Blogs by Blanch

  Wayfinding Have you ever been in a building that has colors that represent a certain area or lights at desk to check you in at an office?  This is called wayfinding; it is a design that brings people to a certain area where you want them to go. In airports they do this to help people quickly find where they need to go, even if they don't speak the language there, they can look at labels and colors to find their way. Even how places are laid out, for example Food City has their registers at the entrance to deter theft and also let people know where the checkout is instead of people wondering around trying to find it. It is really cool how this works!  They also use arrows, like on a hike or at a park they have arrows to show you which way you need to go to get to where you need to go. Doctors' offices and hospitals use this tactic as well to make it easy to find a place. Bathroom symbols are wayfinding tools also because no matter what language you speak you understand t...

Ergonomics Have you ever paid attention to how you sit, stand, or type? I sure haven't, until recently and I didn't have the best posture and have been trying to do better. Ergonomics is how people work on a daily basis, some jobs will even critique the way your posture is and evaluate you on it. If you tend to get sleepy while at the office it could be because you aren't posturing yourself correctly. Maybe you sit to low from the screen and need to adjust the screen lower, or maybe your feet dangle.  I have a hard time with the way I type and can lead to my wrist aching and that is because i forget to posture my wrist better so they don't hurt. The type of posture you have can lead to you joints and muscles hurting, causing you not to perform as well. When people give this test is shows them what job can better work for the person that is less likely to hurt them later on. For example, if you are seen with you head being around 45 degrees when loading boxes then your b...

  Prospect and Refuge: Refugee Housing | School of Architecture & Urban Planning (uwm.edu) We all have experienced prospect and refuge, even if you didn't know it. Have you ever been on a balcony? That is an example as being on a balcony gives us refuge as we can see our surroundings while feeling safe. A kitchen sink in an island can also give us this because we are able to see around us while doing task. This stuff is everywhere! Like on subways they have seats facing each other with the back against the side of the subway giving you ease being able to see around you.  Drawing of a Prospect and Refuge Without this we can feel uneasy like at night when outside is dark and you can no longer see what's going on out there. We tend to fix this issue by putting up curtains and blinds or turning on outside lights to give us that security. Yes, we can adapt but having the safety feeling without adapting is even better. People can feel safe in public spaces as well that are based...

Sketch of Proximity The normal at special advents and other activities there used to be no personal space and people would be right next to each other, well now that is not the case. With the Covid virus going on our bubbles have increased in size. Now we try to keep away from others at least six feet. What about people in the big cities?  Concerts Before Covid Well, some places are doing a good job staying spread away for one another. The way proxemics were before Covid is such different from now, people would stand right beside strangers and others especially in attractions and never thought about personal space. After Covid hit it has been difficult to go to stores and any other places, some places have a limit on the amount of people allowed and for attractions that is a big deal.  Limited People Retail stores have been affected and have stickers posted on floors and signs telling people how far to stand from others. The waiting rooms at places have chairs that are now blo...