Greenway smellscape

For a class project for my Experience Design Master’s degree at Northeastern University in 2020, I collected data about the various smells along Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway and a couple of surrounding city streets in order to create a visual “smellscape”.

First, with a partner I canvased the area surrounding the greenway, documenting the various smells along the way, including their intensity and locations. Next, we analyzed the data, identifying nine main categories of smells that recurred. I designed a minimalistic map of the area using Adobe Illustrator so, when it came time to map the smells, the main geographic elements (e.g., specific streets or details of the city) could be easily identifying but the smell data would be the primary focus.

Next we plotted the data points on the map, identifying clusters of smells versus more isolated one-off smells. We also decided that instead of a traditional map with individual markers or pins, we wanted to convey the ephemeral nature of smells with the markers that are used on the map. After some experimentation and several iterations, we landed on a watercolor brush in Illustrator that gave a smoky appearance and effectively conveyed how smell wafts and permeates certain areas, while still maintaining a certain level of geographic distinctness. We also wanted the colors used to give a sense of what kind of smell it was. Bright, intense colors were more positive and intentional smells, like food or coffee, while duller browns and grey indicate less pleasant background smells, like garbage or asphalt.