To mark the global release of J.M. Donellan’s new novel Killing Adonis – Pantera Press engaged Melbourne creative agency August to create an experiential digital campaign that allows readers to experience what it’s like to have a brain condition.

Users are taken into the intriguing world of synaesthesia –a neurological condition where two or more senses collide into one sensory experience. The book’s protagonist, nurse Freya Miller has the condition. She is a synaesthete.

August worked with Pantera Press to devise a memorable experience for Killing Adonis readers. Working across desktop, mobile and tablet devices, the Pantera Press Killing Adonis site gives people a sense of what it is like to experience synaesthesia. This is a digital-first campaign using social media as a key activation. August established that user experience and device accessibility would be the two vital factors.

Zoë Warne, co-founder and director of creative services at August says: “We didn’t want to create yet another campaign website for Killing Adonis. We wanted to tap into the heart of the novel, so readers get into the mind of Freya. In using synaesthesia, we wanted to give them a chance to experience a condition they may not know much about.”

August wanted users to experience the synaesthesia effect ‘in the moment’. “Current browser environments now enable the kind of technology we applied to be developed for publically accessible sites,” says Matt Agar, director technical services at August. “Before it would have been left for proof of concept or demo sites only.”

“August has delivered a user-friendly and easily shareable site that offers a unique taste into the world of synaesthesia. Donellan’s feisty nurse Freya Miller lives with wonderful colours linked to music, and now Killing Adonis readers can share her world,” says Alison Green, CEO and co-founder of Pantera Press. “The campaign reflects the multi-sensory effects that this unusual, yet surprisingly prevalent condition creates. Macquarie University estimates that one in 500 people experience the most common form of synaesthesia; letter-colour association.”

Click here to experience the brain condition yourself.