Sensory Materials; Exhibition design by Studio Joseph; Photo: Matt Flynn ? Smithsonian Institution

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2018

2025

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0500, Sensory Materials

Products are designed with materials meant to influence our emotional and physical responses. Materials have shape, texture, hardness, and weight. A substance can be hot or cold, fuzzy or slick. A glass vessel or a slab of metal makes a distinctive sound when plunked or pinged. Visible textures applied to flat surfaces entice viewers to touch the world with their eyes. New materials sense and react to their environment.

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This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition The Senses: Design Beyond Vision.

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<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/1159162267/ |title=0500, Sensory Materials |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=11 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>