Balsyn
With a number of e-scent products being produced over the last few decades ultimately failing to do our olfactory systems justice, and some products such as iSmell joining the list of ’25 Worst Tech Products of All Time’, Balsyn aims to rebrand the digital scent industry into something we could imagine using in our daily lives in the future. The concept for this project comes from the discovery of a Japanese company that controversially uses the theory of vibration of olfaction, which argues that a molecule’s smell character is due to its vibrational frequency. By using this unproven theory, the design and aesthetic of a fictional product could be imagined in more creative and speculative ways. The product’s design consists of a flexible nose strip which is to be worn externally on the nose to interrupt the olfactory receptors inside the nose and brain and to replace any physical, real world scent with one that has been transmitted using either a phone or computer. The dot, a small circular sticker, is placed on the speaker of the phone or computer in order to pick up the vibrational frequency to then send to the nose strip. Both devices are made from TechnoGel, which is a breathable, flexible, waterproof and non-irritable, bio-degradable material. The name of the company and its logo were designed with the intent to feel like a global, large business and familiar like the big tech brands we know and use. The advert uses a template that the tech industry provides, to create the feeling of authority, innovation and the future.
