Dwelling in Digital Spaces: Designing for Human Behaviour in Screens
The metaphoric extension of ‘dwelling’ transitions feelings of being at home within the user from the physical world into digital space. As designers, the adoption of screen space as a physical entity allows users to feel comfortable and grounded; it creates an experiential space for human behaviour to reside. When interactions provoke positive feelings of homeliness, users are more inclined to extend their experience, thus prolonging interaction sustainability.
By drawing on Otto Friedrich Bollnow’s “On Human Space”, parallels between the human body and the physical world can be made to understand the importance of dwelling. Combined with Matthew Frederick’s “101 Things I Learned at Architecture School”, key insights in building architectural structures can be applied to designing digital interactions. To design for dwelling, this paper will explore the architectural approach of physical space and human space through the concepts of Program, Solid Void Theory, Arrival, and Circulation to give designers a framework for designing interactive artifacts that afford for human experiences.
Frederick (2007) uses the term ‘Program’ to define organized space as an experience (Frederick, 2007, p.34). The interaction must be designed to accommodate for the intentions of the user. According to Bollnow (2011), experienced space is “manifested in concrete human life” (Bollnow, 2011, p.19). Therefore, experienced space must be discussed in relation to the human and its context. By synthesizing the two, the manifestation of the human in digital space can only be done through bodily engagement within the experience of the interaction.
Context is an important characteristic to consider when designing. The Program of an interaction must be connected to the contextual data of the human body in order to create an experienced space. By conducting user research and defining the user, identifying pain points, user behaviours, and user needs and goals, it provides designers insights for creating journey frameworks and fluid taskflows. To create meaningful and impactful interactions, user centred design must be integrated from the beginning of the design process ensuring that users are at the heart of every interaction.
Furthermore, Bollnow (2011) argues that space is “fixed in relation to man, within which… movement takes place” (Bollnow, 2011, p.24). Orientation resides within the human body, it gives a sense of guidance and direction. Not only is it important to understand the orientation of the human body within the physical realm, it is crucial when transitioning into the digital. Being oriented in digital space keep users from getting lost within the vast and infinite spaces.
To help the user in orienting, common interaction patterns can be used. By adopting common visual affordances and gestures, users can intuitively navigate through the interaction. Details in consistency are also important to pay attention to when designing. Using interactions that the user is already accustomed to and implementing them consistently creates a seamless experience for users to efficiently meet their user goal.
Additionally, the ‘Solid Void Theory’ is applicable to designing for digital spaces. As defined by Frederick (2007), the Solid Void Theory holds that “a three-dimensional space is considered a positive space if it has a defined shape and a sense of boundary or threshold between in and out” (Frederick, 2007, p.20). In architecture, three-dimensional volumes are used to create spaces in which humans can experience different notions – dwelling and interacting. This concept of positive space can be applied to digital spaces in the context of the user’s ability to comfortably explore within this threshold.
To design for a positive space, protection against outside threats must be addressed. As Bollnow (2011) claimed, to dwell “special effort is demanded” (Bollnow, 2011, p.123). The space of the house “is the area of rest and peace [where] man can relax his constant alert attention to possible threats” (Bollnow, 2011, p.125). Threats must be resolved and security measures must be attended to before man can dwell.
As designers, it is vital to provide a space in which users feel protected and safe from threats. The threats found that can interfere with interaction design and sustainability stem from a lack of a design process, badly conducted user research, and design inconsistencies. In order for users to dwell in digital space, designers must provide a well-thought and planned out environment that accommodates human behaviour. To do that, a design process that supports iteration and empathy through all stages of ideation, user research, prototyping, and usability testing must be implemented.
Building from this theory, the user’s ability to venture into metaphorical depth and being able to interact with the spaces provided mimic the way humans would interact physically with solid voids. Metaphoric depth has an explorative attribute. Users move through layers of the interaction through exploration and discovery. To demonstrate, the Spotify browse feature is a prime example of a positive space in which users dwell. The user moves through layers of the interaction to discover endless new music, there is no specific user goal to meet except exploration. It is dependant on contextual data and is a significant characteristic to consider when developing positive spaces for features.
Equally important is how users arrive in space. The ‘Arrival’ is imperative in seducing humans to stay. The “satisfaction and richness of experiences” come from “mentally [connecting] visual cues from surroundings to needs and expectations” (Frederick, 2007, p.32). Strategic use of the experience of negative space is used to guide the user to positive space. The journey to the entry enhances the overall experience of the structure making it more rewarding for the user.
This journey is familiar to how users arrive in digital space. The design of the landing page, the loading page, and the onboarding process is where first impressions are made. Visual details and the language of the interaction must appeal to the context of the user. Depending on the context of use, designers need to pay attention to the composition of the interface’s visual shapes, sizes, and colours. By implementing a style guide and grid structure, it helps in information hierarchy and decluttering. Language in design writing must also be taken into consideration. Copywrite vocabulary sets the tone for the overall interface. By maintaining clarity and inclusivity, it sets an inviting and welcoming mood to the user.
Hand in hand with Arrival, the concept of denial and reward creates an “enrich passage” by “[diverting] users onto an unexpected path to create additional intrigue” (Frederick, 2007, p.32). Challenging expectations by counterpointing the Arrival helps in building up feelings of anticipation within the user. Temporary lostness allows users to explore while still maintaining a compelling user goal.
A prime example of denial and reward is Snapchat. Snapchat’s approach to arriving in certain features adds to its interaction sustainability. As an exception, Snapchat uses design inconsistencies to their advantage; it plays with the line between keeping interactions interesting and potentially hindering user experience. Its success lies in new user content through exploration. It monopolizes on hidden features that its users stumble upon while accessing its main feature of sending photos. By hiding features and content, the discovery adds a playful element keeping interactions pleasureable and users engaged.
Lastly, good ‘Circulation’ allows people to “move through negative spaces to dwell in positive spaces” (Frederick, 2007, p.22). Bollnow (2011) mentions that space is “structured as a totality of places and areas that belong together” (Bollnow, 2011, p.195). Circulation connects people to the the Program of the building; it conjoins a series of spaces. A good circulation combined with denial and reward emphasizes on the positive space that allows people to linger and interact. Additionally, Circulation “work both efficiently and aesthetically” while “offering pleasant surprises” (Frederick, 2007, p.156). Therefore, the journey to the positive space is as intriguing as the space itself; it adds to the reward of the program.
The circulation system of an interaction can be recognizable as linking digital spaces together. This can be done through animations, visuals, and gestures. These elements give users the idea that they are entering a new space, yet is still connected in one continuous expanding space.
Animations are a great way of transitioning from one space to another seamlessly. For example, when clicking on a hyperlink, animations such as overlay or easing can help the user spatially orient themselves. It creates a visual relationship from one screen to another through movement and time.
Gestures, such as swiping and scrolling, give a consistent and continuous tactile feel when navigating through an application. By using interaction patterns and consistent gestures, it gives users the feeling like they are physically moving the space with their fingers.
Through visuals, relationships between spaces are illustrated on screen. Visual connections and grouping can be made with gestalt principles. Especially through branding and colours, uniformity is easily established by the user.
Altogether, Bollnow (2011) and Frederick (2007) give designers an understanding of creating a space for humans to dwell. Bollnow’s (2011) definition of dwelling in relation to human space can be metaphorically extended into digital spaces. By combining Bollnow’s (2011) philosophical findings with Frederick’s (2007) practices on how to build architectural structures, key ideas can be applied to creating meaningful user-centred interactions. Defining the Program of the interaction through user research, user needs and desires can guide the design early on. The implementation of the Solid Void Theory protect users against potential threats and encourages further exploration of the interaction. The first impression of an interaction is made at the Arrival, visuals and language are essential in keeping users engaged. A good Circulation lets users move through the negative space of the interaction to the Program. It connects spaces together and highlights on areas in which the user can dwell. In essence, these concepts, when implemented in the early stages of the design process, can afford the feeling of home and a desire to dwell within a user.
References
Bollnow, O., Shuttleworth, C., & Kohlmaier, J. (2011). Human space / O.F. Bollnow; translated by Christine Shuttleworth; edited by Joseph Kohlmaier.
Frederick, M. (2007). 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School / Matthew Frederick.