Stimulating the senses

Tabitha Mosterdijk, a student at the Reinwardt Academy in Amsterdam, asked me whether I consciously think about how I want to stimulate the senses when designing a new exhibition. I wanted to give a short and concise answer, but I realised that I couldn’t answer the question that quickly. It got me thinking. How can I properly explain my vision, which is strongly connected to my ambitions? Stimulating the senses is certainly part of it, because I find the senses fascinating and limitless. Although this is not my main goal.

Tabitha’s question gave me the idea to conduct an interview, in order to search for the answer together. This interview inspired me to write a more extensive piece about my way of designing and how I ended up in Utrecht after travelling from Boxtel to Lincoln (UK), via Frankfurt am Main (DE).

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Where it all began

I have been creative since I was a child, always busy creating things that did not yet exist. So it was no surprise that after completing my VMBO education, I wanted to attend SintLucas, a school for creative professions in Boxtel. My first chosen field was styling. However, I soon found this too limiting, so I switched to interior design, specialising in residential interiors.

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Still, I couldn’t quite find my place. I realised that designing a home is closely connected to memories. The elements that turn a house into a home are difficult for a designer to design.

At SintLucas, I realised that I wasn’t able to develop any further. One of the areas I needed to improve was my English. With this in mind, I started a bachelor’s degree in Product Design in England. However, my first choice had actually been Design for Exhibition and Museums (I was eventually accepted onto this programme after completing my bachelor’s degree).

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During my Product Design studies, I spent hours on detailing, a process that never seemed to end. I found the latter particularly difficult. It wasn’t my favourite part of the design process. Through self-reflection, I discovered that I wanted to use my creativity to move people emotionally, by telling a single story.

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During my Master’s in Design for Exhibition and Museums, I learned that the visitor plays a major role in telling stories. How do you engage a visitor? What happens to a visitor when you have a white space with a single red dot?

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People are social creatures. I have always wanted to understand how to attract an individual, because I know that by connecting with one person, I can eventually reach a larger group. This has been an interesting question throughout my career. I eventually conducted academic research into this and, through that research, arrived at the use of the senses in design.

Our senses guide our brains, and by incorporating them into a design, you can communicate not only through sight and hearing, but also through taste, smell and, especially, touch.

 

Looking for a genuine connection

After my studies, I moved to Germany to work as a designer. Here I learned what I didn’t want. Important details were being left out of the design. I often felt that the choice was made to design for the masses, while I wanted to focus on the end user.

Through my studies and first work experiences, I began focusing more on the end user rather than the client, and this is where I apply the senses. Responding to the needs of the end user as effectively as possible is my goal.

 

At STUDIO &lotte, I have been working with clients for four years, but the end user remains at the centre of the design process.

My main goal is not simply to stimulate the senses, but to use a space to tell a story. I am convinced that the quality of an exhibition increases when at least two senses are stimulated in an adult visitor.

 

Lotte de Jong

 

PS. Curious about my work? One of the projects STUDIO &lotte is currently working on is a travelling exhibition for the National Education Museum: ‘Nazi Propaganda for Youth 1933–1945’. Hopefully, the exhibition will still be on display this spring, once the museums reopen.