From architecture to UX design: an exploration to the window design
Studying human interaction through physical and digital windows.
Since my transition from architecture to UX design, many friends and colleagues have asked me why I left architecture? In this article, I’m going to explain why (in my opinion) I didn’t, and how these “unrelated” professions are more aligned than we care to admit.
To start off, let’s use a quote from the book “The Living City” by Frank Lloyd Wright. For those of you who have never heard this name — or even if you have, but are not sure who he is — Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer, and educator who designed more than 1,000 buildings. He believed in designing structures that were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture.
“All fine architectural values are human values, else not valuable.” — Frank Lloyd Wright.
Even though this quote is quite simple, the part “Human Values” quickly got my attention.
Why are human values so important to designing successful architectural projects?
After reading this quote a couple of times, I quickly realized that my knowledge of what human values meant was very limited. With that in mind, I embarked on the adventure of learning more about these and understanding why they play a key part in architecture design. After spending some time reading articles, including “Human Values: A Quick Primer” by Joe Edelman, I learned that the same words kept reappearing. Words like honesty, compassion, integrity, forgiveness, knowledge or even love. These led me to the conclusion that:
Human values are the virtues that guide us when interacting with other human beings.
Now, let’s go back to the quote from the book by Frank Lloyd Wright, and put it next to this conclusion about what human values mean.
Will it be fair to say that successful architectural projects are the ones that allow and encourage humans to interact with each other? During my career as an architect, I saw how successful architectural spaces, regardless of the size or shape, are the ones that allow and encourage human interaction.
Successful architectural projects allow and encourage human interaction
Let’s explore if the concept of human interaction can be applied to a 2D space after reviewing it in a 3D space. To do this, I studied how people interact through a window, and how the window design can change the way we perceive and interact with each other.
For this experiment, I chose Parque Mexico, a busy park in downtown Mexico City surrounded by fantastic and unique architectural pieces like the ones highlighted in “Mexico City’s Art Deco — Amazing Colonia Condesa” by Randy Juster. I started by taking photos of the windows from both sides and asked the people that live in the space to describe how they perceive the people out in the park from their window.
Based on their design, some windows allow for continuous communication between the inside and the outside; encouraging the people that live in these spaces to constantly be interacting with the people outside. In contrast, other windows were designed to block this interaction from happening while making the park (and the people in it) almost invisible to the insider.
The design of a window dictates how we interact with other humans through it
Think about the cashier’s tiny window in a gas station in an insecure neighborhood. The tiny shape, the blinds half-closed, and the security bars in front make it almost impossible to interact with the human sitting behind it. You are just allowed to complete the task you came to do: pay for gas. Once you are done, the design will push you away and dismantle any further interaction.
On the contrary, a glass storefront in New York City encourages you to view and explore. The glass is so clear and clean that you can almost feel the presence of the people behind it; this creates an invitation to get close and interact with others.
Like architecture windows, our mobile devices dictate how we interact with other people
Now, let’s think about a slightly different window, one that we carry in our pockets on a daily basis — your phone. This little device is a window that allows us to communicate with other people (and computers too). Yet its design is not static as the physical windows described previously. The constant evolution of design trends, devices, and screens creates a unique window of opportunity to evolve as we move and use mobile technologies. Frank Chimero describes the evolution of screens on his “What screens want” article:
“And now, because of touch screens, we’re using the screens for input as well as output. The whole feedback cycle of using a computer is entirely screen-based. It’s no wonder that the average person’s conception of a computer is the screen.”
Let’s take as an example the Human Diagnosis Project app. The product’s vision is to enable physicians to provide better medical care to all of their patients. This works by allowing clinicians to share medical cases and questions in the app while facilitating feedback from other health professionals.
Like in architecture, in order for this communication to work, we needed to design a “window” that allows physicians around the world to interact with each other. We quickly realized that designing from our desks wouldn’t solve the problem. Just as architects spend time analyzing a site, we needed to spend time experiencing how doctors communicate, walk, and work in their environments. In other words, we decided to shadow clinicians on their daily routine while trying to design the perfect “window” for them.
Like architects take the site, context, and views into consideration, UX designers need to study the users, their environment, and behavior to design a successful product
After spending some time shadowing and researching our users, their environment, and lifestyles, we were able to design a window tailored for them. This led clinicians to adopt the Human Dx app in a more intuitive way that felt natural for them. As designers, we were able to create a better product for our users, but most importantly, it allowed them to communicate with each other and provide better care for their patients.
Interested in learning more about the similarities (and differences) between UX Design and Architecture? Here are some articles that I find really helpful and have read more than once:
