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Overview
• Design in Mind builds on a wealth of knowledge which shows the huge impact that our internal spaces have on health, wellbeing and productivity.
• We bring this evidence together in a clear and concise way to allow organisations across all sectors to design their internal spaces in ways that generate sizable and sustainable benefits.
• We are a one-stop shop for all those interested in taking the latest evidence from
behavioural science and applying it in their own settings.
• Academics often frame their studies in ways that cannot easily be applied to practical design and designers sometimes lack the tools to adequately assess users’ needs and behaviour.
• We bridge the gap between theory and practice to create better spaces for all.
• We spend 85% of our lives in buildings or vehicles
• Sick leave costs UK employers £29 billion
pounds a year • Office workers are 66% less productive in an
open-plan office due to noise from others than when left on their own
• 88% of employers agree they have a
responsibility to encourage employees to be physically healthy
• One-third of office workers are dissatisfied
with the interior climate and one in five suffer from health complaints
• Last year, each worker missed 8 days of work through sickness
• People in “good” health are 20% more
productive than those in “poor” health
• For every £1 spent on health promotion, there is a £6 yield in return
From too little to too much … With ski-lifts for meeting rooms, Slides between rooms, merry-go Rounds for ‘carnival of ideas’... it’s all just too much. Distraction Over-stimulating spaces are just as bad as sick, dated and oppressive ones. They distract people from work and also bother patients, unconsciously, sometimes causing unnecessary stress and sleep deprivation. When you are distracted at work the mind has to reorient itself each time using up mental resources more quickly. This increases fatigue and decreases productivity. Email distractions cost UK businesses £10k per employee so we don’t need any more.
Here, everything is salient, efficient. With simple design, and small changes that focus on well-being, you can have it all: healthy, happy, productive and creative workers.
S.A.L.I.E.N.T checklist
It’s the salient which is key to a successful environment. So we have gathered up the elements of the design to create a mnemonic using the word SALIENT to act as a useful checklist to use across all sectors. SALIENT keeps the design process simple and efficient. The benefits of a checklist are substantial, and have been shown to literally save lives. They are used in clinical surgery, aircraft operations, software engineering and investment processes. Checklists bring us back from our “inattentional blindness”, whereby we focus on narrow aspects of a decision and ignore the bigger picture. The obvious is often overlooked, checklists bring common sense to the fore.
Overview of evidence – SALIENT Sound Unpredictable and attention seeking sounds have a negative effect Air Drawing in air from the outside without causing a draft
Light High colour temperatures (closer to daylight) Image Unambiguous and familiar Ergonomics Furniture and equipment designed with the user in mind Nature Drawing conscious and unconscious attention to plants and nature Tint Green-blue and colours in low contrast
The offer – internal space audit
Many spaces are oppressive, dated, soulless or over-stimulating. They affect us psychologically, physiologically and behaviourally. It often takes a fresh perspective to notice what is wrong. We provide that fresh perspective, drawing on the latest evidence. We provide suggestions about realistic changes that will have robust effects. Evidence shows that small changes in the internal space can have large effects on: - Productivity - Health and sickness absence - Wellbeing An internal space audit comprises of two main parts 1. The assessment
• Discuss the challenge and objectives • On-site assessment of internal space 2. The report • Provide evidence based critique of existing internal space • Provide evidence informed recommendations for change
Why us?
• Professor Paul Dolan is an internationally renowned expert in happiness, human behavior and public policy. He has over 100 peer-reviewed publications and amongst various academic appointments was a visiting research scholar with Daniel Kahneman at Princeton. Amongst his current professional activities, he is a member of the Cognitive and Behavioural Sciences Panel of the World Economic Forum and was previously a member of the ‘nudge unit’ in the Cabinet Office, where he authored the ‘mindspace’ report. He is chief academic advisor on economic appraisal for the UK Treasury and he wrote the questions being used by the Office for National Statistics to monitor national happiness. He has advised many companies, including Visa, Aviva, Shell, BUPA and the VW Group.
• Chloe Foy has several years of experience is in designing interior spaces and is now a researcher in behavioural design at the London School of Economics. She understands the importance of design of our interior environments and the impact they have on our health, wellbeing and productivity. Over the years within this discipline, including the events industry, she has worked with a wide range of clients from the third sector to luxury, and from residential to corporate, with all walks of life and this makes her savvy to the spectrum of contexts and her ability to be personable and flexible. Her creative background enables her to combine and provide the science and apply it to the context.
Sound • Sound affects us psychologically, physiologically, cognitively and behaviourally, even
though we’re not aware of it. • Occupational and environmental noise exposure results in hypertension and blood
pressure.
• Noisy offices means additional physiological effort and hormonal response.
• Over hundreds of thousands of years we have associated well with sounds of nature. They are the best for concentration and generally preferred.
• In hospitals, beeping machinery, computers and general din have doubled in the last 40
years. It affects patients and their sleep, delaying recovery. Staff dispensing errors are also on the rise as a result.
• Music is the most unconditionally powerful positive mood inducing intervention there is. It
associates the mind with pleasure and reward with signs of euphoria.
• Music has been shown to decrease anxiety and calm neural activity in the brain. It has an effect on brain injury and stroke patients in rehabilitation wards.
Air • During the last two decades there has been increasing concern over the effects of
indoor air quality on health. New buildings are now more energy efficient and that has meant they are more airtight than older structures.
• Advances in construction technology have caused a much greater use of synthetic building materials. This has led to contamination in the air that may build up to high concentrations.
• Air movement, temperature, dryness and odour have also been shown to provoke symptoms like coughs, sore throat and dry eyes.
• Good ventilation essential allows workers to think more clearly and improves task performance.
• In hospitals, HEPA(high-efficiency particulate air) filters can be at least 99.97% efficient for removing particulates as small as 0.3 μm in diameter and prove a significant reduction in environmental contamination by MRSA.
Light • The most effective lighting for increased well-being is completely context
dependant. This is obvious, but it also comes down the individual.
• Lighting affects us directly, affecting what and how well we are able to see; and indirectly, in the form of effects on our mood, behaviour, and even hormonal balance.
• Natural lighting results in happier, more productive workers and should always strive to be used wherever possible. It reduces length of stay and mortality in hospital.
• Cooler lighting (high colour temperature which is closer to daylight) enhances
concentration.
• Warmer lighting (low colour temperature like lamps, incandescent) is more relaxing but can cause drowsiness. It has however been shown to be better for decision making.
• Pharmaceutical dispense areas in hospitals make far less errors when they have the brightest lighting (1,500 lux).
• In Chicago, nightshift workers mood and alertness was improved with brighter lighting compared to dull.
Image • People Are inherently visual. We learn, remember and are affected by visual
associations. Images matter. • Although pictures of mountains are motivational, they are predictable and our
minds respond to originality, acting quite literally, to stimulate us, we can do a lot more in innovating the workplace.
Modern Images and Prints - positively stimulate employees, reflects consideration for their employees work environment and the quality of service
Photography – sense of humanity into the workplace with which we can relate to
• Hospitals are turning to art as part of a broader push to create healing
environments and studies show they can help to reduce stress and increase satisfaction with care. However, it’s easy to get the content wrong if the evidence is unknown.
• In Sweden, psychiatric patients gave consistent preference to unambiguous and familiar art being the best for positive feelings and sense of well-being.
• Over 300 inpatients preference was for images of nature and it helped to improve
outcomes such as stress and pain.
Ergonomics • Proper ergonomic design is necessary to prevent repetitive strain injuries which can
develop and lead to even more time off work. • Psychosocial working conditions like job control, and satisfaction have received
most attention, but it is the physical working conditions that proved to be most important determinants of sickness absence.
• Good ergonomics make products easier to use.
• Eliminate distraction, increasing productivity.
• Manufacturing process more efficient, reducing cost.
• Show the company care about their employees which allows for employees to care about the company.
• Patient-transferring devices and toilet modification resulted in a reduction of back
injuries of almost 50%.
Nature • Humans have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years surrounded with plants.
Our environment and lifestyle has changed dramatically, however, genetically, we have not.
• In a windowless computer lab in Washington, plants reduced blood pressure, increase reaction time by 12% and increased attentiveness.
• Plants remove CO2, absorb noise and reduce effects often linked to Sick Building
Syndrome (SBS) such as stress, fatigue, coughs and headaches.
• In Sweden, heart-surgery patients in ICUs who were assigned a picture with a
landscape scene with trees and water reported less anxiety and needed fewer strong doses of pain drugs than a control group assigned no pictures.
• Adult patients undergoing a painful bronchoscopy procedure reported less pain if they were assigned to look at a ceiling- mounted nature scene rather than a control condition consisting of a blank ceiling.
Tint • We can only generalise and provide examples in terms of which colours are most
pleasing, relaxing or arousing. They are extremely context and culturally dependent, which means they must be considered carefully, case by case.
• Green - Blue - most innovative, pleasant, relaxing and productive colour although
should be avoided in colder environments. • Bright Red - makes walls appear further away, stops lingering, people spend less
time in red environments. • Yellow–green - least pleasant and is the most arousing and dominant. • In a computer generated 3-D commercial lobby space, warm hues with light
value dominant, medium chroma (not to dark or too bright) and low contrast were the most pleasing and relaxing.
• Gender and personality can also come into the equation, for example, men prefer achromatic colors than women. Women can also be more colour-conscious and their colour tastes more flexible and diverse.
• Introverts may be more affected by strong colours and patterns than extroverts, potentially affecting their work performance.
SALIENT AT WORK BEFORE • Cluttered space provokes
unconscious distraction decreased satisfaction both in employees and clients
• Dark carpets and furniture make space appear smaller
AFTER
• Air – de-clutter allows for more free flow of air, reducing dust
• Light – white cupboards reflect more daylight
• Ergonomics – de-clutter makes the space easier and more pleasant to work in which reduces distraction
• Nature – plants promote positivity and reduce dust pollution
• Tint – blue walls and light green carpet increase productivity and relaxation
SALIENT WHILE YOU WAIT
BEFORE • Tired walls and forgotten boxes
represent the care • Dated décor reduce staff and
patient morale
AFTER
• Image – increase well-being and reduce anxiety
• Ergonomics – more comfortable seat reduces perceived waiting time
• Nature – plants promote positivity, relaxation, reduce dust pollution and balance the humidity in the air
• Tint – blue walls and light flooring increase relaxation and reflect light which enable a sense of a larger space and well-being
