Flipping Perspectives: Visualising Digital Smell Training

Recovering a lost ability is rarely easy, but unlike strengthening a muscle, progress in smell training, repeated exposure to specific scents to support recovery or maintain function, is often invisible. For those undergoing Digital Smell Training (DST), data visualisations may be the only markers of change. But how can graphs and numbers sustain motivation over months of slow, unpredictable recovery? This pictorial adopts a Research through Design approach to explore how data visualisations might better support motivation, adherence, and long-term engagement in DST. We draw on a six-month in-home study with 18 participants with varying olfactory abilities using a technology probe. Following initial feedback, we ran a co-design workshop to understand participants’ visualisation needs. These insights informed eight design directions and three visualisation concepts, later evaluated in a focus group. We explore how visualisations help "flip perspectives", from tracking outcomes to nurturing perseverance across the uncertain journey of smell rehabilitation.