The photo gallery of my iPhone is jampacked with pictures that go all the way back to 2013! These are the prized documented memories of some of the happiest days of my life – ranging right from my time in university to my current adulting days. Do I ever really get the time to go through them? Nope. Do I absolutely want to? YES. In an attempt to help us relive the photographic memorabilia in our smartphones, Yeongseok Go designed ‘transcent’. transcent is an abbreviation of “transform memory into scent”. And, it does exactly that! transcent helps you “meet the forgotten precious memories in the photo album”. It attempts to help you experience the long-forgotten feelings and emotions associated with these images via ‘synesthesia stimulation’.
transcent attempts to capture the essence of a picture in a particular scent. Wondering how? First and foremost, transcent converts the image into a single pixel. This single-pixel becomes the primary or main color of the image. This primary color represents the image, and it is then broken down into four colors. The two colors with a large percentage of CMYK (a subtractive color model) are selected, and adjusted appropriately to prevent excessive mixing of scents. These colors are then converted into scents. The scents that are attached to an image are based on the CMYK scale and paired with one of the four colors.
The four colors and their associated scents are – Sky Blue or Cyan which smells of cotton, a Magenta shade with a floral smell, a bright Yellow which smells of citrus, and the color Black which apparently smells woody. What transcent then does is display a particular image on its round digital screen, and emit the scent associated with the image. This instantly triggers a visual olfactory process in our minds!
Emotional phrases on the screen also help us to remember and relive those memories even more effectively, taking us on a wonderful trip down memory lane. The scents are emitted (almost like an air freshener) through vents located at the back of the screen.
A scent cartridge with vials of the different colors/scents is slipped into a slot at the rear of the device. The structure of the scent cartridge is similar to the structure of the cartridge used in a fountain pen.
The device itself features an aluminum frame, that helps it stand, and also enables it to be picked up and carried around. transcent is super portable! transcent is a creative and dynamic product that is truly one of a kind. It helps you relive the beautiful moments of your life with the help of images, texts, and scents! It quite literally hits you with a wave of nostalgia!
Designer: Yeongseok Go
