Designing In Awe – Why and How

When people have experienced awe, all sorts of good things happen in their heads.  When we’re awed we:

• Consider and act to maximise the wellbeing of other people – in a phrase, when we’re awed the selfish sausage inside each of us is less likely to get their way.
• Are in a better mood and feel less tense because of our daily, and rarer, stressors.
• Have better functioning brains – our minds perform all the cognitive tasks we give them to do more effectively.
• Think more creatively and are also more curious.
• Have a more open mind.
• Feel more comfortable when we’re experiencing uncertainty, for example, as we wait to learn of test outcomes.
• Are less impatient, in short, because we feel we have more time available for whatever we’re up to.
• Are more aware of our own knowledge gaps – without a shouting match!In general, we assess our own strengths and weaknesses more accurately.  We’re more humble.
• Act, and want to act, in a less materialistic way.
• Refresh mentally – our brains can get tired after we use them to do difficult things for long periods of time, such as concentrate on solving a problem, and being awed helps them rejuvenate.

 How to Design with Awe

Inspiring awe in people doesn’t require that they be transported to the Grand Canyon or the Taj Mahal—although either trip would indeed be awe-inspiring!

One of the most reliable ways to inspire awe is to show people pictures of awesome nature, in video or still form.  Out of the window works, of course, when possible.

We are awed by multiple design features often found in medieval cathedrals, and ages-old cathedrals are indeed awe inspiring.  The features in these spaces and elsewhere that have been linked to awe have one or more of the following features (though the first item noted really is required in all inspiring situations):

• Feature components that people like – think colours, shapes, and finishes, for example—the hideous may be terrifying, but it’s now awe inspiring.
• Have significant sheer size or height. Tall things, or things that via optical illusions etc., are made to seem tall, are awe inspiring (a significant reason why I’m so glad to be 6’ 2”!).
• Are formed from expensive materials

• Exhibit exceptional technical ability or workmanship. This is the factor that generally makes awe a “practical” solution.
• Although it doesn’t some easy to install stonework reminiscent of the awe-inspiring walls, floors, etc. in the Alhambra elsewhere—they can’t be created by people without advanced skills and tapping into that skill set often costs lots of money, but by lots of careful thinking more accessible ways to induce awe may be present in a particular situation—for example, someone might have inherited an incredible tile collection that can be used around a fireplace or be able to enlist thousands of elementary school students to create paper cranes that can be strung together into awe-inspiring garlands.

Awe is never easy, but with some mental or physical effort, regularly achievable by lone or coordinated action.

Do not worry that once you provide something awe-inspiring you’ll continually be on a search for a replacement—the same place or object can awe us time after time.