Product design does not want to be limited to the creation of material forms. He claims to have more — to influence all our feelings — and he masters new means of expression for this. Light effects, smells, tastes, sound range and tactile sensations today interest designers almost more than shaping. They develop interior scents, study the effect of light waves on a person’s emotional state, and experiment with the visualization of smells and tastes. The latest spa systems take us under a tropical rain or summer rain, reinforcing the authenticity of impressions with the aromas of exotic fruits and meadow grasses, the effect of fog and lightning. Unexpected textures experience our touch: concrete to the touch turns out to be as gentle as silk, and ceramics reminds of wet sand. Even culinary dishes can embody certain emotions, food designer Ayako Suva believes and offers to taste “fun, flavored with surprise and undisguised happiness” (project Sensuous food, emotional taste). And designer Tokujin Yoshioka directly states that we have entered an era when sensual experience, emotions and impressions are more valuable than objects.

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