Designing for Human Behavior: Comprehensive Course Notes on Design Theory vs. Design Thinking, Gestalt Principles, and Universal Design
Course Overview and Administrative Logistics
Course Identifiers & Accreditation:
Course Codes: , , and : Designing for Human Behavior.
Accreditation: Meets and exceeds third-party SEDA accreditations and benchmarks. The course builds on additional institutional standards.
Core Focus & Philosophy:
Global Context: Designing interior spaces requires understanding global context, including site orientation, daylight exposure, thermal comfort, and cultural norms across diverse populations on Earth.
Human-Centered Design: Human-centered design and designing human behavior are treated as synonymous terms representing the central thesis of the course.
Course Resources & Digital Access:
Main Textbook: Available at the top of the Modules tab on Canvas (contains for collecting user feedback). Hard copies are optional.
Textbook Note: The digital screenshot version uploaded to Canvas is missing one specific page that contains instructions for the first exercise.
Course Curriculum and Structure
Three-Part Course Structure:
Part 1: Core Truths, Pattern Recognition, and Relational Aesthetics:
Focuses on understanding subjects while acknowledging that absolute truths for all human beings do not exist; explores tendencies and generalities.
Relational Aesthetics: A postmodern art movement where artists recognized their creations as expressions of their entire culture and being, observing how audience interaction altered behavior. It introduces a meta-reflective dynamic regarding who consumes art versus the artist's self-expression.
Part 2 (Split into Part 2a and Part 2b): Theory, Stereotypes, and Control:
Week 5 covers design theory, biophilia, and hypophobia.
Deconstruction of design stereotypes and assumptions, such as color theory (e.g., questioning the claim that red walls induce hunger in dining rooms versus driving past McDonald's without feeling hungry).
Cultural behaviors, proxemics, and spatial treatments for vulnerable populations.
Designing for control, personality traits, perception, and spatial sequences (e.g., compression and release, guiding users to the right via window placement).
Group work sessions and learned behaviors (e.g., social etiquette, sitting norms, room step reorganization).
Part 3: Standards, Codes, and Future Trajectories:
Codification of spatial requirements into law and minimum standards (building codes, certifications, operational rules).
Human movement, spatial ergonomics, and body measurements.
Future trajectories: Evaluating the impact of artificial intelligence by analyzing its historical development.
Semester Schedule & Logistics:
Final Meeting: Week 13 (the week before Thanksgiving) is the final regular class meeting.
Thanksgiving & Final Reviews: Thanksgiving week has no class. The week after Thanksgiving is dedicated to final reviews in the School of Architecture, occupying the classroom space.
Shift in Course Structure: The first cover coding systems exclusively; the second half covers internal systems. Lectures occur during scheduled lab time, and Fridays are reserved for practical lab work and site tours.
Academic Policies, Attendance, and Classroom Norms
Instructional Staff:
Teaching Assistant and Official Grader: Saria (manages attendance logging and assignment grading).
Attendance Policy:
Policy Allowance: Up to are permitted before a student's grade is negatively impacted.
Open Door Communication: Proactive communication is required for studio travel, illness, or personal emergencies.
Timing Norms: Class begins with a slow build around to accommodate non-majors traveling across campus and architecture students coming from upper studio floors.
Classroom Norms & Lecture Structure:
Eating Policy: Eating inside the classroom should be limited to prevent messes, strong odors, and visual distractions.
Lecture Delivery: Meetings occur once a week. Breaks are scheduled near natural inflection points in the lecture (aligning with typical attention spans, noted around ).
Weekly Exercises, Discussion Groups, and Semester Projects
Weekly Individual Exercises (Design Thinking Methods):
Objective: Practice design thinking methods sourced from the course textbook.
Process Documentation: Students must document their live workflow and process while executing the exercise.
Page Formatting Requirements: Exercises are formatted into a single-page PDF containing process images, instructional captions, method descriptions, and a critical reflection block.
Reflection Limits: Critical thinking reflections must not exceed (e.g., formatted in font size containing approximately ).
Individual Assignment Grading: Each exercise is scored on a scale based on completeness, critical thinking (), and visual composition ().
Individual Semester Project (Final Booklet):
Final Compilation: All are compiled into a multi-page PDF booklet turned in at the end of the term.
Point Re-weighting: Each exercise converts from its initial weekly score into a section value within the final booklet (contributing to the course total).
Resubmission Mechanics: The initial weekly grade remains unchanged on Canvas. However, revising and repairing the assignment based on instructor feedback allows students to earn full credit () on that section in the final booklet. Unsubmitted assignments result in a loss of both the initial and the final .
Weekly Discussion Groups:
Assigned Groups: Intentionally mixed groups combining Bachelor of Science in Interior Design (BSID), Master of Interior Design (MID), and non-major students to avoid echo chambers.
Transcription Protocol: Groups may utilize Zoom dictation, voice memos, or Google Doc dictation. Dictations must be cleaned up, converted into legible prose, and include clearly identified speakers.
Initial Timing Benchmark: For the first week, groups meet outside of class for an assignment under and record their exact discussion duration (e.g., tracking whether it spans or ) to determine future in-class time allocation.
Canvas Submission: One designated group member submits the assignment on Canvas for the entire group; grades are awarded individually based on participant dictation contribution.
Group Semester Project & Quizzes:
Group Project: Introduced in Week 2.
Quizzes: Administered at the end of each major section, consisting primarily of open-ended reflection questions evaluating comprehension, critical thinking, and reading synthesis.
Questions and Dialogue
Clarification on Calendar Status Terms:
Question: What does it mean when an assignment is marked as "issued" on the weekly calendar?
Answer: "Issued" indicates that the assignment details and requirements are distributed on that specific class date.
Clarification on Discussion Group Canvas Submissions:
Question: Does one student submit the discussion document for the whole group, or does everyone submit individually?
Answer: One group member submits the document on Canvas for the entire group. Individual grades are assigned by reviewing speaker identification within the submitted transcript.
Design Theory versus Design Thinking
Design Theory:
Definition: A system of ideas intended to explain something—specifically the "how" and "why" a design functions successfully. Retrospective in nature.
Role of Designer: Establishes the designer as the "Expert" or "Master." Expertise is developed over long timeframes (e.g., of practice). Problem-solving ability is portrayed as a form of intelligence.
Core Focus: Conceptualizing and materializing specific solutions through a passive application of known truths and principles. Form acts as a catalyst for function.
Christopher Alexander (1971) Definition: "Design is 'the process of inventing physical things which display new physical order, organization, form in response to function. The ultimate object of design is form'."
Design Thinking:
Definition: A "general theory of design" or subset of theories within the broader design field, built on a multidisciplinary foundation. Also referred to as human-centered design.
Role of Designer: The designer acts as a facilitator or "Master of Ceremonies," managing research, cross-disciplinary input, and stakeholder feedback (including users, lighting experts, acoustic experts, engineers, and consultants).
Core Focus: Active, iterative inquiry focused on user needs and the long-term impact of spaces after construction ends.
Herbert A. Simon (1969) Definition: "Everyone designs who devises courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones."
Andy Lester Quote: "As designers, we shouldn't be making decisions based on personal preference. We're not artists."
The Five Key Stages of Design Thinking
Stage 1: Empathize:
Developing a deep understanding of the user, including their preferences, dislikes, and behavioral responses.
Stage 2: Define:
Revealing, articulating, and defining the precise problem that must be solved through design.
Stage 3: Iterate:
Brainstorming multiple creative concepts and solutions.
Stage 4: Prototype:
Constructing physical, spatial, or digital representations of the proposed concepts.
Stage 5: Test:
Engaging the target audience to test the prototype and determine successful versus unsuccessful elements.
Process Nature & Phase Mapping:
Nonlinear Dynamics: A non-linear, looping process requiring movement back and forth between stages as new insights emerge.
Project Phase Mapping: The entire design thinking framework occurs primarily within the traditional Programming phase (preceding Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documents / CDs, and Construction Administration).
Primary Principles of Design Theory (Spatial and Formal Organization)
Alignment:
Definition: Aligning elements creates visual connections and a unified design, establishing order, predictable wayfinding, and spatial ease of occupation.
Datum: A linear unit of measure or visual reference line that pulls disparate spatial elements together (e.g., a continuous wood accent line running across a room's perimeter).
Architectural Examples: Shilda Winery (Kakheti, Georgia by X Architecture); DeVol Kitchens.
Repetition:
Definition: Repeating formal or visual elements to create mental associations, familiarity, or deliberate spatial disassociation.
Architectural Examples: The Great Mosque of Cordoba (Spain), where repeating arches evoke spatial vastness; Rachel Whiteread's installations EMBANKMENT and Untitled (One Hundred Spaces).
Contrast:
Definition: Utilizing complete opposites in form, geometry, color, or texture to create visual impact and spatial emphasis.
Architectural Examples: White Interior Design; pairing horizontally oriented side walls and floor planes with vertically oriented back walls, or placing a soft, bright yellow sofa within a stark space.
Hierarchy:
Definition: Grouping and sizing elements based on importance to create logical organization and wayfinding. Plays on human perception of structural balance, mass centers, and material limits (e.g., the psychological sensation/flutter experienced on a cantilevered structure).
Spatial Application: Office layouts that visually reflect organizational values and operational hierarchy.
Balance:
Definition: Distribution of visual and physical weight across space, categorized into symmetrical and asymmetrical balance. Directly tied to perceived structural stability.
Design Example: Ichiro Iwasaki, Pin (2015).
Gestalt Principles of Perception
Core Concept:
Theory stating that the human brain simplifies and organizes complex visual scenes by subconsciously grouping individual elements into an organized system or unified whole (pattern-picking for rapid comprehension).
1. Figure-Ground Relationship:
Definition: The perceptual tendency to distinguish focused foreground elements (figure) from unfocused background elements (ground).
Architectural Example: Casa de Vidro by Lina Bo Bardi (1950), where intense focus on both interior furniture and exterior trees creates visual tension, blurring inside and outside bounds.
2. Similarity:
Definition: The inclination to group elements that share visual attributes (shape, color, orientation) regardless of their physical proximity.
Design Example: Diagonally rotated wall cubes aligning visually with square wallpaper patterns and square throw pillows.
3. Continuation:
Definition: The tendency of the eye to follow the smoothest, simplest path along lines or curves, extending paths beyond immediate boundaries.
Architectural Example: He Art Museum (Guangdong, China), using intertwining spiral ramps for fluid intuitive wayfinding.
4. Closure:
Definition: The cognitive process where the brain completes incomplete shapes or negative spaces, perceiving a coherent pattern.
Architectural Example: The Church of Light by Tadao Ando, where wall plane openings allow light through in negative space to form a cross.
5. Proximity:
Definition: The grouping of elements positioned near one another, reducing visual complexity and signaling logical relationship.
Design Example: Overhead lighting clusters over a single large dining table (seating up to ) grouped in sets of and to define seating zones for groups of or pairs.
6. Symmetry & Order (Prägnanz / Law of Prägnanz):
Definition: Also known as the Law of Good Figure or Law of Simplicity. Asserts that when exposed to complex or ambiguous forms, the brain interprets them in the simplest, most symmetrical layout possible.
Architectural Example: Fabrico (Treviso, Italy).
Universal Principles of Design
Catalog of Universal Principles:
Universal Principles: Accessibility, Affordance, Biophilia Effect, Cathedral Effect, Consistency, Desire Line, Golden Ratio, Life Cycle, Modularity, Nudge, Ockham's Razor, Progressive Disclosure, Storytelling, Wabi-Sabi.
Detailed Principle Breakdown:
Accessibility:
Definition: Designing objects and environments to be fully usable without adaptation by as many people as possible, integrating ADA and Universal Design.
Core Sub-principles: (1) Perceptibility, (2) Operability, (3) Simplicity, (4) Forgiveness (ensuring incorrect usage results in no severe harm).
Code Benchmark: Elevator Control Panel Design Restraints under the International Building Code (IBC).
Affordance:
Definition: Physical characteristics of an object or space that naturally indicate its operation and function.
Anti-Pattern Example: The "Norman Door" effect, as seen at the Apple Store at the Domain (Austin), where sleek, non-directional handles obscure whether doors require pushing or pulling, necessitating dedicated staff to assist users.
Desire Line:
Definition: Visual traces of wear or foot traffic paths created by natural human interaction, often deviating from formal designed pathways.
Examples: Shortcut dirt paths across lawns in Central Park, NYC; Austin Public Library by Lake Flato Architects, where staircases, elevators, and bridges directly follow intuitive user travel paths.
Ockham's Razor:
Definition: Principle stating that when presented with multiple functionally equivalent design solutions, the simplest design should be selected.
Design Example: Stools and household objects by Makoto Koizumi (Koizumi Studio), showcasing exposed Japanese joinery while eliminating unnecessary ornamental elements.