Damien Dabbles With Taste Perception

One of the first things that come to mind regarding flavoured drinks is its colour. Apparently our perception of flavour depends on the colour as well as the taste. So for instance, if someone was given two glasses of cordial to taste. One glass was filled with orange and the other was pink. That person would be very likely to think that the first was orange and the second strawberry. Even if by using artificial colours it were the other way around.

The first challenge in flavouring is getting people to think about the flavour perception of the overall product as opposed to the ‘flavour’ itself. The inherent flavours of a formula and the actual ‘flavour’ that you add to your product should never be separated in development as they have to work together in the finished product. When you address flavour perception, the first thing that impacts a consumer is the product’s appearance.
read more http://www.ffnmag.com/NH/ASP/strArticleID/535/strSite/FFNSite/articleDisplay.asp

Most people readily accept that you can trick your brain because the response to visual stimuli can be manipulated. When told beforehand what to expect, most people will see the expected image first.

I have had fun experimenting with this in the past by handing someone an object which appears to be heavy and warning them about its heaviness. They prepare themselves for huge weight and are shocked when they receive something much lighter that what they expected.

Does the colour of a drink affect the way it tastes?

I decided to test this idea with raspberry flavoured cordial. I poured the same amount of raspberry flavouring in each of five cups. Not a very strong mix. I then poured extra red food colouring in the glasses to control the five different intensities of red.

The first participants were my mother and stepdad, my little brother and his friend. I have also repeated this experiment with any friends who have visited me in the past week. There were two main ages groups here, 35-55, 15-25. Approx. 20 participants.

Results

• Colour of the solution did not affect perceived flavour or sweetness of the drink.
• Colour did affect the intensity of the flavour, especially in the older group. Participants reported that the drinks with more red colour tasted stronger.
• Colour affected how much the flavour tasted like raspberry.
• Colour affected how much they liked the drink.

Although it was a very minor experiment with very little participants, I have found through this experiment that older people rely a lot more on the visual to make judgments on the taste.

and this made me think..

At a young age you seem to give everyone a chance and make friends with almost anybody. You investigate, you learn, you make mistakes. But as you get older you become tired of this process and consider simply judging something as quickly as possible to see whether or not you should waste your time.

From this test I have found that the initial visual of a product greatly affects the outcome of an individuals later perception of it. So yes, the colour of a drink can affect the way it tastes.

However, for this research to be more representative, more participants could have been used. These results could have been generalised further, rather than only to my family and friends. I would have also liked to experiment with a much younger age group. Possibly pre-schoolers as well as primary school children. I am also interested in how the elderly react to initial visual perception as opposed to the middle-aged bracket. I'll stop by the daycare and aged care, make a few kidnappings and get back to you all with the results.

Experiment 1,2,3 - Lauren

•Aim:

To determine whether the uneaten/remaining parts of a fruit/veg can be manipulated into a precious form.

“Manipulate” = peel, shell, hang, cut, paint, rot, animate, wear, close up, mask, place, light water, evolve.

Method:

1)Purchase a range of fruit that preferably has skins, seeds or shell

2)Eat the fruit. Enjoy and record the experience

3)Keep intact the uneaten parts, clean and dry out

4)Use different materials to try and mask the fruits identity

5)

•Observations

-Texture of the skin and surface was highlighted when painted

-

-Able to compare the weight of similar parts: the seeds of a avocado compared to a paw paw

-

•Results

The fruit took on a precious look, however it was not fully believable

EXPERIMENT 2:

Aim: To determine the kinds of textures possibly created from sugar?
Method: Heat sugar and manipulate the molten consistency to see what forms and textures can be created
































Observations:
- The sugar is different depending on the time in which you use it and the movement which you move the consistency.
- The final form is set although delicate, if it is moved it breaks.
- Quite a solid material if left to sit.
- Very manipulateable (if thats a word)

Conclusion:
There are many practices that have this setting time factor - ice sculpting, glass blowing, - many things using heat or cold to create
What other materials have this versitility in terms of a variety of forms to transform in between
SUGAR: Plant, cubes, liquid, syrup, cotton!
* How do you make cotton candy!

Experiment 3
Aim: Determine how crayons can be transformed - do they have a similar nature to water...solid - liquid - solid...?
Method:
- Melt crayon in the oven
- Try to reform in new shapes
















Conclusion: A little more difficult than i thought...but stil fun
- I kinda melted them too much!

Nirms extended

Flash of inspiration hit me as i woke up, slept under the quilt, no doona.
im off to buy a 3d puzzle now. reason being i wanna see how hard it is to make one.
my idea was to make the table a 3d puzzle but make it all a singular colour. how long would it take someone to put together a puzzle when all the pieces are one colour? the pieces are randomised so its all down to luck when putting it together. logic wont help anyone except maybe for the edges. you still get the point. after i manage to puta 3d puzzle together ill ring up Taiwan and others to see how mmuch this might cost.

Till then chappies

Matty G - the next episode

MY BRIEF TO ME

It is required that you develop a object, idealy in the guise of a product that encompasses all of your findings, ideas and theories in a tangible, possibly manufacturable item.

This will be done by looking at all of your prior influences up until this point in relation to synesthesia and what is deemed to be a synesthetic experience. This shall be done by conducting research and subsequent experiments falling in line with the direction of the chosen area and associated senses , and therefore result in relevant ideas and concepts. Once a more focused idea has been decided upon, explore the specifics through ideation and sketches, before culminating it in a constructed, hopefully functional, standalone product.

Good luck..

and.. have a nice day..

Nirms

Stuff I researched

Latex Foam

No leads on the Latex foam yet as all the places I went to refuse to stock it. The reason behind this is, it has the potential to degrade when left just laying around. Ill follow it up later on as I now have an address where they apparently have an excess stock of material.

Inspirative research

I then looked at table designs from other countries and how they related to the tables. Also looking at what furniture designers were suggesting as the future of furniture.


http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/images/+2005/visser-table1.jpg


















http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/images/+2005/visser-table2.jpg













At http://www.adriangemelli.com.au/SeaandWater/TableDesigns.htm
i found some interesting forms for the table and each of the designs easily changes the way one would interact with the table and the space around it


















http://www.zazengallery.com/ also had interesting takes on form








http://www.diwfurniture.com/Pages/coffee.html














http://www.indian-handicraft.com/wooden-carved-tables.html

Nightingale Floor

The Japanese style inspired tables reminded me of something I heard a while back. A nightingale floor. It was used as a form of protection in a paranoid and powerful Lord in Japan. All the floors near the entrance of his house were built in such a way that when anyone or anything moves on them the floor boards made sounds, theoretically like a nightingale. It was set up so that an assassin would not be able to enter the house without everyone in the house hearing it.

I researched this and found this information on this website, http://www.kyopro.kufs.ac.jp/dp/dp01.nsf/ecfa8fdd6a53a7fc4925700e00303ed8/281e4edb4f315ef449256f90001bfe03!OpenDocument ;

“The Nightingale floor was laid in Nijo Castle for added security. To guard against intrusion into the Castle by suspicious and dangerous persons like ninja, the floor was designed to sing like a nightingale. The sound is different from that heard in older houses, because of the different way the floor was laid. By suspending the floor above the frame using special iron clamps, the floor can move up and down over the fixing nails when walked upon. This causes the nails to rub against the wood and create a sound similar to the cheeping of a nightingale. All the floors in the castle, from the entrance to Ohiroma, are this type of floor. When you visit Nijo Castle, try your best to walk along the floor without making a sound ── if you can, perhaps you are secretly a ninja!!”

I am now looking at ways of incorporating something similar to this in the table so when ever something is placed on it there is a slight chirp. The only problem I see with this is the product may come across as cheap or warped.

Pictures

I also took pictures over a few days when I saw a table that caught my eye. Whether it was because of its form, its state or an interesting use, more pictures will be uploaded when technical issues are resolved. For now though;

The white table from uni, not good to look at, no real worth in keeping it looking all that great because stains and doodles will soon overrun a new coat of paint

Café table, feel is somewhat important, finish really important, good heavy feel to it

Lounge, darker rooms, colour not so important, water/alcohol proof important, also scratch proofing has an importance.

Rubiks

I was interested in rubiks cubes and was thinking of making a table in a similar way, instead of different colours there will be a different material so it is possible to mix and match for various parts of the table. So I broke open a cube and was surprised at how easy it was to pull apart and put back together.

The idea is a bit fiddly though so it probably ends its life here.

Concrete

I had a conversation with Frank a while back and some of the discussions we had gave me this idea. What if I could give someone a set of moulds or mould creating tools and a lot of concrete and let them design a table to fit their needs in terms of size and height. Possibly finish as well? The idea has scope to it. I can see how most people who undertake this would want to leave it maybe in the back yard for the occasional garden party. But how awesome would it be if someone made it a part of their living room and was forced to work around it when they moved furniture around or whatever it is.

This is quite a solid and almost permanent fixture. In contrast is the ice table, in a room where the temperature is always 0 degrees and below.














I quite enjoyed the idea of the ice table, unfortunatly the four industrial meat freezers ment to maintain the room below zero were not able to keep the room cool when me and my friends descided to stick around at the bar and talk continiously. The bar started to melt soon after and the rooms temperature started to rise to 5 degrees. We exited post haste.