In this study, we test the immersive character in an interactive content narrative developed for Microsoft HoloLens 2 mixed reality glasses in the dining context. We use retrospective think aloud protocol (RTAP) and galvanic skin response (GSR) to explore different types of immersion that can be created through interactive content narratives. Leaning on the core dimensions of the experience economy, we expand the current understanding on the role of immersion through integration of four immersive experience facilitators. The study revealed that these immersive experience facilitators occur simultaneously and can be enhanced through interactive content narrative design. Perceived novelty and curiosity were identified as key determinants to keep consumers engaged in the immersive experience and engage with the content. The study verifies the use of galvanic skin response in combination with retrospective think aloud protocol as a suitable approach to measure emotional engagement potential in interpreting consumers’ recollection of immersive experiences.
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This study introduces the first steps of an on-going project and examines the suitability of biometric measurements for the analysis of dining experiences in combination with self-reports by 25 participants.
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The goal for the coming years is to get insight in the guest experience in hotels. What is guest experience? How to measure guest experience? What is the relation between guest experience and guest loyalty? And finally, what tangible elements in the physical environment of hotels and the contact with hotel employees may improve the experience of hotel guests? And in what way should these elements be changed? This paper describes the first and second step towards this goal: a theoretical background of guest experience and the development of the Guest Experience Scan for NH Hoteles. This Guest Experience Scan is a quantitative instrument trying to measure guests’ affective evaluation of the physical environment of the hotel and the contact with the hotel employees.
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We live in a society that is increasingly dominated by technology-mediated interactions and consumption of experiences. It has opened pathways to innovative immersive technology concepts in the food and dining context, contributing to the development of a consumption-oriented society. This project addresses the challenge how to stimulate consumers through immersive technology designs to make conscious choices leading to more sustainable behaviors in the food and dining context. This project evolves around designing and testing Extended Reality (XR) technology-mediated immersive food experiences in the food and dining context to stimulate sustainable food consumption behavior. It includes the use of complementing measurement tools to test the effectiveness of XR designs to make better XR technology design choices that can stimulate change in consumption behavior.
Inside Out is an innovative research project that translates cutting-edge microbiome science into immersive, multisensory experiences aimed at long-term behavioral and mental health transformation. Combining extended reality (XR), speculative gastronomy, and narrative therapy, the project enables participants to explore their inner microbiome landscape through taste, smell, touch, and interactive storytelling. This pioneering methodology connects gut-brain science with emotional and sensory engagement. Participants experience their bodies from the inside out, cultivating a visceral understanding of the symbiotic microbial worlds within us. The project includes AI-generated "drinkable memories," microbiome-inspired food designs, haptic-olfactory VR environments, and robotic interactions that choreograph the body as terrain. Developed in collaboration with designers from Polymorf, producer Studio Biarritz, psychiatrist-researcher Anja Lok, and microbiome scientists from Amsterdam UMC and the Amsterdam Microbiome Expertise Center, Inside Out bridges scientific rigor with artistic expression. The project seeks to: • Increase embodied understanding of the microbiome’s role in health and well-being • Shift public perception from hygiene-based fear to ecological thinking • Inspire behavioral change related to food, gut health, and mental resilience The outcomes are designed to reach a large audience and implementation in science museums, art-science festivals, and educational programs, with a view toward future clinical applications in preventive healthcare and mental well-being. By making the invisible microbiome tangible, Inside Out aims not only to inform, but to transform—redefining how we relate to the ecosystems within us.
We had been involved in the redesign of the 4 Period Rooms of the Marquise Palace, also called the Palace of Secrets, in Bergen op Zoom. This design was based on the biography of a historical figure: Marie Anne van Arenberg, whose dramatic life was marked by secrets. Each of the 4 rooms represents a turning moment in Marie Anne’s story: the official marriage, the secret marriage and the betrayal, the dilemma and choice, with, in a final room, the epilogue. These different episodes are reflected in the way the rooms are furnished: the ballroom, the bedroom, the dining room. The Secret Marquise as design and exhibition has brought more visitors to the museum. As designers and researchers, however, we were interested in understanding more about this success, and, in particular, in understanding the visitors experience, both emotionally and sensorially at different moments/situations during the story-driven experience.In the fall of 2021, the visitors’ lived experience was evaluated using different approaches: a quantitative approach using biometric measurements to register people’s emotions during their visit, and a qualitative one consisting of a combination of observations, visual imagery, and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).Qualitatively, our aim was to understand how respondents made sense of Marie Anne’s story in the way in which this was presented throughout the exhibition. We specifically looked at the personal context and frame of reference (e.g., previous experiences, connection to the visitor’s own life story, associations with other stories from other sources). In the design of the rooms, we used a combination of digital/interactive elements (such as a talking portrait, an interactive dinner table, an interactive family painting), and traditional physical objects (some 17th century original objects, some reproductions from that time). The second focal point of the study is to understand how these different elements lead the visitors experience.
