Synaesthesia: Brief reflection and finalisation

The journey of research on synaesthesia has proved that it is the awareness on the neurological condition that is lacking within society. The research process lead me to find lots of artists that visually represent the perceptual differences of those with synaesthesia, as accurately as they can. All of the feedback sessions that I attended were helpful because they helped me to think about different ways in which I could approach this topic and produce something most appropriate. It was mainly the reaction on the topic, of those within the feedback group that stood out to me to be some of the best research. There was lots of questions and enthusiasm surrounding the topic, making it evident that it would be something that the target audience would engage with. The questions however did confirm that something informative would be more appropriate than something that challenges the topic because it was clear that there was a lot of confusion as to what exactly synaesthesia is and the different types that there are. 

The development firstly started with the focus on synaesthesia within the Graphic Design discipline and how the perceptual differeces effect the work of a Graphic Designer, or how they approach work. The use of augmented reality was found to be the most effective way to visually present this idea/research, but the feedback session confirmed that the education on the condition was more important than the challenging. 

The idea to create a book informing the target audience about synaesthesia, all of the different types, artist interpretations, interactive sections etc. was the next step of development. This seemed like an exciting concept to persue but development lead to a thought that maybe it was still restirictive in terms of informing a large number of people as people would have to either have an interest in the topic or know about the book in order to purchase it and read it. To overcome this issue I thought about how a magazine series could be developed, either on synaesthesia alone as a main focus or as a special edition in a larger magazine. 

Content research for the magazines lead to the discovery of the LUSH Synaesthesia Spa treatment, something that a lot of consideration had gone into as the owner of LUSH wanted to capture the synaesthetic experiences into a spa day. Visiting the store lead to the discovery that there is not much information on the treatment itself and especially not on synaesthesia as a main topic of focus. The change of direction to this is still fulfilling the brief, but working for an actual brand has more contextual revelvance and the information on synaesthesia will reach a much larger target audience. 

FINALISATION

The Brief:

Inform the customers of LUSH about the Synaesthesia Spa day, focusing on synaesthesia itself and the ways in which it can be used within the natural beauty industry to stimulate senses in new and beneficial ways.

An informative but short booklet should be designed for customers to read within store or to take away so that they can easily get a better insight as to what synaesthesia is and what the Spa day will offer them.

A slightly longer and more visually focused booklet should also be developed. This booklet will be presented to the customer at the end of the spa day as an optional further read as they ‘wind down’ and have a drink. The content should dig deeper on the different types of synaesthesia and the ways in which different artists have visually represented synaesthetic experiences. 

Target Audience:

• Females/some males
• Age 18-35
• Location of primarily North America + England
• Those seeking ethical and cruelty free products
• Interested in vegetarian and vegan diets/products
• Has a disposable income to buy multiple products to personalise their beauty regime/experience

Tone of Voice:

• Similar to the current products that LUSH has released
• Friendly, inspiring and positive
• In keeping with the ‘Through the looking glass’ theme of the Spa day

Mandatory Requirements:

• LUSH branding
• Ethically considered production methods and materials
• LUSH logos
• All of the ethically proven symbols/logos

Deliverables:

• Short, informative booklet on synaesthesia and the overview of the Spa Day
• Extensive catalogue/book further exploring the types of synaesthesia and the visual representations