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- Talk on Thigmotaxis – the Human ‘Wall-Hugging’ trait: Tuesday, March 10th, 2026
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Author Archives: Genetics of Design
Putting Faces First
After eye tracking a photo of the young man below, we saw how compelling a face could be. Within 3/10 of a second, the 33 people in our pilot study focused on his eyes and mouth. They proceeded to go back and look … Continue reading
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Inner Views: Your Brain on People
We see a space differently with people in the picture; our brain simply directs our attention towards them without any conscious effort on our part. On some level, we may know this, but now with eye-tracking technology we can really … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Design, Uncategorized
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Bostonians may be hard-wired to hate City Hall Plaza
The Boston Globe took note of our eye-tracking study this Sunday in an IDEAS article. Follow this link or read the article below. The design of Boston City Hall is a charged topic. Some people love it, others hate it, … Continue reading
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How We Look at Buildings
When we look at buildings, what do we see first? What attracts us most? What grabs our attention? Last month, we began a pilot study exploring these questions at Boston’s Institute of Human Centered Design (IHCD) using an off-the-shelf ‘eye-tracker’ … Continue reading
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Faces of Japan
Have you ever looked at a house and felt it was looking back? Did the windows, doors and threshold resemble a friendly face? Now that I’m attuned to our subconscious bias for faces, I’m on constant lookout for buildings that … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Patterns, People-centric Design
Tagged face-i-tecture, faces, Patterns
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The Joy of Modern Houses
The first time I toured a modern house, it was love at first sight. Heart racing. Pulse pounding. Face flushing. Love. Or maybe lust. Either way, once I met a house with cathedral ceilings, I never went back. Humongous windows. … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Design, Health
Tagged Architecture, Design, Health, Indoor-Outdoor, Modern, Traditional
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Architecture that Calls to Us
I was heading to the beach the other day when I saw this barn at a nearby local orchard, and I knew I’d have to stop by. The barn seemed to have wide eyes that met my gaze and called … Continue reading
Drives Me Crazy
Donna called at 5pm with a last-minute request, “Can you give me a lift to Bedford? I promised to have dinner with my parents and my car’s in the shop.” “Sure” I said, not realizing that a 10-mile drive during rush … Continue reading
Posted in City Planning, Exercise, Health, Walkability
Tagged Health, Traffic, Walking
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The Allure of Repeated Patterns
The main draw of the new Broad Museum slated to open in Los Angeles on September 22 is the eye-catching pattern on the building’s skin. Humans are captivated by repeating patterns: dots, diamonds, circles, cross hatches, ovals, stripes, spirals, scallops, … Continue reading
No Faces – We’ll Affix That!
How We Add Faces to Blank Places Humans are drawn to faces. Our brains are built to see them. Indeed, more of our brain is engaged in facial recognition than the recognition of any other visual object, says neuroscientist Eric … Continue reading
The Genetics of Design 