Have you ever sat in a doctors office and somehow ended up between the two sickest people there? I sure have. The person on the left side of me was blowing snot rockets into a tissue she placed on MY arm rest and the person on the right was basically coughing in my ear... maybe that visit wouldn’t have been so traumatic if I would’ve moved to the seat by the corner window where there wasn’t another human body close enough to breathe on me. And maybe proxemics was not considered thoroughly in the design of this waiting room.
Proxemics is the use of distancing people in design. Whether it’s the booths in a restaurant or partitions in an office, there are multiple design methods created to ensure your personal bubble is not popped.
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| My dog Izzy walks so close to me that sometimes she steps on the back of my heels. Izzy is the only mammal allowed to pop my bubble like this. (Photo by me) |
Proxemics is measured with invisible boundary lines called zones. The intimate zone is your personal bubble. If you can smell someone’s breath, they’re probably invading your intimate zone. Following this is the personal zone, which would be the distance in which you interact with good friends or family. The third zone is for acquaintances. The distance you stand from your close friend is going to be different than how you interact with a neighbor or fellow employee. The last zone is the public zone. This zone is measured in public speaking ranges.
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| Proxemic Interaction Zones Sketch by me |
These zones help designers plan a space. Furniture arrangement is key to ensure users of the space feel comfortable and prevent overstimulation, arousal, and stress from invasion of one’s personal space. The close proximity of a parent’s bedroom to a child’s bedroom reduces personal space as well. This is a result of inappropriate distancing.
Social-petal and socio-fugal arrangements aid in design for the intended use of the space. Sociopetal encourages interacted while sociofugal decreases it. Socio-petal arrangements can be seen around a fire pit or in a collaborative work environment. Socio-fugal is seen with partitions in offices, booth style seating, and in airplane seating.
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| This library offers a socio-petal seating arrangement against the wall and a Sio-fugal seating arrangement near the bookshelf. source |
Along with personal space comes territoriality. We are territorial over our spaces. When a sibling is caught going through your clothes or someone opens your bedroom door without knocking, the irritation we feel is a result of our territory being invaded.
When Proxemics is applied to interior design, spaces are more functional for the intended use and users. As a designer, it is important to remember these design decisions have impacts on people and how they feel in a space.
REFERENCES
Edwards, P. (2016, July 5). Proxemics: The study of personal space [Video post]. Retrieved October 26, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw3FZ3xOBVo
Your entry was well put-together and easy to read. Good real-life examples, they can definitely relate to our day-to-day lives! I know I've been in some of those situations.. -_-
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. I hadn't thought about the doctors office. That is the one place I truly care about my personal space. When I take my children I am scared to death.
ReplyDeleteYour intro was very well put together. I grabbed my attention and I knew exactly what the post was going to be about. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteThis post was amazing, you immediately grasped my attention! I absolutely loved how you gave an example of the doctors office. It immediately brought me back to my own uncomfortable moments. I am so excited to read your next post!
ReplyDeleteThe beginning pulled me in and was really relatable because I have definitely been in those positions as well. The rest of the post was very clear, I was able to fully understand the idea of proxemics. Good job!
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