Viewing Textures
Textures on surfaces are often seen, so they influence how people think and behave, even if no one ever reaches out to touch them: We prefer glossy surfaces to ones that are matte so...
Things we learned in 2023
In 2023, researchers have reported that: Symmetrical things seem more functional and reliable and asymetical ones more fun and exciting—useful information when you’re making choices. At-work sound volumes of about 50 dBA are best;...
To DIY, or not to DIY
In many parts of the world, at this time of year, people find themselves with time on their hands; hiking is definitely not the top of anyone’s list as sleet pours from the skies,...
Conversation Enhancers
As you move through the Winter months where you live, you may find conversations with those you’re “cooped up” with getting a little tense. Some science-based suggestions for smoothing your interactions with those you’re...
Peach Fuzz – Pantone Colour of the Year
Pantone has named their colour of the year for 2024 – Peach Fuzz (visible here: https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year/2024?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAj_CrBhD-ARIsAIiMxT-Srg5ERWiVQ_tNUUMnjWt_lx8EBYLwJ0511CQeVK2yE55oN6TMUFoaAo_BEALw_wcB). Sometimes the colours of the year that Pantone selects seem, well, wacky, but this year’s seems right on...
Beige is Blah…!
Kircher writes about an online negative reaction to a beige-y interior in “She Redecorated Her Boyfriend’s Apartment. Tik Tok Hated It.” (The New York Times, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/14/style/tiktok-beige-apartment.html). Science indicates that sometimes beige, as a very...
Designing New Year’s Resolutions – The Long Read
As one year ends and another begins we’re driven to think about the high and low points of the last 12 months and to plan for the next 12, and beyond. All of which...
Keeping your New Year’s Resolutions
Looking for tips for keeping your New Year’s resolutions? Look no further: Open the curtains and let in the natural light. We not only process information more effectively in natural light, our cognitive performance...
Design – Sending Silent Signals
As The Space Doctors has discussed oodles of times, human beings continually “read” the world around themselves, trying to determine what it has to “say.” All of which sounds like a lot of mumbo-jumbo,...
Cold Weather Fixes…
Want to feel warmer? Make sure you’re surrounded by warm colours and nix the cooler ones. The difference in perceived temperatures can be as much as 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Similarly, when we see images...
What Art?
Have you decided to add some art to your life? Neuroscience research makes it clear when it’s best to add what: Looking at nature scenes—in paintings, in photographs, etc.—helps you mentally refresh after you’ve...
Biophilic School Design – Great for Students, Teachers, and the Planet They Live On
When biophilic design principles are applied at places where people are learning and teaching, good things happen—moods and cognitive performance improve (for students and teachers!)—which is always a plus, whether trigonometry or Latin grammar...
The Value of Biophilic Design
The neuroscience research makes it very, very clear that being in a biophilicly designed space elevates our wellbeing. Need proof of the value of indoor biophilicly designed spaces? Here’s a representative sample of research...
Curvaceous Houses
A November article in The New York Times talks about the many curving design elements in environments created by Polish Brazilian designer Jorge Zalszupin (Michael Snyder, 2023, “Wacky, Curvaceous Houses in Brazil That Feel...
Treehouses!
What could be more biophilic than a treehouse? In October, Tow Vanderbilt reported on the treehouses designed by Takeshi Kobayashi (“A Treehouse Builder Who Creates Impermanence: Japan’s Takashi Kobayashi Has Found Freedom in the...
Sharing Spaces – The Long Read
The season of mingling is upon us! It seems that most of us pack in the majority of time we spend socializing with others during the last few months of the year. People have...
Sharing spaces – Extraverts and Introverts
Mingling means sharing spaces, etc., and the personalities of the people doing that sharing and the design of the space being shared can have a major effect on how well it all goes. People...
Space Sharing – Gender difference?
Men and women can experience spaces in different ways for physiological reasons that seem quite distinct from their sexual preferences. Because female fingers tend to be smaller than male ones (women are often shorter...
Space Sharing…Designers do it Differently!
Invited to a party at the home of someone with design training and feeling all is not quite right? Designing training causes us to find different aspects of interiors familiar—and we like what’s familiar....
Nostalgia is good for your soul as well asyour mental performance
A place where you feel nostalgic can be good for your mental performance as well as your soul. Sensory design can make nostalgic experiences more or less likely. Scents can lead to nostalgic thinking...
We take more Chances when we’re warm it seems…
Lundberg, Craig, and Peloza share that “Across four studies, we find evidence for a positive relationship between temperature and risk-taking, using multiple operationalizations of temperature and measurements of risk. . . . In particular,...
Designing for Gender doesn’t always work…
Dai and colleagues found that “It is common that marketers design and position pretty products more to female consumers than to male consumers, suggesting they generally believe that females have a stronger preference than...
Your Front Door Colour affects your House sale!
Zillow shares information on front door colours and home sales. During their study actual and potential home buyers answered survey questions: “Homes with a front door painted slate blue — a chalky light blue-gray...
Learning Tricks from Set Design!
People creating movie, TV, and stage sets often need to be really ingenious. The things they lavish the most attention to likely have powerful effects on our experience of space. As Alexis Soloski (2023,...
Miniature Houses – Telling Key Stories…
Miniatures, the sorts of items that would be at home in the most intricate doll houses, are finding their ways into many retailers in North America—which is intriguing—are these tiny things helping us wax...
Awe
Design can make it more likely people will feel awed in multiple ways, for example via exquisite workmanship or material use. Pan and Jiang studied “global self-continuity (GSC), a sense of connectedness among past,...
Autumn Fall is upon us and Winter will be here soon—how should you be preparing? Step 1 – Deal With Your Plants!
We’re spoiled at the end of the Summer. We’ve had all sorts of access to all sorts of green leafy plants, at our homes or in nearby parks or other spaces for months (well,...
Add some gentle Movement in your Home….
Winter and time spent inside can be both stressful and boring. Some gentle movement in the spaces where you live will change all that. Here, we are talking about curtains that sway slightly and...
The First Language we Speak…. and Design
The first language we speak can influence how we experience spaces and the objects in them for the rest of our lives. Our earliest language influences what we pay attention to (because we need...
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