Sensory Storytelling

About:

Every day, various stimuli affect our well-being, however, our sensory needs are so unique that it is difficult to describe them, and even more so, to create products that will be friendly and universal at the same time. Therefore, how to use creative practices to discuss intangible matters of comfort?

Neurodiversity describes the idea that people experience the world around them in many different ways; there is no one right way of feeling or behaving. Moreover, research shows that 20% of the population is highly sensitive to materials, textures, colours, light, sound, and smell. Comfort means something else to everyone; it can be a memory, a feeling, or a taste. Therefore, how can we better communicate and understand our unique sensory needs in daily-use products? Are co-design and democratic design effective tools for creating solidary products that have the potential to improve users' well-being?

The Sensory Storytelling exhibition presents the outcomes of the master's diploma launched in November 2022 in collaboration with a group of 12 adult autistic students from the Share Community in London. The project focused on studying users’ sensory preferences within the educational environment and aimed to collectively design school decoration elements that would improve students' well-being and help them manage stress through multisensory therapy and stimulation. The main part of the project was a series of workshops and testing sessions that included discussion, art activities, and working on pictograms and worksheets. During the meetings, mostly non-verbal, students learned about various methods to effectively communicate and visualise their needs. At the exhibition, you will be able to see students’ artworks, the documentation of the design process and the result of the workshops- collaboratively designed sensory textile objects, which after the exhibition, will be returned to the school and further tested in terms of their functionality.