Incense Burners Technocomfort
For Dallys,
Contents Author Biography
--------------------------------------------
2-3
Introduction
--------------------------------------------
4.
Task 2: Essay
--------------------------------------------
5-9
Incense Burner: History
--------------------------------------------
10-11
Research
--------------------------------------------
12
Key Framework User Research Designers in History Designers of Today Pros + Cons
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14-15 16-17 18-19 20-21 22-23
Contributions
--------------------------------------------
24
Design Field Personal Learning
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24-25 26-27
--------------------------------------------
28
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
28-29 30-31 32-33 34-37 38-39
--------------------------------------------
40.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
41-42 42
Object Obeject Proposal Object Development Mind Map Sketches Final Object Conclusion References Figures
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
2.
Angus is a Melbourne based Industrial designer currently completing his 2nd year at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. In 2016 Angus’ mother was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease and had no other choice but to move into a nursing home after it became impossible to care for her at home. She had used incense burners and diffusers her whole life and frequently preached about the effects of certain scents and how they calmed her anxiety that came with being given a death sentence at 49 years of age. Since she passed away Angus has always believed that scent and objects used around scent had a much bigger impact on those with traumatic experiences than previously believed. This study has allowed Angus to explore the research behind these theories and gain a better understanding how people respond to scent and incense burners.
3.
INTRODUCTION Comfort Objects have a place in everyone’s life. The relationship between a user and an object can be extremely complex and can originate from several different factors. A Research project was completed, reviewing the way in which objects can soothe those experiencing traumatic events. In this book we will investigate the research and findings around incense burners and their comforting characteristics and endeavour to develop an incense burner that could act as a soothing addition to a users home.
4.
INCENSE BURNERS ESSAY
During the research process a critical essay was written to discuss the research and findings particularly around scent and the psychology behind it. In this essay it was important to focus on the history of Incense Burners in different cultures. Another important aspect to look at was how humans responded to scent and what those responses meant.
5.
Incense Burners as Comfort Objects TECHNOCOMFORT Grap1043 TASK 2
by Angus Shields S3769838
Introduction Comfort Objects in design have a long history of interacting with a user in a way that we do not yet fully understand and in most cases, unable to harness in mass manufacturing. There are many contributing factors as to why comfort objects play such an important role in our lives. The memory, Aesthetics and utilitarian components of an object are all factors as to why people find objects so comforting. Objects are also used to assist people going through times of trauma (Derksen, W 2015) but just how effective can an object be in the long-term recovery of a traumatic experience? In this essay we will discuss the theories behind scent and how it can be comforting as well as looking at the objects used with scent and how they can directly impact the user. The first point of discussion will be the history of incense burners as well as a focus on the key points in the design of objects around scent and their change in development based on government officials and royalty. An investigation will be done into the use of incense burners as comfort objects and look at various characteristic that make it an addition to the science behind scent and comfort. The essay will also investigate whether scent has any real effect on trauma in the long term.
History of Incense Burners We begin by looking at China in the second century, more specifically 206 -220 BCE it has been recorded that a certain object called a hill censer was used. (Encyclopedia Britannica 1999). These types of burners consisted of a three dimensional structure that was supposed to be a representation of the Daoist Isles of the Blest which is connected to the Taoist search for longevity and immortality.(Gardenvisit 2020). Many burners were found in Han Tombs showing that the scent and the burners were often used in funeral ceremonies and the connection to longevity and immortality played a part in the passing of a person. (Olivia Milburn 2016). Fig 1. Traditional Hill Censer (Han Dynasty 206 -220
lost over the centuries. (Milburn, O 2016).
The knowledge and practices around the scent can only be speculated upon because a lot of that knowledge has been
From the 2nd century to the 4th century the burners evolved again when we look at the roman catholic church and their thuribles which were used in religious ceremonies which can be seen as very different or very similar uses compared to the Han dynasty. (Holy Art 2016). Thuribles and scent were used during ceremonies when the faithful would assemble and the smoke was also used to cleanse and purify a body for a funeral. (Holy Art 2016). These are very similar to the ways in which scent was used in the Han dynasty even though these two cultures and religion are so far from each other. The ways in which the scent and incense burners were used tells me that there is definitely a sense of comfort when it comes to these objects and helps us to understand how these objects and scent might be developed further to become an object of comfort for those that have passed on.
Scent and the Human Mind When looking at these objects and seeing how they have been used in history a lot is definitely unknown in terms of who was designing these objects as no real designers can be seen as having a massive impact or at least they were not recorded. We can see from the way the scent and objects were used that the objects themselves had a deep connection with the immortal within Chinese and Roman cultures as discussed previously. The research began to consider the history of scent and how influential it is on the human mind. While certain scents are known to relax to people and lower cortosone levels as seen in a study conducted by a group of psychologist explored the effects of scent on women under stress. Women have a keener sense of smell and they were put through rigorous test designed to heighten cortosone levels and given a piece of clothing that had their partners scent on it.
The women who smelled their partners scent presented with lower levels of cortosone levels and were less stressed out than the women who were given random scents. (Hofer, Marlise K 2018). This study proves that scent absolutely as an impact on people going through traumatic experiences. Further than this study it has been observed in nursing homes that scent is used to help to improve the lives of eldery people. A study conducted by Consumatics saw that life improved for residents who had scents diffused into the aged care facility. (Reyes, A 2017)
The Design of Incense Burners All three of Norman’s levels of design are evident in the design of incense burners even though the levels have changed over time in terms of what users’ value most. Throughout my research it became clear that users in history valued the 3 levels in the first graph with the reflective aspect being the largest part of why incense burners were so popular. As time moved on users began to value the objects visceral aspects more than the reflective.
Fig 2. Visualisation of how the 3 levels have changed over time
Designers would have had to consider the Visceral design of these objects as well as the Behavioural since these objects need to work well in order to be useful and the reflective design level can be found in the way in which users throughout history have changed these objects to be representation of wealth as well as spirituality. Take the Hill censer by the Han dynasty, this object has been designed to represent mountains in which Taoists believed represented immortality and prosperity in the form of rich land and pasture
(encyclopedia Britannica 2005) the designer also had to account for the smoke being able to escape so the burner was designed with gaps in the mountain structure however how they are placed within the mountain gives depth and texture to the design. If these cultures were able to work utility into the design of these objects back, then there really isn’t much limitation in terms of what can be designed for burners today. As can be seen in the pictures of current burners and how there really are many ways this object can be designed to represent comfort for a single user. We must remember that the object needs to have utility as a large factor in the design. The only negative aspect of the burners being designed in ways that have no limitations, in quite a few instances the religious and cultural traditions of the burners and incense itself have been stripped away. We can see this based on the many products available in the world today. Several burners are merely designed to be comedic gimmicks and are merely table top ‘joke pieces’ and I am hoping that through this project I will be able to develop an object that holds and distributes scent while still connecting with some of the original traditions to do with scent and burners.
Fig 3. Examples of contemporary incense Burners
Conclusion: Diffusers and Scented Oils Technology has seen the development of scent into objects called diffusers which like incense burners emit a scent into the air however they use water and water vapor as opposed to smoke. These objects have become more frequent in households in the modern world as both humidifier and merely for scent use (Mitch nelson 2017) This also opens up the uses for essential oils to be used which takes the uses even further since you can get so many scents in the form of oils that you could not get from powders and smoke. This develops the uses as scent for comfort even further, I have seen the effects and uses of diffusers all my life. The different types of scents were seen to be beneficial for relaxation, sleep and even productivity. (Sowndhararajan K, Kim S. 2016). We can also see the benefits of these scents within health care as discussed previously. Fig 4. Doterra oil Diffuser From these findings we can see that there is evidence that scent has a real impact on the human psychology and can definitley improve the lives of people who are suffering. We can also deduce that there certainly is a possible way an incense burner can be designed alongside scent to become a comfort object.
Appendix 1 Survey Questions
HISTORY In order to get a better understanding of incense burners and how they have changed across the centuries research was conducted to look at how incense burners were interpreted and used in different centuries and different cultures around the world. A few key points in hisotry are represented here.
10.
China - 2nd Century Incense burners used by the Han Dynasty were very valuable objects often designed as a representation of wealth.
China 1368–1644 Incense burners of the Ming dynasty were made in two basic forms: a square vessel on four feet, fitted with two handles and a pierced lid, and a circular tripod vessel. These burners started to find their way into all households both rich and poor.
Japan, 1600–1800 A.D. The Japanese started to develop their own incense burners usually from a porcelain designed with blue markings to represent the delicate nature of the incense.
Today Incense burners definitely have a place holder within many temples as well as the everyday home of those who enjoy the aromatic and spiritual attributes of incense.
11.
RESEARCH Several different tasks were conducted to ensure enough research was taken into account when developing an understanding of the design field. Certain designers assisted along the way as well as feedback from actual users to ensure an object could be developed that would directly contribute to the design field.
12.
Key Frameworks in Emotional Design
Invesigating the users of today
Researching the designers of today
Researching Designers in History
Pros and Cons
Fig 1.
13.
KEY FRAMEWORKS During the research stage of this project designers were constantly being referred back to two designers Don Norman and Marc Hassenzahls. Both of these designers speak a lot about empotional design and user experience. It was important to incorporate some of Don Normans frameworks into the concept of the object however it was a difficult task to try and design with influence from these designers however their framework proved to be helpful.
14.
DON NORMAN VISCERAL BEHAVIOURAL
3 levels of emotional design which can all contribute to the way people react to objects
REFLECTIVE
MARC HASSENZAHLS Marc Hassenzahl’s work focuses on the way in which users interact with their objects. He explores how people use their objects and why.
USER EXPERIENCE
15.
USERS
Survey
While writing the essay it was important to get a better understanding of how users today may interact with sensers. To get information a Survey was developed to collect data. The data collected was not very useful in terms of the final object. The question were not developed enough to actually be relevant to the process of deciding on a type of object however some insight was gained in terms of how important Incense is in modern households.
16.
Fig 2.
17.
DESIGNERS IN HISTORY Incense Burners have been devloped so many different ways in history. Whether they be a representation of wealth or spirituality there has been no shortage of redesigns by different designers having an input on these objects that house scent. In this section we take a look at two designs from history.
18.
Incense Burner 6th Century PAKISTAN (anicent region of Gandhara)
Several historical designers and their credentials have been lost however we are still able to investigate objects as they appear and get an understanding how these things would have been made in the past. As we can see in this photograph this 6th century incense burner curated from India is completely made out of bronze which suggest a certain amount of wealth was needed to own such an object in those times. The design is intricate however looks to be hard to use and would be quite heavy. This is one thing that you do not really see these days is the weight in which some incense burners used to be designed Another design comes from early 20th century China. This bronze incense burner has been made in the shape of a goose and the wings of the goose act as the cover for the incense Chamber. This design is far more practical in terms of utitlity. This design is also a good example of when designers started moving towards a more decorative theme for the burners.
Antique Bronze Incense Burner early 20th century CHINA 19.
DESIGNERS TODAY Looking at past designers is important but when developing an object for today it was decided that one should have a look at some current designs and designers. Through research we came across a couple of designers who really represented the way burners are becoming a decoration staple in homes today.
20.
A P P A R A T U S
Apparatus is a New York based design studio that deals with several objects to do with lighting, furniture and other household items. Their focus is on threading the historical and cultural design properties through a modern lens within the homes of their clients. The censer that they have developed is a Brass and Ceramic combination to represent a chalice and the Brass emits a warm glow from the burning incense.
S T E V E N
A L A N
Steven Alan is a Brooklyn based designer who makes an array of household items like furtniture for adults and children. He has developed this senster whcih is a fairly basic ceramic shape with a glossy finish. The incense is hidden underneath. The design is definitley meant to be minimalist and modern to attrack buyers looking for a censer that may go unnoticed in a household
21.
PROS + CONS Investigating the past and present designer of incense burners proved to be very helpful in getting an idea of some of the key framework behind an incense burner and diffuser. The way in which designers understood scent and space was also interesting to investigate as these played directly into the design of objects. There were definitely good and bad parts about both the present and past designs of incense burners. Let’s take a look.
22.
PROS
Technology has had a huge impact on the world of burners. We have seen over time that people have moved from the traditional incense smoke to utilisign diffusers which distribute scent in an oil form into the air using water vapour. Diffusers are slightly more friendly for the home if one does not want plumes of smoke to fill their enclosed rooms. Diffusers are still not used outside as this is where incense burners are far more useful. it’s clear that the technological advancement in how scent is introduced in homes has been very beneficial for people who live in places like nursing homes. We can see from the research findings that the use of scent in nursing homes can be very beneficial and diffusers are far more effective for this type of setting.
CONS
There were not too many cons when looking at the current designs for incense burners except when concerned with the spiritual connotations of scent. A lot of burners that we have seen today can be categorized as a bastardised version of more traditonal burners found in indian and chinese cultures which can be a very negative thing. Another point is that the negatives of the designs from earlier in history is that older burners were traditionally not very user friendly. Take the thurible for example, it was not easy to replace the incense inside and also was very large and cumbersome. However there is definitley something to learn from the ancient burners in terms of how much the scent was worshipped through the value of the burners.
23.
DESIGN FIELD
Contributions
24.
Within the field of Incense Burners there is definitley no shortage of burners in different shapes, sizes and materials. Through the research and findings it was easy to see that there is room in the incense burner world for comfort objects and it has become clear that designers could pay more attention to the comfort factors when designing an object for scent within the home. From the research we can see that scent plays a huge role in the way humans process certain experiences and emotions and we can also see from the history of incense burners that having an incense stick stuck to an ashtray does not posess the comfort properties that a beautfiully designed object does. The role of scent and incense burners should also be explored far more in the world of comfort objects. Designers have previously looked at the look and feel of an object however scent opens up another world of possibility when designing objects for users as a tool for comfort. Whether or not giving a scent to furniture would be a beneficial addition remains to be seen, however there is enough evidence to support that this should be explored far more in the making of objects.
25.
LEARNING Contributions
26.
As a designer we are always trying to create for the user. We ask ourselves several questions like How will the user interact with this? How will the user find this useful? Will the user like this design? and so on. These questions are something that have always been considered important when designing for a specific group of demographic. The designers aksed themselves these questions over and over but until now had not considered some of the activities like looking at previous designers frameworks and getting feedback from users as a way to develop an object. This process has taught designers several things, not only that the development of an object can be endless but also that it is very important to always be open to findings because you truly will never know what you can come across. The different research activities undertaken have offered a whole set of tools needed to attack any sort of development project. This project has also opened up a world of new possibilities of how you might actually impact a certain design field purely with ideas that have been developed throughout a single set of activities and tasks.
27.
OBJECT PROPOSAL
28.
Designers began this project with the urge to design an incense burner that could act as a comfort object for those who have experienced traumatic events in their life. Trying to come up with a concept based on the research and all the frameworks used by previous designers, proved to be far more difficult than anticipated. Activities like mind maps and thumbnail sketching helped a little bit and the design began moving in a direction that is a direct result of the informtation gathered. The object being developed is a wooden Incense Burner meant to house Incense sticks and Incense cones. The materials will be wood and brass the main body will be carved out of wood and smoothed to be soft to touch. The brass sheet will then have petal shapes cut out of it to insert into the sides of the top half of the burner. This object will pay homage to the original designs of burners while incorporating a natural element as through the research it was evident that familiarity was important for helping people deal with stress and trauma. Therefore the object will represent a sunflower which is a very common flower that s widely associated with positivity.
29.
DEVELOP OBJECT Once the research side of this project had been completed we began to look at developing a comfort object using all the research gathered about this specifc object. In order to begin several exercises were done to ensure all aesthetic properties and characteristics were thought out and chosen with an idea in mind.
30.
MIND MAPPING
SKETCHING
EXPLORING FORM AND MATERIALS
REVIEWING FINDINGS
SKETCHING THE FINAL OBJECT
MAKING THE OBJECT
Fig 3.
31.
MIND MAP During the conceptualising stage of the object making it was important to invesitage certain qualities that were seen as comforting in terms of the specific object. Using the research material as inspiration it was quickly determined which aesthetic qualities were needed to create a sense of memory and calmness in my object.
32.
MEMORY BLUES FLOWER
NATURE
WOODEN
OBJECT
SAND
SOFT
Fig 4.
33.
SKETCH CONCEPT
Sketching the idea of the final object was challenging considering there are so many ways an incense burner can be interpreted. As mentioned previously it was understood that there were certain characterisitics that should be included however that does not mean that other styles and shapes should not be considered. This is where thumbnail sketching became a very useful tool for exploration.
34.
35.
36.
These sketches are where the floral concept began to develop into an actual object.
Fig 5.
37.
THE OBJECT
After conducting research into scent and the way users respond, it became clear that the design of the final object needed to incorporate elements from nature as this is something that is universally familiar to all humans. When deciding on what aspects of nature to include in the design it was decided that floral elements needed to be included. This is how the sunflower burner you see here was born. Designers played around with the wood textures and decided that the burner should be a rich mahogany that comes apart into two pieces for ease of use. Then brass pieces are used to make the petals, giving the burner a warm element. 38.
SUNFLOWER BURNER
Fig 6.
39.
CONCLUDE Reflection
Throughout all the stage of this project there were many times when one would question whether the work was going to amount to anything. It can be a difficult task trying to investigate the way in which humans interact with objects as it is a very personal thing for someone to feel a certain way about a design. One of the most enjoyable aspects of this process was reviewing and investigating the data behind how people react to scent and find it comforting in several ways. Specifically, the findings around scent being used in Nursing homes is very intriguing and leaves one feeling very hopeful in terms of how scent can be used to improve people’s lives. Something that was found difficult was trying to gather enough evidence and testimony to create a single object. Never the less the object development process was not as hard as anticipated and an object was created although it would have been better to be able to make this object and experiment more with the actual physicality of the materials alongside the research found. It brings great satisfaction knowing that the designers have been able to take the research and the findings and collaborate with designers who already focus on comfort and put it all together to propose an object that can be a beautiful addition to any home as well as provide a soothing essence to those who may need extra help when trying to calm down.
40.
REFERENCE 1. 2.
APPARATUS STUDIO. 2020. CENSER. [ONLINE] Available at: https://apparatusstudio.com/ products/censer/. [Accessed 24 May 2020]. Sight Unseen. 2020. Top 5: Incense Burners. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.sightunseen. com/2015/03/incense-burners/. [Accessed 24 May 2020].
3.
Milburn, O., 2016. Aromas, Scents, and Spices: Olfactory Culture in China before the Arrival of Buddhism. Journal of the American Oriental Society, [Online]. 136, 441-464. Available at: https:// www.jstor.org/stable/10.7817/jameroriesoci.136.3.0441?seq=1 [Accessed 25 April 2020].
4.
STEVEN ALAN. 2020. Steven Alan. [ONLINE] Available at: https://stevenalan.com/. [Accessed 23 May 2020].
5.
Hassenzahl, M., 2018. User Experience and Experience Design. The Encyclopedia of HumanComputer Interaction, [Online]. 2nd, -. Available at: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/ book/the-encyclopedia-of-human-computer-interaction-2nd-ed/user-experience-and-experiencedesign [Accessed 24 May 2020].
6.
Ben Cheng Arts, (2020), CHINESE HAN DYNASTY BRONZE HILL CENSER AND COVER, BOSHANLU [ONLINE]. Available at: https://benchengarts.com/2015/05/25/chinese-handynasty-bronze-hill-censer-and-cover-boshanlu/ [Accessed 28 April 2020]
7.
Britannica. 2020. Incense Burner. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/art/ incense-burner. [Accessed 1 April 2020].
8.
-, -., 2020. Taoism/Daoism, Nature and the Isles of the Immortals. Gardenvisit, [Online]. -, -. Available at: https://www.gardenvisit.com/history_theory/garden_landscape_design_articles/ sacred_gardens/taoism_nature_isles_immortals [Accessed 26 April 2020].
9.
HolyBlog. 2016. Thuribles in liturgical function. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.holyart. com/blog/church-supplies/thuribles-liturgical-function/. [Accessed 28 April 2020].
10.
Diffuser World. 2017. History Of Ultrasonic Diffusers. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www. diffuserworld.com/FeedItem/History-Of-Ultrasonic-Diffusers/. [Accessed May 2020].
11.
Fragrance Library. 2019. The History of Incense Fragrances. [ONLINE] Available at: https:// www.fragrancex.com/fragrance-information/the_history_of_incense_fragrances.html. [Accessed 30 March 2020].
12.
Ambius. 2017. Impact of Scents in Care Homes. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.ambius. com/blog/uplifting-effect-scents-care-homes/. [Accessed 20 May 2020].
13.
KCP International. 2019. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JAPANESE INCENSE AND KŌDŌ. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.kcpinternational.com/2019/05/the-significance-of-japaneseincense-and-kodo%EF%BB%BF/. [Accessed 22 May 2020]
14.
Thespiritualroom. 2015. Recovering from Trauma: Transitional Objects. [ONLINE] Available at: http://thespiritualroom.com/recovering-trauma-transitional-objects/. [Accessed 26 May 2020].
41.
15.
The MET (Public Domain), (2020), Incense Burner in Three Parts [ONLINE]. Available at: https:// www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/37681 [Accessed 25 May 2020].
16.
Daderot, (2014), Incense burner (boshanlu) [ONLINE]. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia. org/wiki/File:Incense_burner_(boshanlu),_China,_Shaanxi_or_Henan_province,_Eastern_ Han_dynasty,_1st_or_2nd_century_AD,_lead-glazed_earthenware_-_Ethnological_Museum,_ Berlin_-_DSC02180.JPG [Accessed 22 May 2020].
17.
unknown, (1998), Antique Chinese Bronze Goose Incense Burner [ONLINE]. Available at: https:// www.trocadero.com/stores/zentner/items/1217417/Antique-Chinese-Bronze-Goose-IncenseBurner [Accessed 25 May 2020].
Figure 1. A quick glance at all of the research activities conducted. Figure 2. The results gathered from the User Surveys. Figure 3. A quick glance at all the stages that went into the development of the final object. Figure 4. Mind Map of all the possible characteristics to include in the final work. Figure 5. The thumbnail and concept sketches completed during the developing process. Figure 6. The rendered final Object: Sunflower Burner.
42.