Olfactory Attribution Circle (OAC): Designing Crossmodal Congruence Between Scent, Color, and Language

This article introduces the Olfactory Attribution Circle (OAC), a conceptual tool for integrating olfaction, color, and linguistic attributes in the design of multisensory atmospheres. Developed through a multi-method strategy, the research combined a systematic literature review, semi-structured interviews with academic and industry sources, a case study of EveryHuman (Algorithmic Perfumery), and AI-assisted exploration. The review revealed a lack of tools operationalizing olfactory design within the built environment. Interviews provided practice-based insights on inclusion, intensity calibration, and feasibility, while the case study demonstrated the potential and limitations of AI-driven personalization. AI was employed to generate mappings between 60 essences, bipolar semantic attributes, and chromatic codes, refined through authorial curation. Results highlight systematic crossmodal correspondences between scents, linguistic attributes, and chromatic values, underscoring the importance of crossmodal congruence in designing coherent sensory experiences. The OAC enables congruent, human-centered olfactory design, though cultural variability and semantic ambiguity limit universal application. The study positions the OAC as both a methodological contribution and a foundation for future empirical testing across diverse cultural contexts.