• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
• /
• v.11 no.3
• /
• pp.427-439
• /
• 2008

In order to effectively communicate the fragrances of commercial perfumes to consumers, it is important to apply congruent colors to their bottles and packaging. This research investigated the cross-modal associations between colors and fragrances through two experiments. In the first experiment, bottle colors of more than 200 popular perfumes in the market were analyzed. Distinguishable color design patterns of the bottles were revealed in accordance with their fragrance types. The second experiment expanded the use of color-odor matching task to a test population of Korean participants. Participants selected colors evoked by fragrances of three test perfumes in a blind setting. These three perfumes had characteristic hues and their associated hues were similar with the real colors of their bottles. In addition, there were significant variations in color tone across fragrance notes, viz. the top notes, middle notes, and base notes. The results of the two experiments suggest the existence of robust cross-modal associations between particular colors and fragrances in commercial perfumery.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.559-572
• /
• 2010

Color, an important visual cue, can cross-modally affect odor association and odor quality identification Here, this research investigates aspects of the cross-modal associations between color and fragrance in greater depth, delving into the topic of whether the degree-of-association of fragrances with hue and tone of colors varies systematically. For 33 color stimuli (10 hues, 3 tones, and 3 achromatic colors), 67 subjects judged the degree-of-association of four typical fragrance families (fresh, floral, oriental, and woody) on a 7-point scale. The statistical analysis showed that fragrance associations of the all families had characteristic distributions across ten hues of the color stimuli. The cross-modal relationship between color tone (especially, lightness attribute) and fragrance association appeared to be dimensional (e.g. a positive linear relationship between the floral family and the lightness). More specifically, as colors became warmer and brighter, the associated floral scents were stronger, while the woody scents was less associated. Brighter or more vivid cool colors were associated with stronger fresh scents. These findings confirm the systematic existence of synthetic interactions between vision and olfaction in perfumery.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.3-10
• /
• 2017

This research investigated the cross-modal correspondence between the turbidity and taste of beverages. For an empirical study, we employed two types of achromatic beverages: rice wine and a soft drink. The turbidity of each drink varied between 0.0625~32 g/L, and 0.0078~4 g/L, respectively, and the stimuli were prepared in ten levels according to cognitive turbidity. In the study, participants (N=35) rated each drink stimulus using a 3-point Likert scale with regard to five basic tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and preferred. In addition, six specific tastes were included that deliberately describe rice wine and the soft drink. Three were yeasty, alcoholic, and astringent for the rice wine, and the other three were creamy, bubbly, and syrupy for the soft drink. Based on participants' assessments, the turbidity of rice wine is highly positively correlated with all five basic tastes. In contrast, the turbidity of the soft drink was positively correlated with sour only. Concerning preference, the most preferred turbidity of rice wine was 4.6~20 g/L, which is close to the turbidity of existing products on the market. Furthermore, except for astringent and syrupy, all tastes were influenced by the turbidity, which implies the potential of turbidity as a new visual parameter to communicate the taste experience of beverages.