Taste.Sound

Year: 2020      Type: Research and Food Design      Deliverables: Coding, Research, Food

The world of food is full of different prediction that we suspect from previous experiences. Charles Spence who runs the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at Oxford University discovered many of these food and memory patterns. In a study of 2010, he found out that if we accompany a wine or a meal with a specific sound we can add to the taste experience.

Pattern Recognition

Curious which potential it has and how many of these different chords are already existing, I quickly realized that not many people created their version of sonic seasoning. Not having any experience in sound design I thought I might find these already existing Melodie-patterns in songs we listen to.

On the base of Charles Spence 4 taste melodies, I created a machine that learned the patterns of these chords and could recognize them in every song. Following and testing the new and old melodies, a workshop was created that proofs the connection between sound and taste.

soundtaste

Pattern Disruption

Knowing that sounds can enrich a specific taste, I was interested in the disruption of it. Can sound bring out the taste we might normally not taste or have to add and if that‘s possible how can we use this pattern disruption?

Looking into diabetes and high blood pressure, where affected people crave the sweetness and saltiness, the question was if their eating habit could be interrupted by adding sonic seasoning instead of more sugar or salt.

The aim is to transfer the resulting pattern recognition results in an everyday object that makes it possible to break through design patterns and create new design experiences.