Designing for the experience

Experience Architects, as they are called, design for the engagement of senses, activating the senses of sound, touch and often taste; in this way all senses are paramount in design by an architect of this type. Never should an experience be marked by the ordinary, the mundane. Whenever possible, this crafty designer actively seeks to add a touch of extraordinary to trite commodities. Even so, these improvements need not place undue financial duress on a company; often simple convenience enhancements to a product produce profound and perhaps very profitable effects. This is exemplified in what the author terms "trigger points," or primary aspects of business that would benefit from a boost in experience. Innovative experience enhancements to these fundamental business drivers can prove most profitable.

In the design of experiences, much emphasis is placed on activation of the senses, this entails discard of the ordinary and institution of the extraordinary. The design of many consumer products, while placing some emphasis on activation of the senses, seem often to be designed just for the sake of being designed--for some superficial innovation-- and as an unfortunate result, largely fail to consider the consumer's journey, their interactions--the experience.

A class visit to any place where experience is central will suffice; perhaps a visit to some trendy museum of modern sculpture or art.