The Singleton Sensorium

The Singleton Sensorium from Condiment Junkie on Vimeo.

Whisky brand The Singleton challenged Condiment Junkie to devise a sensory event that would help bring to life the Brand’s vision as being ‘The Best Tasting Whisky in the World’, sitting in the realm of wine and food, where taste and sensuality is king. They wanted to bring the experience of drinking Whisky into the 21st century, be progressive and appeal to a wider, younger audience - as well as generate huge amounts of talkability and PR.

We created 'The Singleton Sensorium', a pop up event that blends science and sensuality. 

The Sensorium is a concept for the bar of the future - how the 12 year old single malt will be drunk when the current batch is ready in 2025. 

Using cross-modal research, we designed three immersive ‘sensory worlds’, where sound, scent, colour, decor and textures combine to highlight different flavours of the whisky. As guests walk from one room to the other, drink in hand, the sensory environment highlights the complex notes in the drink, amplifying different flavours and showing how much the environment can change your experience. 

The first room was designed to dial up the flavours of cut grass, apples and pears on the nose.

The Grassy room

The sounds of birds chirping and the occasional lawnmower, as well as certain frequencies associated with green pushed up in the audio, were combined with cross modal scents, real grass on the floor, deck chairs, picnic baskets and a slightly humid atmosphere, all bathed in green light.

The second room was designed to elevate the Sweet and fruity taste.

The Sweet room

 Based on our research, there were no sharp edges in the room - everything was curved and bulbous. Red light combined with high tinkling bells and an aldehyde scent that heightens perception of higher sonic frequencies - which in turn would enhance sweet perception.

The final room was made to bring out the woody finish.

The Woody room

Throughout the night guests remarked how this was 'the Whisky room' - the most congruent with their expectations of Whisky. With a real tree, lanterns, old floorboards and a fireplace - the room was designed like a surreal, dreamlike wood cabin. The sound of creaking, crackling and a drawn out double bass combined with scent of cedar and vetiver.

As guests travelled around the event, they were asked to note down how the sounds, scents and visuals enhanced the flavours in the whisky. Results have contributed to the first ever scientific study into the effects of multi-sensory environments on taste, conducted by our head of sensory research, Prof. Charles Spence.

Over 440 guests attended the event. Preliminary results show a 20% increase in taste perception across the board - in the grassy room the drink tasted 20% more grassy, 20% more sweet in the sweet room, and 20% more woody in the wood room. We successfully proved our hypothesis and for the first time ever have shown that sensory architecture enhances perception.

The event generated massive media coverage which is still continuing - there will be more to come when the scientific paper 'Tasting notes: Assessing the effect of the multi-sensory atmosphere and ambience on people's perception of whisky' is published sometime in September 2013.

Royal Mail Heritage Timeline

Condiment Junkie are proud to have completed a project for Royal Mail and Proximity London, designing SFX and brand music for an interactive timeline telling the story of Royal Mail’s 500 year heritage.

Proximity have created a technologically beautiful parallax view interface, through which you can discover the rich past of the Royal Mail and the historic milestones that it was there to witness.

Condiment Junkie created UI audio for the navigation, SFX that fills environment and reacts to the animations and objects in view, and a sonic identity in the form of a brand music track, which appears in several instances throughout the decades and centuries, in the style of the time. And we did the sound and music for the promo video below.

You can experience the actual site here

Three Discoveries to start the Year

In an effort to begin the year by stimulating your creative brains, here are three amazing discoveries Condiment Junkie made in the last month of 2012. Discoveries that have furthered our ability to communicate information and enhance perception with sound and scent.

First, we proved that we can all tell the difference between Hot and Cold liquid, just by listening. It sounds unbelievable but if you try it you’ll instantly understand. Give it a go here

Second, we found that adding sound to a digital experience, in this case trying on virtual clothes, significantly increased the amount of time customers spend interacting with the experience. Over 30% longer in fact.

Even more significant and compelling, is that when asked how much they would pay for the clothing, participants in the ‘with sound’ group indicated they would pay more than those in the ‘without sound’ group.

And Third. In collaboration with one of the world’s leading perfumers, Roja Dove, we tested if sound can be used to highlight different notes in a perfume. Our findings showed that by playing different soundscapes we can dramatically alter how people perceive scents, and bring out different elements such as sweetness, floral notes, powder and dryness.

The applications of these findings are myriad, and have impact across all brand communication channels. We can make an advert or a room seem hotter or colder. We can dramatically enhance the experience of buying and marketing perfume, and can communicate texture, increase product perception and create more engaging digital experiences.

As we discover more and more cross modal links, and define the most powerful combinations, a compelling case begins to develop. Brands need to begin thinking about sonic and sensory strategies at the highest level. And this is the year to do it.

Happy new year one and all.

Electrolux Cube

Electrolux Cube - Sound Installation from Condiment Junkie on Vimeo.


The Electrolux Cube pop up restaurant is currently situated on the roof of the Royal Festival Hall, with amazing views of the river and the city. A handfull of the UK's top Chef’s will take up residency in the restaurant for 2 weeks at a time over the summer.

Condiment Junkie have enhanced the experience using sound throughout the guests journey, from their arrival, approaching the restaurant and the meal itself.

The video shows us setting up the six speaker sound installation for the walkway that leads the guests up to the restaurant, once they’ve arrived on the roof.

Abstract cooking sounds fly up and down the walkway. A knife scraping a chopping board whooshes past you as you walk along. Deep bubbles or sizzling oil suddenly appear and surround you (sadly you don’t get a real feel of the movement in the video). These sounds are mixed with location recordings from the Chef in residence’s restaurant - in the recording above you can hear Claude Bosi, Chef patron at Hibiscus.

The effect is intended to be subtle - a background ambience that lifts the atmosphere, and builds expectation.

Once in the cube, we’ve designed Electrolux brand playlists that perfectly reflect the brand essence and the beautiful design of the restaurant. But being Condiment Junkie, the sound goes deeper...

The tracks and the flow of the playlist are also chosen specifically to enhance each of the dishes in the 7 course meal. Choices were made based on cross-modal research into sound and taste correlations. For instance, in track two of the spotify playlist below, the staccato of the marimba and the rim shot, and the pitch and tempo of the strings perfectly compliment the sweet and umami notes in Sat Bains’ dish of Scallop, Vanilla, Tomato and Strawberry.

Here’s a link to the playlist from Sat Bains’ residency. spoti.fi/MA4T8J

CONDIMENT JUNKIE DESIGN A WORLD FIRST FOR SELFRIDGES’ WHITE CHRISTMAS WINDOWS

"Selfridges is making history by launching a revolutionary window display for its 2011 

Christmas season that sees the run of its Oxford Street windows play re-engineered 

carols without the need for loudspeakers or sound-preserving booths, as is the case 

when such an initiative is attempted by stores around the world. Each window is 

effectively turned into an enchanting and oversized music box. The global innovation, 

which is taking Selfridges a big step further into the future of window displays, is the 

brainchild of London-based creative outfit Condiment Junkie."

- Selfridges press release

We were given the challenge of creating a sound installation to compliment the theme of ‘White’ this christmas. The Selfridges white is very pure, clean and contemporary, but also comforting, safe, traditional and magical.

We first looked at how sound and language have crossovers - words like ‘shimmering’, ‘bright’, ‘crystal’ - are all used as sonic descriptions as well as visual.

We looked into what objects create these bright, crystal sounds - a chandelier in the wind, whispers, the sharp percussive ring of bells - and then to music boxes.

The sound of a music box is comforting, warm and calming. It is also crystal clear, clean, crisp.

Music boxes are associated with memories and fantasies - often built in to jewelry boxes or carousels with pictures of loved ones. They are often accompanied by a twirling ballerina, or magical snow globes.

This idea of the cyclic carousel also interested us - used as a metaphor for life, special annual occasions like Christmas mark another turn of the wheel.

Christmas carols are also often based on cyclic melodies - the word Carol comes from the old French word Carole or Carola, a type of circular dance from the 12th and 13th centuries.

We began deconstructing and re-imagining christmas carols. Using the medieval chord patterns on which traditional carols and wassailing songs are based, we created pieces that are simultaneously familiar and that ring true with the traditional sounds of Christmas, but also feel new and contemporary.

The sound is delivered through the windows using audio elements that when attached to a surface, turn the whole surface into a speaker.

To make the experience more interactive and engaging, we wanted passers-by to be able to wind-up the music boxes from the street. We designed a revolutionary through-the-window, interactive triggering system that enables customers to wind-up the music boxes and set them off to play once round the carousel. On the main window they can control each of the cyclic musical elements individually, giving them the opportunity to create different versions of the piece each time, depending on the order in which they’re triggered.

Almost every bit of press in traditional and online newspapers and magazines (and there has already been a lot) has lead with the interactive music element. Proving once and for all that sound makes a difference.

Below are a few of the music box pieces we composed

Music Box 4

Music Box 8

Music Box 2

Music Box 6

Colour and sound

A fantastic episode of Horizon on how we perceive colour has peaked my interest because of the parallels with sound, and the connotations for multi-sensorial design.

It has been discovered that our perception of colour is tied in with our ecological evolution - that we have learnt to group certain colours together because of how they appear in nature - muted shades of blue, brown and yellows get grouped together because they appear together by the sea. Certain greens and yellows are always seen together in the countryside and so are pleasing to us when combined. These groupings are more or less universal and predictable.

This is also true with grouping colour with sound - we would immediately pair the colour blue with the sound of the sea, and green with a countryside soundscape, birds chirping and wind through trees. To swap the two would be incongruent and feel wrong. Through our ecological evolution we will always associate certain colours with certain sounds due to the environments in which they are found. Our sonic vocabulary is intrinsically linked with our memory and experience, and therefore with our understanding of colour and language.

With these naturally occurring colours our perception of them will always be similar - the yellow of a banana to me will be pretty much the same as with you. But - colours that don’t have this ecological link - lighting in a room, or a wall colour - can be perceived wildly differently from person to person, depending on their mood and emotion. Our state of mind fundamentally affects our colour perception.

If we consider then that sound and music have the strongest effect on our emotions - it is true to say that sound can dramatically change our perception of colour more than any other stimulus.

Another fascinating ecological association was found in a lighting designer’s use of blue lighting in a restaurant. Usually reds or oranges are used as they are supposed to increase appetite, but also because they are generally seen as warm (whereas blue is cold). The blue light has an effect on how we see that does in fact feel warm, making everything more ‘beautiful’ and calm. But the unexpected effect was that the customers, at around 10 o’clock, began to become more lively, drinking more and becoming more chatty. This appears to be because of the colour too - we are evolutionarily hard wired to respond to our body clocks, which in turn reacts to changes in colour. The shade of evening blue causes us to become lively and sociable.

This is interesting - what sounds can there be that can make people feel warm and relaxed and sociable, other than the standard pulse of nondescript dance music? Is there a natural soundscape of dusk that can effect our body clock and have a livening effect on us? the opposite of a cockerel crowing - if there is a colour association, there should be a sonic one. It is worth investigating.

There’s only a week left to watch the program - it’s recommended viewing so get in there quick - http://bbc.in/nfg2iV

Solar System for iPad

Condiment Junkie have just completed the interface audio and background sound design for ‘Solar System for iPad’, our first partnership with Touch Press, the people behind ‘The Elements’.

Working with the great team at Touch Press, we have designed sounds that completely enhance the product and the user experience, and are proud to have been involved in such a fantastic project.

Our favorite feature is a deep rumble in the 3D orrery, that makes the screen vibrate as you zoom into a planet, evoking the gravity and mass of the celestial bodies. This is a great example of using sound to communicate through other senses - it adds a tactile, physical level to the experience too.

The new title includes an haunting and majestic track specially adapted by Björk from her forthcoming Biophilia project, and for the moment is available only in Solar System for iPad.

Action & Alert study

We teamed up with architectural firm Nightingale Associates on a research project to define the sensory design factors that contribute to optimal learning environments, looking at the key issues of transitions (after lunch, between moments of activity and concentration), communication and self-esteem.

We created a 5:1 soundscape that took on several key pieces of psychoacoustic research on the effects of music and sound in learning environments. 

It was designed to blend in to the background and not grab the pupil’s attention. To achieve this there is no repeating rhythm and no catchy melody. Natural sound effects such as recordings of rain, woods etc. were included in the soundscape, as they contain white noise which helps to minimise distraction from the world outside the classroom. There is also an argument for these types of sounds having a positive effect on our mental state, through an evolutionary link we have with the natural world.

The intervention has been running at All Saints primary school in Anfield, Liverpool.

Results should be in soon....

Sound of a City

Creating a sonic identity for a whole city, that permeates down from all marketing and branding, to the actual experience of being in the city and navigating around it.

Meydan is a new city being built in the desert outside Dubai. Themed around horses, the city is made up of 4 districts - Residential, Leisure, Financial, and the Racecourse.

We created a soundtrack for the city, with each district having it's own variation of a central theme - like the different movements of a film soundtrack.

We can then take the tone, melody and rhythm of each district's theme, and create mnemonics that can be used on all audio alerts and signals in that district, giving each area its own sonic identity and creating a musical harmony across the city.

Here as an example, we take the soundtrack for the Leisure district, and use it as a mnemonic for the tram system - signaling you've arrived in the area, without the need for voice announcements.

1. Leisure soundtrack

Leisure theme by Condiment Junkie

2. Leisure theme - mnemonic - mnemonic 2 - on the Tram

Tram mnemonic by Condiment Junkie

Phaidon iPad app sound design

Phaidon iPad app from Condiment Junkie on Vimeo.

We've recently finished the sound design for this iPad app's functionality.

Phaidon create high end coffee table books and have taken their 'Design Classics' edition, a collection of 1000 items over 300 years of design, and put it into a new iPad application.

The sound design had to represent the level of craftsmanship and quality of the product design contained within. Condiment Junkie looked to the world of precision watch making as a source for the sounds.

Adding sound to the functions and navigation of apps makes them more tactile and engaging, and can also help to communicate the design, content, and the brand identity in a more immediate way. People have also learnt, through film and tv, that these types of technology will sound a certain way in the future. The future is here, and it should sound how we expect it to.

Creative Director Russ Jones Mobile Entertainment article

How important is sound to mobile applications? Much more important than you might think, says Russ Jones.

Games developers think about it a lot, but the quality is more variable for non-gaming apps. In fact, many don’t have sound at all. That’s not something that London firm Condiment Junkie thinks is a good thing.

The company describes itself as a sonic art and sound design house, and works with brands to create ‘sonic identities’ across different platforms, including in products, TV and radio ads, websites and now mobile applications. If you’ve used Jamie Oliver’s 20 Minute MealsiPhone app, that’s them – working with developer Zolmo.

“Sound is such a powerful way of forming memories and joining the senses,” creative director Russ Jones tells ME. “We all have our own experiences of sounds, and we’re pioneering ways to use audio to express brand identities and engage people.”

Read the full article here

Introduction - Sound and the senses

Throughout this blog we will investigate the links between sound and the other senses. How multi-sensorial experiences become amplified, and tap into our memories and emotions far more than single stimulus ones (or whether single sense experiences actually exist!). How we can learn from the condition Synesthesia and the way in which those with synesthesia (myself included) experience the world. And how this knowledge can help us create more engaging experiences, more memorable branding and marketing content, and convey information efficiently and effectively.

At Condiment Junkie, Scott King and myself have taken our ideas on this subject into the worlds of branding, experiential events, architecture and design, HMI and interactive systems, healthcare and education, food, and the art of restauranting.

We believe that with well designed sonic environments, in collaboration with other sensorial stimulus, we can create incredibly immersive and memorable experiences, where participants take away powerful emotional, sensorial memories.

This understanding of multi-sensorial stimulus and sensorial memories signifies a change in how we can communicate with consumers, express brand identities, and create amazing, memorable experiences.