Neuro‑Sensory Branding and Virality

This unit explores how sensory signals, memory, and basic neuroscience drive attention, trust, nostalgia, and viral engagement to inform human-centered product and media design. Students integrate multisensory techniques (audio, visual, tactile, olfactory, flavor, and narrative) with ethical and accessibility considerations to prepare prototypes and testing plans in later units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze how specific multisensory stimuli (sound, scent, texture, flavor, typography, timing) influence attention, memory, emotional response, and decision-making using foundational neuroAI concepts and empirical indicators
• Apply principles of sensory branding, haptic and package texture design, audio–visual synchrony, and aroma/flavor cues to develop a cohesive multisensory brand signature and a detailed design brief or low‑fidelity prototype
• Demonstrate the ability to craft short screenplays/storyboards or ad treatments that use storytelling, nostalgia, perceived exclusivity, and character dynamics to elicit trust, oxytocin/serotonin-related responses, and shareability
• Evaluate multisensory designs for cognitive fluency, ethical concerns, accessibility, and trustworthiness and produce a prioritized test plan with measurable success criteria for iterative improvement