Imagine a business that not only provides excellent products or services but also appears to understand exactly what you enjoy and which experiences make you happy. This is the power of aesthetic empathy, a hidden element that distinguishes certain businesses from others. When we talk about aesthetics, we are referring to sensory enjoyment. It stems from the Greek word “estetiko” and refers to perceptual strength and sensory awareness.

Aesthetic empathy is the capacity to put yourself in your client’s shoes and comprehend what they find visually appealing, what sounds and fragrances elicit pleasant feelings, and what textures and flavours they can’t resist. When a brand masters this technique, it establishes a strong emotional connection with its target audience, creating loyalty and advocacy like no other. It is critical to remember that aesthetics is more than just about beauty. Although it might be lovely, that is not its core.

Aesthetics is defined as the perception of the senses: how objects seem, feel, sound, taste, and smell to a person. Aesthetic empathy is knowing and interpreting what pleasures people in terms of sensory experiences, how they react to various stimuli, and what you may do to increase their sense of delight and anticipation even more. So, what distinguishes artistic empathy from traditional empathy?

Regular empathy, as we generally define it, is a passive concept. It’s about recognising and comprehending other people’s emotional states. Aesthetic empathy is a more active and creative process. It entails paying attention to others’ preferences and utilising your imagination to enhance their experiences in a way that is important and meaningful to them. It goes beyond just knowing their feelings; it’s about understanding what thrills people and finding methods to amplify that joy to create a more engaging and lasting experience.

To cultivate aesthetic empathy, one must be aware of the current moment and the events occurring around them. Cultivating aesthetic intelligence can significantly improve the potential for aesthetic empathy. This technique is very introspective and self-centred, forcing you to go on a journey of self-discovery and expression.

Here are some exercises to help improve and enhance your aesthetic tastes:

• Conduct a sensory audit on yourself: Begin by using your intuitive method to conduct a sensory audit that includes all five senses. Investigate the emotions elicited by various colours, tastes, fragrances, tunes, noises, and tactile experiences. Endorphins, oxytocin, serotonin, adrenaline, and dopamine are some of the neurotransmitters or chemicals released by each sense that cause an emotional reaction.
• Expose yourself to new types of art: Art is a very important way to nurture aesthetic empathy. Try to expose experience new types of art, and take notice of how this makes you feel.
• Create sensory mood boards: Working on a sensory mood board of your memories and sensations can be very interesting and helpful. Think about what feels good to you or not (and why).
• Explore new environments: Develop strategies to avoid daily distractions. Allow yourself room, immerse yourself in other places, attempt new sensory experiences, and discover things in novel ways.
• Explore your interests and dislikes to boost your confidence: Creativity comes from motivating yourself with various stimuli, including things you enjoy and those you don’t like. 

REAL-LIFE EXAMPLES OF BRANDS USING AESTHETIC EMPATHY

In recent years, some forward-thinking firms have experimented with aesthetic empathy to improve their services and provide more pleasurable, engaging experiences for their consumers. These firms want to elicit certain emotions and make a lasting impact on their customers by meticulously building multimodal experiences.

Google’s “A Space For Being” Exhibition

Google, in partnership with prominent scientists, has demonstrated the tremendous influence of aesthetic experiences on our health and well-being with their unique “A Space for Being” display. By precisely constructing rooms with varied lighting, noises, fragrances, and textures, the exhibition stimulates visitors’ senses in novel ways, illustrating how neuroaesthetics and the proper mix of components may improve our mental state.

IKEA and SONOS: Combining Sound and Furnishing

IKEA, a world-renowned furniture store, collaborated with SONOS, a major sound system manufacturer, to produce the SYMFONISK table light. This brilliant innovation elegantly merges light and sound into a single, tiny device, helping to tidy homes by lowering the number of devices and wires required. IKEA and SONOS have combined two fundamental parts of home design to produce a product that appeals to both the visual and audio senses, therefore improving the overall aesthetic experience.

The Ritz-Carlton’s Multisensory Brand Experience

The Ritz-Carlton, a premium hotel business, is well-known for providing its guests with exceptional experiences. As part of its corporate identity, the firm invests in multisensory experiences, adding distinct fragrances and sounds throughout its facilities. In Bangalore, they have taken this concept to new heights with the launch of “Dineamation”, an immersive dining experience that combines culinary pleasures with engaging entertainment. The Ritz-Carlton’s goal is to build a deeper connection with its guests by engaging numerous senses, ensuring that their stay is memorable and emotionally resonant.

BALANCING THE AESTHETIC AND COMMERCIAL IMPERATIVES

Brands are always in confrontation with the aesthetic and commercial imperatives. Commercial goals refer to financial and operational objectives, as well as a desire to be more efficient and cost-effective. As a business organisation, trying to be faster is frequently a problem, as opposed to taking the time to produce what is constructed to endure artistically – which is beautiful. These two elements are motivated by distinct outcomes: the commercial goal is profit and money, whereas the aesthetic imperative is consumer resonance and a unique notion that stands out from the crowd.

When the client is unhappy and does not feel a connection with the brand, the investor will be dissatisfied as well. These two forces have distinct temporal spans. The aesthetic imperative takes time to complete and is a long-term commitment. Often, what we accomplish in a firm in the short term takes longer to pay off, but commercial objectives are often judged over a shorter period.

A good balance in driving this conflict results in a strong brand. If a firm is very artistic and focuses on emotional resonance, creativity, or innovation, it will struggle to sustain the practical part. The finest leaders do not attempt to overcome the conflict between artistic and business imperatives. They try to balance it.