As well as its practical uses, such as detecting danger or food sources, a human’s sense of smell is also linked to generating hugely emotional responses. Perfume is arguably one of the most emotive scents, with even faint traces able to generate memories of certain people or places. Yet the ability to test, develop and bottle the perfume which leads to such associations requires skill, talent – and high levels of odour perception.

Enter the Mumbai-based College of Fragrance for the Visually Impaired (COFVI), one of the first educational institutions of its kind to offer courses in the basics of perfumery to students with limited, or no, vision. COFVI aims to equip its students with a broad, basic skillset to enable them to pursue career in the perfume and fragrance industry, by building on the higher-than-average odour perceptions of visually impaired students.

Yet, part of the COFVI mission is also to communicate the importance of providing dedicated training to the visually impaired, to a wider global audience. Despite gathering traction for its work, including international news coverage, the COFVI website required an update. As part of a commitment to extending its charitable work, global digital consultancy Industry Innovations has therefore designed and launched a new digital space for the COFVI.

Focusing on clarity and user experience, the new COFVI website is based on a simple and easy-to-read colour palette of yellow, black, white and grey. It also has communicating the student experience at its heart. Industry Innovation has provided easy and clear links to integral parts of COFVI’s offering, such as global news coverage received and profiles on each of its students. Having worked with COFVI founding partner CPL Aromas for two years, Industry Innovations will continue to work on improving and extending COFVI’s digital platforms.

Dominic Zammit, strategy and content director at Industry Innovations, says, “We are thrilled to support COFVI at this critical stage in their history. The work they are doing to challenge the status quo and disrupt an incredibly closed sector resonates with our own ambitions and makes this project particularly fulfilling.”

Funded by partners from across the fragrance industry, COFVI was launched in 2011 following research conducted by leading fragrance house CPL Aromas and the Blind Persons Association Mumbai.