Sense It Kit

The Sense It Kit is an experiential resource kit created to help design students learn about the sensory aspects of design. It consists of 3 elements: a set of instructional exercise cards, product flash cards, and sensory attribute puzzle pieces.

This project began in the summer of 2016. As the recipient of an undergrad research grant I was able to collaborate on this project with Professor Lois Frankel, Dr. Eileen Harris, and Professor Claudie St. Arnaud. Our team has grown to include Lindsay McCauley and Dawson Clark, both studying industrial design at Carleton University.

The team is involved with a variety of projects including creating educational materials, writing papers, and putting on workshops. The goal of the Sense It team is to create resources to engage students and aid them in their understanding of how the senses affect design.

We have put on a workshop as part of DeSForM 2017 in the Netherlands, as well as the Uncommon Senses II Conference and the Educators Forum at Toronto Digifest 2019.

My Role

My role within this project has evolved over the years, but includes researcher, graphic designer, product tester, workshop developer, and author.

The Kit

This educational kit can be used by industrial design instructors in their classrooms to help students learn about and reinforce concepts about the sensory aspects of design.

Element 1: Instruction Cards

The front side of the cards contains information on how to perform the exercises, and the back side of the cards contain hints on how to perform the exercises and what sensory criteria to use.

Element 2: Product Flash Cards

The flash cards are used in conjunction with the instructional cards to perform educational exercises. I chose products that students would be familiar with in varying levels of sensory complexity.

Element 3: Sensory Attribute Puzzle Pieces

The puzzle pieces can be used to evaluate a product or to help students define sensory attributes and dominance when designing a new product. Read more on how the puzzle pieces were developed in our article published in The Senses and Society journal.