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Evaluative and evocative records

The Sensational Museum > Tools > Collections demonstrator > User guides > Evaluative and evocative records

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You’re now at the fun part of tapping into and recording the sensory potentials of your collections.

Separating out each of the 10 senses, it will ask you to identify and record:

  • ‘Evaluative‘ descriptive sensory content of the collections – ‘3rd person observations’
  • ‘Evocative‘ personal affects of these senses – think ‘1st person reflections’

You will notice that you will be presented with the same senses for both the Evaluative and Evocative sections, but the type of information you add to their sub-categories will be different.

Head back to the ‘Dimensions of sensing‘ page for information on these different aspects of sense and sensing, and the Sensational Examples page for inspiration and guidance on what to record.

Evaluative ‘perceptive’ information

Screenshot of Evaluative information new entry table, with headings for 'Sensory system', 'Context', 'Temporality', 'Description', and a select box of other sensory systems called 'Relationships'
Evaluative information fields

You can include the following information on sensorially perceptive entries for ‘Evaluative‘ enhancements.

Let’s use the example of a balloon

Choose from the dropdown list of senses to describe

See the section on Context and temporality for further support

In what context are you understanding the item?

  • e.g. Balloon – sound: at a children’s birthday party as the clown makes balloon art.

See the section on Context and temporality for further support

How does time interact with the item?

  • e.g. Balloon – sound: Rhythmic inflation of the balloon. Intermittent squeaks as its handled. Momentary loud bang.

Words you might use include:

  • Brief
  • Momentary
  • Transient
  • Rhythmic
  • Periodic
  • Intermittent
  • Continuous
  • Steady
  • Constant

What do you notice about the sense?

  • e.g. Balloon – sound: This is a balloon, that makes a sounds as I fill it with air. It makes a squeaky sound if I rub something with friction against it. If I popped it, it would make a loud bang.

Select which sensory systems this sensory description is linked to (select as many as required)

  • e.g. Balloon – sound: linked to touch (rubbery touch to make the squeaky sound), balance (make me jump/lose balance if it popped).

Evocative ‘affective’ information

You can include the following information on sensorially affective entries for ‘Evocative‘ enhancements.

Screenshot of Evocative information new entry table, with headings for 'Sensory system', 'Context', 'Temporality', 'Physical', 'Emotional', and a select box of other sensory systems called 'Relationships'
Evocative information fields

Let’s use the example of an apple

Choose from the dropdown list of senses to describe

See the section on Context and temporality for further support

In what context are you understanding the item?

  • e.g. Apple – taste: when you a child, you would make apple pie with your grandad.

See the section on Context and temporality for further support

How does time interact the evocative interaction with this item?

  • e.g. Apple – taste: on Saturdays as a child, when you would make apple pie with your grandad ahead of Sunday dinner the next day.

How does it affect you?

  • e.g. Apple – taste: a tart sourness with green apples, more sweetness with red apples, both a little drying

How does it make you feel?

  • e.g. Apple – taste: happy and nostalgic as you recall those days with your grandad, with some sadness as he is no longer alive.

Mapped directly from the brilliant app, How We Feel (which you may like to download), use the chats below to find the right terminology for how you are emotionally affected by the collections.

The quadrant has:

  • High energy unpleasant emotions in the top left
    • getting lower in energy as you move down
    • getting more pleasant as you move right
  • Low energy unpleasant emotions in the bottom left
    • getting higher in energy as you move up
    • getting more pleasant as you move right
  • Low energy pleasant emotions in the bottom right
    • getting higher in energy as you move up
    • getting less pleasant as you move left
  • High energy pleasant emotions in the top right
    • getting lower in energy as you move down
    • getting more pleasant as you move left

These images can also be found in the Teams Central Hub folder

Emotions quadrant map (developed from How we Feel) in gradient colour
Emotions quadrant map (developed from How we Feel) in gradient greyscale

Is how this sensory system affects someone/something connected to another sensory system (select as many as required)

  • e.g. Apple – taste: emotion = happy, satisfied – The act of ‘eating it’ is directly linked to touch/feel (dries out your mouth), interoception (feeling of fullness, less hunger), temperature (cooling your mouth)