Synaesthesia is a fascinating condition in which ordinary stimuli elicit extraordinary sensory experiences. For example, specific tastes may elicit unusual tactile sensations and standard black letters may elicit highly specific colour experiences. These unusual experiences have been shown to have substantial impact on cognition, emotion, perception, and covert attention. Two experiments are presented which show that synaesthesia also influences overt visual attention. In these experiments two grapheme-colour synaesthetes viewed coloured letters while their eye movements were tracked. Letters were presented in colours that were either congruent or incongruent with the synaesthetes' colours. Eye tracking analysis showed that synaesthetes exhibited a colour congruity bias – a propensity to fixate congruently coloured letters more often and for longer durations than incongruently coloured letters – in a naturalistic free viewing task. In a more structured visual search task, this congruity bias caused synaesthetes to rapidly fixate and identify congruently coloured target letters, but led to problems in identifying incongruently coloured target letters. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for perception in synaesthesia.

Synaesthesia is a fascinating condition in which ordinary stimuli elicit extraordinary sensory experiences. For example, specific tastes may elicit unusual tactile sensations and standard black letters may elicit highly specific colour experiences. These unusual experiences have been shown to have substantial impact on cognition, emotion, perception, and covert attention. Two experiments are presented which show that synaesthesia also influences overt visual attention. In these experiments two grapheme-colour synaesthetes viewed coloured letters while their eye movements were tracked. Letters were presented in colours that were either congruent or incongruent with the synaesthetes' colours. Eye tracking analysis showed that synaesthetes exhibited a colour congruity bias – a propensity to fixate congruently coloured letters more often and for longer durations than incongruently coloured letters – in a naturalistic free viewing task. In a more structured visual search task, this congruity bias caused synaesthetes to rapidly fixate and identify congruently coloured target letters, but led to problems in identifying incongruently coloured target letters. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for perception in synaesthesia.

abstract: ABSTRACT This research investigates the synaesthetic responses consumers have to branded consumer product designs to aid the design development process. Through proper application of synaesthetic responses, companies can create holistic experiences and brand expressions that are loved and trusted by consumers and thus achieve brand loyalty. Capturing the hearts and minds of consumers through exceptional product experiences is one of the primary goals of any design agency, retailer or Consumer Packaged Good (CPG) company today. Thousands of new products launch every year and consumers are bombarded with advertising campaigns, package designs, POP displays, product offerings and new product forms. Breaking through the visual and verbal clutter by designing for the senses is one of the key ways design firms and companies can engage with and create a stronger bond with the consumer. Connecting with consumers can be achieved through the maintenance of a compelling brand positioning and the development of brand expressions (products) that are holistically honest and express their positioning. Holistically honest designs are designs that capture the senses and the essence of the brand. Upon initial impression, the package immediately and innately “feels” right – nothing seems amiss. This includes all of the senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing combined with what the consumer knows or believes about the brand to create a meaningful gestalt. All design touchpoints should be considered in order to attain the ultimate goal of a holistic design: graphic treatment, typography, words, scent, form, color – any type of sensory stimulator as these all influence perception and ultimately product and brand trust. This study will employ qualitative and quantitative research approaches to understand consumers’ synaesthetic responses to a brand’s expressions. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Design 2015

Synestesi är ett fenomen där flera sinnen och intryck samspelar, till exempel kan siffrorupplevas i färg. En del forskning har gjorts kring konsekvenserna av siffer-synestesi, men syftet med den här uppsatsen är att undersöka synesteters egna upplevelser. Med hjälp av kvalitativa intervjuer fokuserar jag på tre huvudområden i relation till synesteters personliga perspektiv: synestesi och kognition; synestesi och känslor, attityder och identitet; och synestesi och matematik. Resultaten tyder på att synesteter kan relatera till vad en del forskning har visat angående hur synestesi fungerar, men att människors individualitet alltid måste has i åtanke. / Synaesthesia is a phenomenon where several senses and impressions interact, for example numbers may appear in colour. There has been some research on the consequences of number synaesthesia, but the purpose of this paper is to investigate the synaesthetes’ own experiences. Using qualitative interviews, I focus on three major areas in relation to synaesthetes’ personal perspective: synaesthesia and cognition; synaesthesia and emotions, attitudes and identity; and synaesthesia and mathematics. The results suggest that synaesthetes can relate to what some research has shown about how synaesthesia works, but that people’s individuality must always be kept in mind.

Les synesthètes ont la particularité d’associer une expérience supplémentaire (e.g. une couleur) lors de la présence de certains stimuli (e.g. une lettre). L’objectif de cette thèse était de mieux comprendre le développement de la synesthésie à travers trois types : Graphème-Couleur, Graphème-Personnalité et représentation des nombres dans l'espace (« Forme des nombres »). Si la synesthésie Graphème-Couleur a déjà été étudiée chez l’enfant, les deux autres n’ont jamais fait l’objet d’étude développementale auparavant.Les productions graphiques de 797 enfants de dernière année de maternelle et des deux premières années de primaire (CP et CE1) ont été recueillies (2 sessions, 2 à 3 semaines d’écart). Pour tester l’hypothèse d’un continuum entre les synesthètes et la population générale, nous avons aussi étudié les associations d’enfants non synesthètes.Nous avons mis en avant les difficultés méthodologiques de l’étude de la synesthésie chez les enfants entre 5 et 8 ans. Nos résultats ne nous permettent pas d’attester de façon certaine l’existence de la synesthésie dans cette tranche d’âge. Mais nous avons observé une augmentation du nombre de synesthètes potentiels par niveau scolaire, et un niveau de constance bas de leurs associations par rapport à ce qui est observé chez l’adulte. Comme les enfants connaissent bien les lettres et les nombres, du moins en CE1, on peut penser que ces synesthésies ne sont pas seulement liées à l’apprentissage de l’inducteur en tant que tel. Mais elles pourraient se développe en parallèle d’apprentissages complexes (e.g. calcul ou la rédaction), ou en suivant le développement de la mémoire et de l’imagerie mentale. / Synaesthetes have the peculiarity of associating a supplementary experience (e.g. the colour green) when certain stimuli are presented (e.g. the letter F). The aim of this thesis was to better understand the development of synaesthesia through three types: Grapheme–Colour, Grapheme–Personality and the representation of numbers in space.We collected the graphical representations of 797 children from Kindergarten, 1st Grade, and 2nd Grade twice, at 2-3 weeks interval. To test the hypothesis of a continuum between synaesthetes and the general population, we also studied the associations of non-synaesthete children. We reported the methodological problems specific to the study of synaesthesia in 5 to 8 years old children. We could not definitely attest the existence of synaesthesia in this age group. But we observed a growing number of potential synaesthetes in each grade, as well as a low consistency level of their associations in comparison with adults. Since children know well letters and numbers, at least in the 2nd grade, we can consider that these types of synaesthesia are not only linked to the acquisition of their inducers themselves. But they could develop during harder acquisitions (numeracy or literacy) or with the development of mental imagery and associative memory.

As an expressive language, fashion design has an innate capacity to engage a full gamut of sensorial responses. This research explores the contribution of synaesthesia to fashion design in an effort to highlight the positive aesthetic and intellectual impact of this integration. Such research advances my creative practice. The method of realising garments which address synaesthetic principles is an extension of personal interest in synaesthesia, driven from both an experiential perspective and a desire to gain a greater understanding into theories in relation to challenging the senses in a contemporary fashion world. If fashion includes novelty as a crucial and desirable aspect, and can be defined as an ever evolving and self rejuvenating art form, then the energy and frivolity of these components in association with multiple sensory stimuli and response will expose the consequence of the study through design-work. Recognition of the importance of sensory cross-overs in fashion design will reveal the quintessence of how humans position themselves and respond to a specific environment. If realisation of the senses is with regard to surroundings, and fashion becomes the surrounding which elicits multiple involuntary responses from stimuli, a conscious recognition has begun. Traditional theories on the organisation of sense modalities speculate that humans perceive their world with five senses, the most dominant generally being sight. The combined effect of these senses creates the environment in which we inhabit. The visual and tactile senses have long been the focus of the fashion product but, of all the senses, touch is most key to our species (Ackerman, 1990). Sound, taste and smell have been under-recognised as providers of ceaseless information about our environment. The investigation into the notion that fashion and other sensory systems are not separate entities assists with establishing the links between sensory integration and fashion design. The emergence of the synaesthetic paradigm has highlighted a unity between the senses rather than the traditional hierarchy of favouring the visual. The research on synaesthesia relative to fashion design occupies a parallel position to neurological theory and allows synaesthetic investigation to be a pivotal determining factor towards my outcome. I have engaged in critical self-reflection of my design process and production as a means of elucidating stimuli associated with multi-sensory perception.

<p>The purpose of this essay is to discuss what a sensual interpretation of art is and what it should include. The discussion is based on an attempt to do a sensual interpretation of the Greek-British artist Helen Chadwick’s Cacao and Wreaths to Pleasure. Chadwick was an artist working with well-known materials in new and unexpected ways. An interpretation of her works should include the fact that her art affect us on different levels, both intellectually and sensually. The history of art includes very few examples of interpretations engaging all senses. Therefore this essay is based on literature in adjacent disciplines like aesthetics, inter art studies and synaesthesia. The thesis of The bad garden is that an art experience includes interplay between senses. This interplay which creates additive sensations, a fact that is not taken into consideration in an interpretation based on only vision. The conclusion is that a sensual interpretation should be a merge of traditional disciplines and must be characterised by subjectivity, contextuality, and intersensuality.</p>

The purpose of this essay is to discuss what a sensual interpretation of art is and what it should include. The discussion is based on an attempt to do a sensual interpretation of the Greek-British artist Helen Chadwick’s Cacao and Wreaths to Pleasure. Chadwick was an artist working with well-known materials in new and unexpected ways. An interpretation of her works should include the fact that her art affect us on different levels, both intellectually and sensually. The history of art includes very few examples of interpretations engaging all senses. Therefore this essay is based on literature in adjacent disciplines like aesthetics, inter art studies and synaesthesia. The thesis of The bad garden is that an art experience includes interplay between senses. This interplay which creates additive sensations, a fact that is not taken into consideration in an interpretation based on only vision. The conclusion is that a sensual interpretation should be a merge of traditional disciplines and must be characterised by subjectivity, contextuality, and intersensuality.

This research investigates the music-theatre phenomenon for the purpose of: clarifying how that differs from more traditional forms of musical theatre, i.e., Opera and Broadway musical; discussing its aesthetic bases; explicating its modes of operation in relation to both music and theatre. The writing is structured in three main parts. The first concern of the discussion is to clarify the connection between music and performance. To that end, Part One starts by reflecting on the nature of music and how its perception has been changed by modern technology, throwing live performance into question. The notions of physicality, embodiment, and gesture are then invoked in order to re-position music firmly within the performing arts. Part Two then delves into music-theatre touching on issues of terminology, artistic scope, positioning, production, funding, structures, institutions. Part Three, finally, offers some conclusions and recommendations. The Thesis is then followed by a commentary to the portfolio of compositions accompanying this research. The musical scores and audio-visual material relative to the works therein discussed are included on 1 separately bound volume.

Submitted by Priscilla Araujo (priscilla@ibict.br) on 2016-10-06T18:44:29Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) dissertação Sinestesia Pessoas Cegas Sarah 2016.pdf: 916136 bytes, checksum: cc0a0930511f40b8b7d259a7f914cdc1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-06T18:44:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) dissertação Sinestesia Pessoas Cegas Sarah 2016.pdf: 916136 bytes, checksum: cc0a0930511f40b8b7d259a7f914cdc1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-21 / A sinestesia é uma condição na qual um estímulo a uma modalidade sensorial evoca uma sensação secundária não estimulada. Considerando que as pessoas com deficiência visual percebem o ambiente e obtem informações através de uma alta integração sensorial, mostra-se relevante investigar como a sinestesia pode formar parte dessa percepção. Este trabalho procura analisar como a sinestesia influencia o processo pelo qual as pessoas cegas obtem informações do ambiente e os efeitos que esta percepção pode exercer na realização de tarefas cotidianas e no aprendizado, considerando a realidade de uma sociedade na qual as informações visuais são privilegiadas. Realizou-se uma pesquisa de campo qualitativa com uma amostra de 14 pessoas cegas e um grupo de controle formado por 14 pessoas videntes. Verificou-se que as pessoas cegas tem mais tendência a apresentar manifestações sinestésicas que as pessoas videntes, e que utilizam esta condição para obter e manipular informações internamente, em tarefas como aprendizado e composição musical, cálculos mentais e redação; além disso, as sensações sinestésicas podem enriquecer a percepção do mundo, tornando-a ainda mais prazerosa. / Synaesthesia is a condition in which a stimulus of a sensory modality evokes a secondary sensation, not stimulated. Considering that visually impaired people perceive the environment and obtain information through a strong sensory integration, it is relevant to investigate how synaesthesia may take part of such perception. This work intends to analyse how synaesthesia influences the process by which blind people obtain information from environment and the effects this perception may produce on dayly tasks and learning, considering the reality of a society in which visual information are privileged. A qualitative field research was conducted with a sample of 14 blind people and a group of 14 sighted people as controls. It was verified that blind people are more likely to present synaesthetic manifestations and that they use this condition to obtain and manipulate information internally, in tasks such as learning and composing music, mind calculation and writing; besides, synaesthetic sensations may enrich the perception of environment, making it even more pleasureful.