Scientists have, at this point, conducted many studies in virtual environments. They have determined that data collected in these spaces are consistent with those gathered in actual, physical places. If your resources permit virtual reality research, you can proceed with confidence if environments developed accurately recreate the real world.
Fokkinga, Desmet, and Hekkert assessed the dimensions of human experience of design. After collecting data via a series of expert workships the trio identified three levels of user-product interactions “At the base, user-product interaction evokes three types of direct product experience: aesthetic experience, experience of meaning, and emotional experience. The second level describes more indirect and long-term types of impact: on behaviors, attitudes, (general) experiences, and users’ and stakeholders’ knowledge.
A useful resource for better understanding a complex topic
Eilouti presents a system for integrating ergonomics concepts into place-design decisions that reflects many existing best practices: “The process of the ergonomics-driven design includes the following steps:
1. Study and analyze the physical, psychological, and social needs for each expected user.
2. Design each space in the functional program according to its user’s needs.
3. Cluster the individual spaces into zones according to their functional requirements and occupants’ interactions.
Design researchers will find research recently published by Guilbeault, Baronchelli, and Centola (in Nature Communications) readily applicable. The team reports that “In an experiment in which people were asked to categorize unfamiliar shapes, individuals and small groups created many different unique categorization systems while large groups created systems that were nearly identical to one another. . . .
Cox and colleagues’ work sheds new light on Stonehenge’s design and indicates the power of acoustic experiences. The researchers determined that “this ancient monument in southern England created an acoustic space that amplified voices and improved the sound of any music being played for people standing within the massive circle of stones. . . .
Researchers have linked having an uncommon name to implementing uncommon strategies. Zhang, Kang, and Zhu found that “If you’re looking for an unconventional approach to doing business, select a CEO with an uncommon name. . . . ‘Using 19 years of data on 1,172 public firms, we show that firms’ distinctive strategies are systematically linked to their CEOs’ uncommon names,’” wrote [the] co-authors. . . . .
Research indicates, again, the value of carefully managing laptop and phone use during in-person discussions. Lindvig, Hermann, and Asgaard found, in the context of discussion-based classes in university classrooms, that when “all screens” were banned “‘Students felt compelled to be present — and liked it. When it suddenly became impossible to Google their way to an answer or more knowledge about a particular theorist, they needed to interact and, through shared reflection, develop as a group. It heightened their engagement and presence,’ explains Katrine Lindvig. . . .
Huang and Sengupta studied how thinking about disease influences decisions made.
Practical, science-informed IEQ and financial modeling tools
