Thesis: “Cooking brains on waffles”

• Model visualising how taste, archetype and influences evoke emotions
• The taste experience of a person in three main steps
• Simple data visualisation of the recognition of the sweet taste on colours
• Simple data visualisation of the recognition of the sour taste on colours
• Simple data visualisation of the recognition of the bitter taste on colours
• Simple data visualisation of the recognition of the umami taste on colours
• Simple data visualisation of the recognition of the salt taste on colours

For my degree, I wrote a thesis. My subject? Sensory branding. There’s already a lot written about branding through different senses like sound, scent and touch, but nothing yet about taste. Since I am a big foodie, researching this was a great challenge for me.

In the thesis, I explained the process of tasting in stages, how various emotions can be evoked, and how a taste matches the identity of brand and consumer. I put the data into various models to use for sensory branding.

The thesis in short: “A taste is built up and influenced by all other senses. This is why emotions towards it can be very strong. The taste will act as a food-reward, but only if it is new to the consumer. The food-reward makes sure the brain memorizes about 70 percent of the environment (like social context, weather, time, current emotional state) and the taste itself. So if we can shape these factors, we can create a more meaningful experience.”

> Download Thesis (Dutch)
> Download Thesis (English)

Contribution: research
@ Pudding & The Proof (Februari - July 2010)