TRICKS OF THE TRADE
UNDERSTANDING & INFLUENCING DESIGN THROUGH PSYCHOLOGY
Design isn’t just about taking an idea and making it pretty. Much like people, every space has its own motivations, experiences, and agenda. A space has the innate potential to prompt conversation, provide a moment of silence, act as a guide, or sell a product and/or idea.
As designers, understanding the client’s needs is critical to a successful project. However, understanding needs is only one step. A design can function properly and meet the needs of its user through this understanding, but another consideration for designers to keep in mind throughout the creative process is what the space says about itself .
SPACE TALKS?
Yup, space talks! And it speaks louder than the people in it. It’s important for the experiential quality of a space to align with the intended function.
For example, a spa is generally thought of as a somatic, restful space for self-care or treating oneself. Now, imagine you’re at a spa with an open concept floor plan. At first glance, an open concept would likely allow for more stations, allowing more customers to cycle through from a business perspective. The space could be beautiful, and business may boom upon opening as people flock to try out this exciting new spot. Does the space function? Yes, absolutely! Customers can head there for a mani/pedi, to get a massage, or to pop into a sauna.
But does the space meet the needs of its users? It’s likely that it doesn’t. Though a customer can stop by to get the service that they were looking for, their basic needs and expectations for the space (privacy, comfort, quiet, restfulness) have been sacrificed, which may ultimately impact the business’ longevity and client base over time as people find that these needs are better met through competitors.
HOW DO DESIGNERS AFFECT THIS EFFECT?
Due diligence. For a space to communicate the desired impact, the designer must know what the goals are ahead of time. Programming meetings where the designer and client break down these goals and develop a strategy to execute them are one of the most important stages of the design, which often takes place right at the start of a project.
In our sauna example, an open-plan sauna in and of itself is not a bad concept. Emphasizing the social or community-driven aspects of a place for rest, relaxation, or a service is a great idea! What makes it successful is whether the way it engages the user aligns with their expectations for the service they are receiving.
In an open-plan sauna, this could be the use of operable partitions (like curtains) that allow privacy when needed without taking away from the overall open-nature of the plan, soft surfaces that muffle noise, thoughtfully planned wayfinding and circulation that allows customers to navigate through the space without intruding on others (or themselves being intruded upon), speaker or sound systems that create “invisible” zones, or muted lighting + colour choices that intentionally soften the atmosphere to a calmer energy.
OKAY, ENOUGH ABOUT SPAS
This principle and the study of its effects are called environmental behaviourism, or architectural determinism. The core of this idea is that although a designer cannot force occupants to use a space in a certain way, a mutual understanding of spatial planning and human psychology allows the designer to accurately predict how someone will engage with a space, or conversely, create a space that is interacted with in a predictable way to communicate the desired experiential qualities.
This is true of all spaces, and it doesn’t have to be at the scale of an entire floor plan. One common example of this is a dropped ceiling or panel above a table at a restaurant. At first glance, this may appear to be a means of bringing lighting closer to the surface it’s illuminating for a better light level. This is an added bonus, but what that dropped ceiling is really doing is making that space feel more intimate, not only physically (having a lower ceiling above your head will make the overall space feel smaller) as well as conversationally. This lowered ceiling or panel creates a surface for sound to reflect off of locally – at your table –allowing you to hear the person you’re sitting across from better. Pairing these effects together, your individual table at a big restaurant feels like a smaller space of its own.
DESIGNERS DO THIS WITH MINUTIA AND DETAILS, TOO!
The colour of your ceiling will affect how tall the room feels. A cluster of smaller seats can prompt conversation and engagement more so than two couches in a corner, even if there are less total seats. Sitting with your back to a door can create a feeling of unease or restlessness. Reflective surfaces allow people to catch a glimpse of themselves and visualize themselves as a part of the space.
Each of these considerations (and many, many more) are constantly spinning around in the back of a designer’s mind. Although they may come as second-nature, the key to a successful project is balancing these effects to curate the message that you want the space to send.