Pigalle Tavakkoli (School of Experience Design)
In her learning session about capturing hearts and minds by moving from storytelling to storyfeeling, Pigalle Tavakkoli, founder of the School of Experience Design, draws on 15 years hands-on practice as a producer and over 10 years as an educator developing a comprehensive process and methods to achieve long-lasting impactful experiences.
She explains: “The most powerful way to evoke emotions is through storytelling. Neuroscientists have found that when we receive emotionally rich information, it activates up to seven areas of the brain, including the emotion and memory centres.
“In order to truly engage, organizations should move from storytelling to storyfeeling – a term that I’ve coined. They can use their events to tell stories about attendee needs and aspirations, and how the product or service will benefit them and their lives. Storyfeeling, when done well, sparks meaningful connections and builds long-lasting relationships between the attendee and an organization.“
Eleonora Lombriser (Lufthansa Group)
In her learning group about designing customer experiences from an airline perspective, Eleanora, Senior customer experience designer at Lufthansa Group, will share insights on crafting an extraordinary customer experience based on her work at Lufthansa where her achievements include leading design sprints as part of a redesign of the on-board service.
She’s a firm believer in harnessing the power of the senses to enhance daily experience, saying: “Our surroundings influence us – sights, smells, and sounds all have a significant impact on our somatic (physical) reactions and therefore on our state of being and mood. Understanding our body’s response towards sensory input can help us create experiences that make us feel more relaxed and recharged.”
Kim Arazi (innosensi)
Kim’s work and her session about engaging the senses to create smart F&B experiences includes combining sensory science with new technologies to create experiences – often centered around a meal – which break down barriers, challenge assumptions and make us more mindful about our behaviours. She’s worked with chefs, artists, musicians, perfumers, healers and technologists to craft multisensory dining experiences for events including the UN Climate Change conference and London Food Tech Week.
Kim, Founder & Chief Experience Officer at innosensi, explains: “These multisensory experiences mainly revolve around a meal as food is the greatest connector. In many ways, ‘commensality’, or the practice of eating together, is a lost art and a ritual I want to bring back. People feel more open and relaxed when breaking bread together. So essentially, I use the food to tell a story and create experiences that get you out of your head and out of your comfort zone … and that’s when the magic happens!“
