Category Archives: Design

How an Apple Store Grabs You … Subliminally

Posted on March 22, 2021 by Genetics of Design

Apple reached a $2 trillion market valuation last summer, a clear marker of its tech prowess. But when you look at its retail store design, you see the company also excels at something else entirely: understanding people—and how to capture … Continue reading →

Posted in Design, Neuroscience, People-centric Design, STEM | Leave a comment

Seeing How Cars + People Grab Us

Posted on February 20, 2021 by Genetics of Design

With eye tracking we can ‘see’ how humans take in the world. This biometric tool gives an inside view of our remarkable subliminal activity, including what’s really going on when we do something seemingly simple, like walking down a city … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Design, Eye Tracking, Walkability | Leave a comment

Eye-tracking Architecture to Understand Ourselves

Posted on January 20, 2021 by Genetics of Design

Here’s a video from the non-profit The Human Architecture + Planning Institute, Inc. (theHapi.org) showing results from a Sensing-Streetscape study that looks at how people actually experience buildings and different streets in Boston. Eye tracking can tell us a lot about … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, City Planning, Design, Eye Tracking, Neuroscience, Walkability | Leave a comment

Open Invitation to Urban Experience and Design Book Launch: Friday, January 15, 2021, 3PM EST

Posted on January 7, 2021 by Genetics of Design

The Human Architecture and Planning Institute, Tufts UEP, and Routledge invite you to a global, virtual event to celebrate the publication of the new book Urban Experience and Design: Contemporary Perspectives on Improving the Public Realm on January 15, 2021, 3PM-4PM Eastern Time. Editors Justin Hollander and Ann … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Biology, City Planning, Design | Tagged | 3 Comments

‘Built Beautiful,’ the Movie on Architecture + Neuroscience Streaming Live at Boston Architectural College on Dec. 7, 2020

Posted on December 2, 2020 by Genetics of Design

Built Beautiful – Trailer from Mariel Rodriguez-McGill on Vimeo. The Boston Architectural College (BAC) announced it will screen this new documentary which bridges the arts + sciences on Monday, December 7, 2020 at 7 PM EST. All are invited to … Continue reading →

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Eye Tracking Architecture to ‘See’ Human Nature

Posted on October 13, 2020 by Genetics of Design

Humans are remarkable creatures, and a great way to appreciate the hidden aspects of our nature is with eye tracking, a biometric tool that measures how our eyes move to take in our surroundings—often without our conscious awareness or control. … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Design, Eye Tracking, Neuroscience, People-centric Design | 1 Comment

Faces: The Key to Making Happy Places

Posted on September 8, 2020 by Genetics of Design

Do you see faces in these gingerbread cottages in Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard, a popular summer retreat on this island ten miles off the coast of Massachusetts? Does it seem like they are looking at you? Built as part of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Biology, Design, Neuroscience, People-centric Design | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The Case Against All-Glass Facades

Posted on July 18, 2020 by Genetics of Design

The pictures tell the story. And make the case. Biometric studies explain why. At left, is a photo of MassArt Design and Media Center, (c. 2016), a public college of applied art in downtown Boston; at right, the George Wythe … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Biology, Design, Eye Tracking, Neuroscience, People-centric Design | Tagged | 4 Comments

Empathy in Design: Measuring How Faces Make Places

Posted on June 21, 2020 by Genetics of Design

Since 2015, Ragusa, Sicily has hosted FestiWall, an international art festival devoted to enhancing the public realm and improving citizen engagement with the modern section of an old city. Here are two views of a residential tower before and after … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, City Planning, Design, Eye Tracking, Neuroscience, People-centric Design, STEM | 1 Comment

Empathy in Design: Measuring the Impact of Biophilia

Posted on May 26, 2020 by Genetics of Design

Is home your happy place? Does it make you feel warm and welcome? Now that a pandemic has turned our homes into multipurpose spaces that double as offices, gyms, schools, playgrounds and safe havens from a virus, feelings matter more than … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Biology, Design, Eye Tracking, Health, People-centric Design | Tagged | 2 Comments