Walk into any room and ask yourself: how does this place make me feel? Inspired? Energized? Or perhaps indifferent?
Here's the truth: the most memorable spaces do not just look good; they make you feel something. So many spaces fail to connect with their users on a deeper level. They miss the mark by focusing solely on appearance and functionality, disregarding the user experience.
But what if you could design spaces that tell a story and create an emotional connection every time? That's the power of experiential design. This philosophy imagines design beyond the aesthetics and functionality of spaces to create meaningful interiors.
In this article, you'll discover the key principles of experiential design, including how to use sensory engagement to transform ordinary interiors into memorable experiences.
By the end, you'll understand what makes a space memorable and have actionable ideas to improve your space today.
Ready to unlock the secrets of experiential design? Let's dive in.
Why does experiential design matter?
We often think of interior design as a visual art form emphasizing how various design elements combine to deliver aesthetically pleasing spaces. However, a growing body of research shows our environments can determine how we behave and feel in those spaces.
With experiential design, these spaces become more than physical locations; they are stages for experiences.
Consider a traditional museum like the Louvre in Paris and compare it to the Teamlab Borderless Museum in Tokyo. The Louvre is a treasure trove of historical and artistic masterpieces presented in a structured manner, characteristic of a traditional museum. Here, you follow set paths through galleries filled with iconic works like the Mona Lisa.
On the other hand, at Teamlab Borderless, the focus is on interactivity and giving visitors an immersive experience. The museum features over 50 artworks projected in different zones that respond and evolve with the movement of visitors. The use of cutting-edge technology allows for the expression of change based on the behaviour of people and the artwork's surroundings, making the experience highly interactive and immersive.
Thus, where the Louvre educates and inspires with its rich history, the Teamlab Borderless engages the senses, offering a futuristic and constantly evolving experience.
In his important book "The Eyes of the Skin," Juhani Pallasmaa, a well-known architect, talks about the idea of haptic architecture. He believes that when we only focus on how a space looks, we miss out on a deeper connection to it. This narrow view can leave us disconnected and make our experiences less meaningful.
Pallasmaa argues that our spaces should offer more than just visual appeal. By thinking about how people experience these spaces, we can create environments that engage all our senses.
This way, we not only make places that look good but also feel good and resonate emotionally. When we design with this in mind, we can create truly memorable spaces and help us connect more deeply with our surroundings and ourselves.
The key principles of experiential design
1. Engaging the senses
The design of The Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Seattle pays homage to Starbucks' journey in pursuit of coffee innovation.
The defining feature of experiential design is its ability to engage multiple senses simultaneously. By considering how a space looks, sounds, feels and even smells, interior designers can create an environment that prompts its occupants to feel or act in a specific way.
Our design choices can make us happy, excited, productive, relaxed, or curious, and encourage us to stay longer, interact with others more deeply, appreciate different tastes, or spend more money in the store.
The Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Seattle is a project that exemplifies multi-sensory experiences in design. Built in 2014, it is one of the world's largest Starbucks stores. It is designed to give coffee lovers an immersive and sensory demonstration of how the company brings their coffee from bean to cup.
The store is an evolution of the Starbucks coffee culture, where coffee enthusiasts come to experience coffee on a deeper level.
The roastery is housed in an imposing architectural structure designed to showcase the entire coffee-making process when you are inside or outside the building.
The open design, intricate architectural details, and industrial coffee equipment soaring across the space create a visually imposing aesthetic. The towering copper brewing equipment contrasted with the moulded wood, hand-stitched surfaces, and the silky mouthfeel of freshly brewed coffee adds to the tactile experience of this space.
The scent is a central part of the sensory experience and the aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans at the roastery balances the industrial look of the space by creating a warm and mentally stimulating atmosphere. The roastery hosts live music, interactive exhibits, and events.
When combined with the sound of grinding and roasting coffee beans, the auditory experience is elevated to foster socialization. However, the highlight of this Starbucks store is its offering of rare Starbucks Reserve coffees that visitors can taste and learn about their different characteristics.
Like wine, the enjoyment of coffee is in its diverse tastes. The roastery also has an ever-revolving speciality beverage menu that compels coffee lovers to return, and diverse coffee flights for adventurous people.
By weaving multi-sensory experiences into the design, Starbucks creates a meaningful connection with their customers, making them part of its brand story.
2. Storytelling with design
The materiality and palette of Aesop Century City evokes an immersive study of LA's leisure and skateboard culture. Photo Attribution www.taxonomyofdesign.com
Every space has a story to tell. Experiential design helps make that story clear and engaging. When a space has a strong narrative, it becomes meaningful and helps people connect emotionally.
The story of a space can show its cultural, historical, or architectural heritage, or reflect the owners' values.
Take Aesop, for example. It's a global skincare brand that creates unique experiences in their stores. They use local materials and draw inspiration from the culture and history of each location.
Each Aesop store is designed by a local designer, so the space truly reflects the heritage of its area. They focus on sustainability and use materials like concrete, timber, steel, and stone. This choice of materials gives the stores a classy and calming feel, perfectly suited for their customers.
At Aesop Century City in LA, the design tells a bit of California's history from the post-WW2 economic boom. The blue tiles, poolside chair, and table evoke the rise of home ownership in Southern California. This era was all about large suburban neighbourhoods with single-family homes and backyard pools.
However, a drought in the 1970s led to a ban on filling those pools. The grey outer shell of the store reminds us of the empty kidney-shaped pools that became skateboarding rinks. This helped kickstart a vibrant skateboarding culture at the turn of the century.
Unlike most retail stores that only focus on selling products, Aesop stores aim to create memorable spaces that foster meaningful relationships with their customers. Their store designs reflect a unique approach to retail that honours community, culture, and history.
3. Prioritizing Interaction
The MOIC brand is built on the idea that ice cream is a universal symbol of personal pleasure and facilitates the imagination. Photo attribution Architizer
Experiential design can encourage people to interact with their environment in meaningful ways. This can include touchable displays, dynamic layouts, or interactive technology like the teamlab Borderless museum example above. By fostering engagement, designers can create a sense of connection between the space and its occupants.
When we consider interactive spaces, we often think of social spaces like kids' playrooms, manicured gardens, or multi-use spaces. On the other hand, immersive projects like the Museum of Ice Cream are designed to create personal experiential moments with the environment, as opposed to group experiences.
The Museum of Ice Cream (MOIC) is a dynamic immersive art space built around inspiring a personal connection with its whimsical design elements over shared commonalities like the love of ice cream. MOIC has four stores across the US and Singapore. They feature a vibrant pink and white palette for its visually stunning and multi-sensorial design elements.
Similarly, The Museum of Illusions in Nairobi is an exciting edutainment destination that offers a unique blend of visual, sensory, and educational experiences. The museum features over 60 exhibits, including holograms, stereograms, optical illusions, and immersive rooms designed to challenge perceptions, trick the mind, and spark curiosity.
These exhibits range from classic illusions to never-before-seen creations that encourage visitors to interact and get a hands-on exploratory experience with the exhibits.
4. Creating emotional connections
The Kigali Genocide Memorial is one of six major genocide memorial centres in Rwanda dedicated to remembering the 1994 tragedy.
Experiential spaces are created to evoke certain feelings in us, like joy, curiosity, relaxation, or even awe. These emotional responses can make our experiences in those spaces more memorable and impactful. A great example of this is the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda. It is dedicated to honouring the victims of the 1994 genocide while helping visitors understand its significance.
The memorial is designed with various elements that create a powerful experience. For instance, there are intimate areas for personal reflection and places where visitors can listen to testimonies. There are also interactive exhibits that explain how the genocide happened, giving people a clearer picture of those tragic events.
One of the most moving sections is the gardens situated on a mass gravesite. While these gardens provide a peaceful retreat for contemplation, they also include views of the remains of around 250,000 victims buried there.
Beyond being a memorial, this site is an educational centre focused on conflict prevention, peace-building, trauma healing, and mental health awareness.
The design features, like the pillars that become beacons of hope at night, symbolize a brighter future for Rwanda. The emotional reactions visitors experience leave them with lasting impressions and a more meaningful understanding of a difficult chapter in Rwanda's history.
How Experiential Design Impacts Everyday Spaces
While experiential design is often associated with high-profile commercial projects, its principles can be applied to everyday spaces like homes, schools, and local businesses. A thoughtfully designed home can tell the story of its inhabitants, evoke feelings of comfort and warmth, and create a sense of belonging.
Even small design changes, like incorporating plants, adjusting lighting, or adding personal touches, can transform an ordinary space into one that feels special and meaningful.
Are you ready to take your space beyond its aesthetic and functional value into an experience? Whether it’s your home, office, or business, we can help bring your vision to life.
Contact us today to start your journey into experiential design. Your dream space is just a conversation away!
