"The last decade or so has seen the steady rise of the ‘Dine-in-the-dark’ or ‘Dans le noir’ restaurant, where diners pay to eat and drink in complete darkness. Why are these restaurants popular? Addressing this question requires consideration of several others, such as: Does food really taste better in the dark? And, does dining in the dark provide any meaningful insight into how the blind experience food and drink? This article argues that it is the constant feeling of surprise, based on the delivery of unusual sensory experiences, that may really make such dark dining experiences so unusual and intriguing for the customers." (PDF attached for full read)

Aoife Brief: 

The Sunrise Symphony: A musical coffee shelf that enhances the ritual of making a morning cup of coffee by adding a calming, musical sensation to intensify the senses during the coffee brewing process. The shelf has placeholders for coffee beans, a coffee grinder, a french press, a kettle, and a mug. The table represents the ritualization of brewing coffee and adds an element of music, thus uplifting and energizing the morning.  

The Sunrise Symphony is for the average person who enjoys a fresh french press coffee in the morning. This benefits users in the morning by creating a serene environment. The song produced at the end of the coffee-making process can elevate a user’s morning, which in effect, can improve their entire day. The shelf uses coded photo-resistors that act as a switch to play music when light is shown on them. When a user removes an appliance, like a kettle, the first beat will start as the light shines on the vacant kettle resting place. At the very end, users cane joys their hot coffee while listening to the five-layered track song. 

Ollo Brief:

A table which enhances the process of creating a morning coffee by adding a musical aspect to help a user wake up and further intensify the ritual of brewing coffee.

The Coffee Music Table acts as another dose of something to wake someone up,  specifically targeted to stimulate a user's auditory system early in the morning. Underneath the table, there are photoresistors acting as motion sensors which play music when an object is removed.  As users move through each step of making french pressed coffee, a new layer of music is added, creating an entire song loop by the end. The jazz is the genre of music featured in the machine. This product contains sensors that activate when an object is removed from the table, triggering an mp3 shield to play the corresponding layer of music. While many products on the market bridge the gap between music and coffee by adding a melody to a coffee machine, the Coffee Music Table brings music into the ritual of the coffee making and consumption process.  The product is designed for those who do not like mornings, avid coffee drinkers, and/or music listeners.