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Daniel Gilmartin 255740 OUIL501 Context Of Practice 2 ‘How are sensory and psychological techniques employed by modern day consumer environments to ensure consumptive potency?

“At the end of the twentieth century, with shopping escalating to a scale, density, and pervasiveness that operates more effectively as landscape than architecture, shopping composes enticing environments where sound, scent, light, air and even plants are all manipulated to extract the desired response from consumers” (p.142. Inaba et al. 2000). In a society that revolves around consuming, thousands of sites exist around the world that have been engineered to generate a need for spending money and consumer goods. Preying upon the basic human need to consume, examples of postmodern consumer environments include; Theme parks, cruise ships, casinos, tourist resorts, hotels, restaurants and shopping malls - every aspect, ranging from architecture to the scent of a place, is carefully considered to generate one thing; money. These aspects are closely related to the theory of psychogeography, which refers to "the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals”, defined by Guy Debord, a french marxist theorist in 1955. The psychogeographic elements in which Debord refers to can be seen in a number of modern day environments that dedicate themselves to consuming, such as retail environments, theme parks like Disneyland, and the city of Las Vegas; examples that will later be analysed. I intend to explore a variety of techniques that are employed and evaluate how they have been used for effect.

Firstly, the birth of consumerism plays a massive part in the world we live in today and how we are able to shop, dating back to the start of the industrial revolution in 1760’s England, which ultimately changed the way goods were manufactured forever. As opposed to being made by hand, the development of machinery and technology in factories allowed for products to be made quicker, in larger quantity and better quality; “…one of the most important inventions, enabled textile workers to make up to fifty times more cloth than they could by hand”. (p.16. Kubesh et al. 2001).

Additionally with other goods like furniture and clothing becoming available, Victorian Consumerism was a mile stone in the development of today’s mass consumer society; ““Looking” became a part of the shopping process. More and more of the middle and upper class women had time to spend looking for clothing, furnishings and more. Store fronts became more elaborate with the addition of expensive glass windows drawing the shoppers into their stores to view more of their wares, thus "looking" became synonymous with "window shopping”. (Malheiro, 1999). From this quote, it is understood that in the victorian era, emphasis was placed on the aesthetic of a shop window, in order to maximise sales, an technique that is still used today.

It is only in the modern day that the art of retail has become so finely tuned, especially in department stores. The origin of the department store dates back to the early 19th century, which “educated people to want objects and played a crucial role in determining the essentials of middleclass life and aspirations” (Abelson, 1989). From this quote it is understood that the need for certain materialistic goods became recognised, which would then lead to something on a larger scale, referring to the development of a mass consumer society; “In today's consumer culture the mall is the center of the universe.” (Feinburg, 1991). As technology has developed, familiar and seemingly innocent inventions such as escalators and air conditioning have made the act of shopping a much smoother and enjoyable process, driving the idea of department stores further, and allowing the birth of shopping malls. The introduction of the electronic escalator, despite being invented in 1859, allowed for an uninterrupted shopping experience, creating a constant flow of people and products, as illustrated in fig1, and the ability to create a comfortable temperature inside shopping malls, reducing fatigue, making interacting with products easier than ever before.

The image in fig1 is an image from the Otis Elevator Marketing Company brochure from 1949, which illustrates the link between sales and the ability to effortlessly glide from floor to floor, meaning that consumers could shop for longer. Although these techniques aren’t psychologically

manipulative, they demonstrate a certain level of control around an environment that customers are often unaware of, directing their attention to aspects in a specific order. “The escalator accommodates and combines any flow, efficiently creates smooth transitions between one level and another, and even blurs the distinction between separate levels and individual spaces” (p.136, Inaba et al, 2001).

This same technique can be seen in a modern day IKEA store, and plays on a key principal of retail; “the more time a shopper spends in a shop the more likely it is that he or she will buy something” (Baumann S, IKEA and the psychology of shopping). Ikea is the worlds largest furniture retailer, making profits of €21.846 billion in 2009 (statista, 2015). Although the worldwide chain of IKEA stores are well known for their affordable and trendy furniture designs, there is another key contributing element to their success and profit generation; the architecture and layout of their stores around the world. From above, an average IKEA store depicts a maze(fig2), with only one entrance and one exit, with a string of arrows efficiently directing the consumer through the shop.

The use of arrows, the internationally understood symbol of direction, is underestimated in terms of directing an individuals attention; “When an arrow points to a location it helps the viewer filter out the extraneous and focus on where the arrow leads” (Bradley, 2014). In turn, this distinct pathway through the store has been carefully considered to show the products to customers in a certain order to maximise sales, despite a quote from Carole Reddish, Ikea’s managing director for UK and Ireland, stating otherwise; “Our furniture showrooms are designed to give our customers lots of ideas for every area of the home including your kitchen, bedroom and living room”(Tozer, 2011). It has been speculated that the design of the store also forces customers to see every product before they can leave, which is also an effective yet concerning thought. Once again this is quite an aggressive physical approach, as opposed to other elements in Debord’s theory, but non the less effective, and has been described as a “psychological weapon” (Tozer, 2011).

As stated previously, retail environments aren’t the only place that psychogeographical elements are utilised to control the consumer; Theme parks are notorious for it and use the techniques on a larger, more psychological scale. “Disney World is the ultimate showcase for postmodernism and postmodern society because of the way it uses simulation to create the illusion we can overcome the limits of time and space, self and society” (Sanes, transparencynow). This quote highlights the essence of amusement parks, and the extent to which individuals can be manipulated within them.

Theme parks are notoriously known for being different worlds when stepped into, where each insignificant detail has been designed and engineered; “successful amusement parks are conceptually unified and planned to their last detail… they are well‐bounded, organized, entertaining, neat, self‐made, self‐contained, self‐sufficient, and fun” (MacCannell, 2002). This quote refers to an element of setting reality aside inside the park, which in turn would lead to disregard of a tourist’s budget, thus encouraging them to spend more on their hedonistic experience. Disney world first opened in Florida, USA, on October 1st 1971, and is the most visited vacation resort in the world. The park is described as a “Modern utopia” where dreams are made reality, appealing to an extensive worldwide audience, consisting of various attractions, restaurants, stalls and more. The design and architecture within the park, including the giant Cinderella's Castle create an element of idyl escapism, adding a ‘fun’ element to any tourists visit; “[Disneyworld is] nearer to what people want than anything architects have given them… it’s symbolic of American utopia” (p.166. Illas, 2012).

Not only is it architectural aspects that are utilised at Disneyland, but colour plays a massive role, mentally and physically. The colour schemes used throughout the park contribute to the idea of ‘perfection’, and reiterate a dreamlike quality. To compliment that, a shade called ‘Go Away Green’ (fig3), can be seen throughout the park, which is a sickly, pale green colour. The colour has been engineered to hide certain aspects; “The less-than-magical parts of the park, such as fences, garbage bins, and administrative buildings, are all coated in a colour known as “Go Away Green”— a shade that’s meant to help things blend in with the landscaping.”(Williford, 2015). On a psychological level, this colour is overlooked and almost unrecognised by the human eye. The use of colour in spaces, in order to manipulate individuals, is a technique that has always been considered highly effective and biologically defined, generating a whole spectrum of reactions.

In the 1960’s, a shade of pink, referred to as ‘Baker-Miller Pink’ was used to coat the walls of prison cells at Naval Correctional Facility in Seattle, as seen in (fig.4). Alexander Schauss, a Director at the American Institute for Biosocial Research in Tacoma, Washington, conducted extensive research into the way this colour made people feel, and found that “The effect of exposure to Baker-Miller pink is purported to reduce aggressive and violent behaviour…, reduce strength…, and lower blood pressure and pulse rate.” (Gilliam, J.E et al. 1988), understandably outlining the effectiveness of colour on emotions. Colour theory in relation to behaviour can be applied to most spaces in today’s society. Colour theorist and poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, speculated alot about the psychological impact of colours on mood and emotion, illustrating his findings in a colour wheel in 1809 (fig5). His theory suggest a range of reactions to individual colours, for example, Yellow being seen as “serene, gay, softly exciting in character” (p.336, Barasch, 2001). In relation to the use of colour in Disneyland, it’s schemes can be analysed with Goethe’s theory. Based on the colours displayed in (fig6), an image from Disney Lands primary website, the use of blue on the tops of the castle can be linked to excitement and pleasure.

Another example of manipulative techniques is the use of scents; “Disneyland's Main Street confectionery store has been pumping candy aromas into the air outside the store from its "Smellitzer" machines” (Ravn K, 2007). This technique is known as scent marketing, and is a psychogeographical technique that sways towards having a more psychological impact. The effect of this is based around the idea of wanting something that an individual smells, and is a prime example of how Disneyland utilises all of it’s customers senses, in order to manipulate them and push them to consume. Like colour, scents have a powerfully influential hold over the mind, and are once again used in most consumer environments. “Perhaps the greatest growth in scent marketing… has taken place with regard to the use of ambient scent,…, emitting scent into the atmosphere of hotels, retail stores, casinos, or restaurants as an element of an environment’s atmospherics…, popularly believed to have the potential to create positive mood states…, which will then translate into more favourable store and product evaluations and eventually into higher sales revenues” (p.76, Krishna, 2010). This quote outlines the subtle yet highly influential effect that ambient scent can have on the consumer, and hints at the growing demand for specially engineered scenting amongst consumer based company’s.

There are hundreds of factors that Disneyland utilises to generate maximum sales, each of them reiterating Debord’s theory. Other techniques that have been speculated, include using heat and dark coloured pavements to keep people moving around the park, and the use of air conditioning in certain places like the Emporium, which is “the coldest shop in the entire park” (Doyle, 2007).

Compared to other consumer environments that have been analysed, Disneyland’s use of pyschogeographic techniques are evidently suggested to be more aggressive, linking directly to it’s success as a tourist destination.

Finally, a place that has been described as a ‘Disneyworld for Adults’; the American city of Las Vegas, famously referred to as the ‘city of sin’, is one of the most iconic man-made consumer environments in history. Made up of hundreds of resorts, hotels, bars and clubs it is the nation’s second biggest destination for tourists (tripadvisor.com, 2016), and is a highly simulated hot bed of excitement and hedonism. One of the main appealing factors of Las Vegas is its skyline, made up of the pyramids, the statue of liberty, the eiffel tower, and other replicated iconic landmarks, posing the idea that everything needed for a tourist is there in one convenient package, exemplifying appropriation of cultural heritage in a setting of materialism. As well as the tacky convenience of seeing the world in one place, Vegas offers an experience that transports tourists from their mundane, day to day lives, to a place where they can over indulge in excitement, luxury, and hedonistic behaviour is encouraged; “you can do pretty much anything 24/7 in Vegas” (tripadvisor.com, 2016). This image from Martin Parr(fig8), depicts one of Vegas’ best known hotels, The Luxor, that is based thematically around the pyramids of Egypt. Although Parr’s intention was to poke fun at american culture and the irony of a cowboy visiting this replica of the pyramids, this photograph displays an interesting insight into the environment of Las Vegas. It is clear that a large amount of detail has been incorporated into transporting the tourist, including

palm trees and a small scale Sphinx. These elements are closely related to the techniques used in Disneyland, whereby the tourist is separated from reality, leading to bigger disregard of budget.

These decorations also create a sense of grandure and reflect the big and brash nature of the american psychy; “It is the architectural equivalent of a hyperbole, inviting visitors into a world full of exclamation points.” (Sanes, transparencynow).

Other design elements referred to in Debord’s psychogeography theory are present in the engineered ‘after hours theme park’ that is the Casino, a place most specific to Las Vegas. These settings once again employ a large number of techniques that influence and facilitate human behaviour, to keep individuals playing the games and spending money. The term ‘Servicescape’ is one that can be applied to the environment of a casino, and refers to the impact of the physical environment in which a service process takes place. The term was developed by marketing researchers Bernard Booms and Mary Bitner, in 1981, in order to assess an environment in which a service takes place, by customer satisfaction. The servicescape refers to an exterior (landscape, exterior design, signage, parking, surrounding environment) and interior (interior design and decor, furniture, signs, layout, air quality, temperature and ambience), and how these aspects have an effect on business and revenue.

Photographer, Chris Maluszynski created a series entitled ‘Carpets in Las Vegas’, which display a range of the garishly colourful and almost psychedelic carpets that are incorporated into the setting of the Casino(fig9). “Maluszynski concludes that the carpeting isn't just aesthetic torture, but, just like the lack of windows and clocks (and the constant barrage of free booze), is a canny design choice” (Biddle, 2010). Although there is a lot of conspiracy surrounding the mechanics of the Casino, there are many understandable theories that highlight a manipulative force that keeps individuals playing, for example the design of the carpets have been said to be so bright and colourful that they have an awakening effect, encouraging individuals to stay on the machines.

Other visual elements like Shape also have an emotional response within the casino environment.

The image in fig10 displays the casino environment of The Luxor hotel, one of Vegas’ best known hotel’s, that is based thematically around ancient Egypt. Aswell as the bright use of colour, themed decor and open space, the use of round shapes in the architecture and furniture is one that can be analysed as a manipulative element. “Rounded shapes have been related to pleasant emotions for various products like furniture…, cars…, car interiors…, and other everyday objects”(p.97 Batra, et al. 2015) which explains the use of repetitive circle patterns and rounded architecture in this particular environment, highlighting how the setting is perceived by it’s customers. It outlines how casino’s want people to feel at ease and welcome within the setting, so that they are likely to return, and continue to spend money. Round shapes have also been said to add visual interest to an aesthetic, creating an appealing element in order to draw consumers in.

Ultimately, gambling is the main reason for the existence of the casino. In relation to gambling, and encouraging an individual to take high risks while gambling, the casino environment use a variety of psychogeographical elements to stimulate the consumer. Factors like sound and smell, like other consumer environments, are used for the desired effect of emptying the pockets of their patrons. “Constant noise and sound gives the impression of a noisy, fun and exciting environment, and that winning is more common than losing since sounds are linked to ‘hitting the jackpot’” (Lau, 2016), another quote that pin points an average casino’s intention to control an idividual. It is understood from this quote that the consumers perception of their chance of winning is important in influencing how much they are willing to risk.

The sensory and psychological techniques that modern day consumer environments employ are evident in a plethora of sites around the world. In relation to Debord’s theory of psychogeography, there is a huge implication that an environment can have an emotional effect on an individual, negative or positive, and that these elements are being engineered in order to maximise consumptive potency in retail stores, theme parks and casinos. These techniques can be analysed in light of Goethe’s colour theory, or gestalt shape theory, and can also be made sense of through the study of semiotics. From analysing a range of consumer environments, it is understood that the

atmospherics of these sites are used to create a servicescape, that ensures a positive experience, and the return of customers, thus generating more profit through consumptive potency.