often mitigated by the lack of canon and absence of smell education that frees any expectation for smell recording and visualisation. Through a case study this chapter will consider the potential for, and resulting creativity emanating from, working with people and their olfactory communications for the creative designer as a result of reflection on live projects. The chapter draws on one public engagement projects; one experimental and ephemeral mapping in Staten Island in 2017.

Item Type: Book section
Uncontrolled keywords: Design and failure, smell, smellwalk, serendipity
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GA Mathematical geography. Cartography
N Visual Arts > NC Drawing. Design. Illustration
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > Kent School of Architecture and Planning
Depositing User: Kate McLean
Date Deposited: 27 Oct 2022 15:42 UTC
Last Modified: 28 Oct 2022 10:02 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/97247 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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