Design Preferences

Loodin and Thufvesson studied the responses of urban development professionals to various architectural styles. They found that “Rational design based on aesthetic principles from the 1930s dominates contemporary architecture and property development, contributing to a homogenous urban landscape. The aim of this paper is to examine how professionals involved in city centre development value different architectural styles. . . . a sample of . . . city centre managers . . .

Palumbo and colleagues studied the preferences of different groups for curved and straight design elements. They report that they “administered abstract stimuli consisting of irregular polygons (angular vs. curved) and patterns of colored lines (angular vs. curved), as well as concrete stimuli consisting of images of interior spaces. Preference for curvature was confirmed with abstract stimuli in all 3 groups [people with autism, quasi-expert students of design, control group].

Burro recently lead a study linking personality and preferences for various wines; it is possible that this team’s findings are applicable more broadly (but can be useful for planning end-of-year parties, regardless).  The researchers determined that “extroverts prefer more acidic wines, sociable people like wines characterized by a high alcohol content and with a more complex bouquet, people with high emotional stability prefer tannic, persistent, full-bodied wines and open-minded people favor wines with a persistent flavor and high levels of tannicity but are sapidity averse.”

Friedenberg and colleagues thoroughly investigated how humans respond to different frieze patterns (border patterns with repeated design elements).  They found via a study of the seven basic frieze types found worldwide and throughout history (presented horizontally) that “consisted of individual curved and linear motifs as well as random textures [that] Friezes that filled the entire pattern region and which contained emergent global features were preferred the most.

Gjerde and Vale asked people walking along an urban street about their visual preferences.  They report that “The appearance of the built environment is an important matter for most people, as it can affect their physical, financial and psychological wellbeing. . . . People were invited to indicate their preferences while walking along three streets in New Zealand cities. The survey responses were supplemented by two focus group discussions. . . .

Devlin’s study was conducted in doctor’s office waiting rooms but its findings can reasonably be extended to other sorts of places.  Devlin reports that she studied “preference for five different seating arrangements (e.g., rows, clusters) in a doctor’s office waiting room . . . and how such choices may have changed over the pandemic (2013 vs. 2021). . . . Data collected in 2013 and 2021 used sketches of five different seating arrangements; people saw just one of these. . . . seating preferences favored end, not middle seats, and chair selections with the chair back to a wall.

Where would people prefer to give birth?  Skogstrom, Vithal, and Wijk report that their “study was part of a . . . research project, including women . . . receiv[ing] care in a new birthing room designed with physical features changeable according to personal wishes. . . .  The overall impression of the room was positive and exceeded women’s expectations. They felt welcomed and strengthened by the room, which shifted the focus to a more positive emotional state.

Zu, Jiang, and Zhao evaluated preferences for landscapes that varied by season.  They report  that “Seasonality is a typical feature of landscapes in temperate regions. Seasonality’s effects on visual aesthetic quality (VAQ) are widely recognised but not well understood. . . . 10 sample sites were selected to represent the diversity of urban green spaces in Xuzhou, eastern China, which has a typical temperate monsoon climate. Photographs of the 10 sites were acquired in eight typical months to capture seasonality. Online surveys were used to evaluate the VAQ of the photographs. . . .