Most UX targets sight and sound. Sensory UX designs across all the senses, and there are more of them than the five you were taught.
Sensory UX (also called Sensorial UX) is a UX discipline focused on creating experiences that involve multiple interacting senses in physical, virtual or experiential environments. It recognizes not just the five basic senses but nine: sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell, plus interoception, proprioception, nociception and equilibrioception. Even a simple object, like a well-designed eyeglass case, can use three senses to raise its perceived value, usability and brand meaning.
Key takeaways
- Sensory UX designs experiences where senses interact and enrich each other.
- It recognizes 9 senses, not 5; 'Sensorial' is preferred as more inclusive and cross-language.
- Even simple objects gain value through tactile, visual and auditory cues (the eyeglass-case example).
- It draws heavily on psychology, cognitivism and behaviorism, not just wearables or VR/AR.
- It reconnects UX with its ergonomics and human-factors roots.
Sensory or Sensorial UX?
Both words mean the same thing; ‘Sensorial’ exists in several languages, so it reads as more inclusive. In practice, ‘Sensory UX’ often implies the five senses and wearables, while ‘Sensorial UX’ spans the nine accepted senses and includes physical, digital and experiential (psychological, mood, aspirational) environments.
A simple example
A plain brown lens case becomes a rich experience: a textured surface that resists slipping, hinges you can feel to know which side opens, a velvety interior with an embossed logo signaling care and sophistication, and two distinct sounds, the second confirming it is fully closed. Three senses (sight, touch, hearing) and a mechanical hinge lift the perceived value, usability and brand, with no advanced technology.
The 9 senses
| Sense | What it perceives | Group |
|---|---|---|
| Sight | Light, form and color. | Basic |
| Hearing | Sound and its meaning. | Basic |
| Touch | Texture and contact via skin mechanoreceptors. | Basic |
| Taste | Flavor. | Basic |
| Smell | Odor, strongly tied to memory. | Basic |
| Interoception | The internal state of the body; the ‘sense of life’, central to how we feel. | Added |
| Proprioception (kinaesthesia) | Body position and movement; the basis of ergonomics and product design. | Added |
| Nociception | Pain and discomfort, including unconscious responses. | Added |
| Equilibrioception | Balance, combining vision, the vestibular system and proprioception. | Added |
Two more (thermoception and an alert sense) are sometimes added, but for Sensorial UX they fold into interoception. Sensory integration is how we plan these senses into a product, service or multiform experience; VR and AR are obvious cases, but so is a shop with music, lighting and a light burst of scent.
A UX discipline that designs experiences involving multiple interacting senses across physical, virtual and experiential environments.
They mean the same thing. ‘Sensorial’ is preferred as more inclusive and cross-language, and tends to cover the nine senses and non-wearable experiences.
Beyond the five basics, psychology and neurobiology commonly recognize nine: adding interoception, proprioception, nociception and equilibrioception.
The sense of body position and movement, often called the sixth sense. It is central to ergonomics and product design.
No. VR and AR are obvious examples, but even a simple object or a scented, well-lit store applies sensory integration without complex technology.
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