There’s been lots of press about how the rise of selfie-type photographs is influencing design. Designers are devoting a lot of energy to optimizing how things look in the sort of images a user’s phone/camera is likely to capture –including how meals look on plates. With the new importance of social media, which is a visually oriented medium, this is hardly surprising.
One way that designers can increase the likelihood that people will take photos somewhere/of something is to have that place/object be awe-inspiring. Awe, in addition to generating all sorts of photos, has a slew of positive psychological benefits, which have been detailed in previous columns in this series – and people can be awed, with all of its benefits –whether they snap a photo or not.
Research indicates that, beyond social media posts, there are positive repercussions of taking photos in a space. When people take a selfie in a space they seem to subsequently identify more strongly with it if they enjoy taking selfies. When an organization’s office is the place photographed, that’s a good thing among employees, as it leads to more positive opinions about that workplace and the work the photographer does there. Studies also indicate that taking photos generally increases the enjoyment resulting from pleasing experiences recorded –while also degrading the evaluations of less-than-desirable situations.
The increasing number of user-photographers has practical design implications. Photographing can lead to stress among both photographers and non-photographers, particularly when they share spaces. People who are not moving because they are taking a selfie can significantly influence circulation in an area and individuals endeavoring to take a selfie from the “perfect” spot – which is often the one that everyone else is using –also can make traveling a challenge unless walkways are widened or similar photo-related accommodations provided.
Research indicates that designing to support users’photographic efforts has positive implications beyond increasing social media attention and that the energy expended to further photography is justified.
Sally Augustin, PhD, is the editor of Research Design Connnections (www.researchdesignconnections.com). Research Design Connectionsreports on research conducted by social and physical scientists that designers can apply in practice. Insights derived from recent studies are integrated with classic, still relevant findings in concise, powerful articles. Topics covered range from the cognitive, emotional, and physiological implications of sensory and other physical experiences to the alignment of culture, personality, and design, among others. Information, in everyday language, is shared in a monthly subscription newsletter, an archive of thousands of published articles, and a free daily blog. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture(Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design(Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.