Hearing colors, scents, flavors: how synesthesia boosts purchasing intentions

What is synesthesia?

It is the perception of a multisensory experience from a unisensory stimulus: some people perceive sounds in color, others associate tastes with shapes...

It's a neurological phenomenon that affects 2-5% of the population. Some of the most famous synesthetes include: Lady Gaga, Thom Yorke, Pharrell Williams, Billie Eilish or Kanye West; but also in another genre: Kandinsky, Matisse, Van Gogh, Proust, Baudelaire, Rimbaud or Nabokov.

[Our favorite synesthete remains for all eternity the fictional character Sheldon Cooper in the American series BIG BANG THEORY, for whom twin primes "are pink and smell of gasoline"].

Synesthesia involves universal mechanisms of interaction between the senses, widely documented in scientific literature. As, for example, in this article on the multisensory perception of cosmetic creams, co-authored by Anjali Morard, psychoacoustics researcher and member of the "Sound Experience" team at Ircam amplify.

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Chromesthesia: the art of seeing sounds or hearing colors

Chromesthesia is one of the many variants of synesthesia. Chromesthesia occurs when sounds or music trigger visions of colors, shapes or textures. Conversely, although it's more anecdotal, some people hear sounds when looking at images, paintings... or silent animated GIFs like this one. [Do you too hear a thud when the central pylon playing jump rope hits the ground?]

Chromesthesia is a phenomenon theorized and popularized by, among others, the painter Vassily Kandinsky (1866-1944). You can experience the sound of "playing a Kandinsky" on this page developed by Google...

"Color is the touch. The eye is the hammer. The soul is the piano with its many strings. The artist is the hand that, through the appropriate use of this or that key, sets the human soul in vibration." (V. Kandinsky)

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Visual identity, sound identity: putting an end to one-way streets

But synesthesia isn't just an abstract concept to be talked about at dinner parties, between two quotations from Proust or Kandinsky. An understanding of synaesthesia can yield very concrete results in terms of purchasing intentions, and therefore in terms of a product's success.

When it comes to sound design, the potential of synesthesia is immense. The mechanisms at work in the brains of synesthetes offer invaluable insights. For a sound design agency or acoustic consultancy, understanding synaesthesia can open up new creative perspectives. By exploring and integrating cross-sensory perceptions, sound identity agencies and brands can co-create immersive, memorable multi-sensory experiences.

Synesthesia will inspire innovative sound designs, where sounds are designed to evoke specific images or sensations. This approach enriches the user experience, especially in high-end retail spaces where sound ambience plays a crucial role. The right sound, for example, will generate a sensation of bright light or silky texture...

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Ircam amplify: synesthesia in major mode

At Ircam amplify, we're well aware that not everyone is a synesthete. That's why we developed the Speak© method in our "Sound Experience" laboratory, a mediation and co-creation tool to help our customers put into words the attributes of a sound or sound signature.

An exclusive method inspired by research into synesthesia, to create sound signatures where hearing interacts with sight, touch, smell and taste. We had the pleasure and honor of creating the sound signature fora wine,a champagne, achocolate... and evena perfume, with the Viktor & Rolf brand.

In the course of our work on fragrance sound, we were able to measure precisely the emotional impact generated by a sound signature in phase with a product's olfactory signature. The result: the right sound identity associated with your product can increase purchase intent by up to 40%.

In short, thanks to sound marketing, your sales will increase in every direction.

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