Room Design to Stimulate Your Mind
Research is finally catching up with what savvy architects have known for a long time – the design of a room can have a big impact on how we think and feel (cognition). Or so argues an interesting article in April 2009 issue of Scientific American Mind.
A few of the design heuristics include:
Raise the height of ceilings to stimulate creativity and lower them for more focused detail oriented work
Provide external views of natural scenes (greenery and natural light) to stimulate mental focus and rejuvenation
Use blue LEDs and full fluorescent lighting to stimulate alertness
Of course I oversimplify a bit. Beyond the heuristics the article explains the cognitive science of why they work. A must read for cognitive designers.
