Under the COVID-19 epidemic, everyone is requiring to keep 2 meters away from each other, and people call it social distance. Do you know why is called social distance? Why is not other name? That is because Robert Sommer, American psychologist named four kinds of distance. They are Intimate Distance from 0 to 45-centimeter, Personal Distance from 45 to 120-centimeter, Social Distance from 120 to 360-centimeter, Public Distance from 360 to 750-centimeter. The 2-meter distance is fit in social distance, that is why people say keeping social distance. The distance is not only using in social, but also it can help our life for better living. There are lots of examples, but you may not notice. There is always a reason why designer do that.
How does distance effect our life?
Everyone has their comfort zone is like the extend of body and interpersonal communication is only within this limit of the space allows will appear natural. Otherwise, people would be restless. There are many situations we keeping the distance from people automatically. For example, when you walk into an elevator, it is empty inside you will just walk in the middle and waiting. After next level a man walks in and you do not know him, what would you do? You will step back or go near the conner because in your brain would feel your comfort zone going to be offended. And then in next level you meet your friend, he walks in and go near you at this time you would not go to another conner because you know him and he is in personal distance.
In real life, your brain already gives out order before you noticed. This is why sometimes people do not feel good, but could not explaining why.
The customer service agent always leaves a deep impression for service because they had trained for social distance. They never cross the distance and act politely. Same as social communicate, the distance in social communication also need to take care. With in different culture background social distance are different, so it is very important to know their taboo. Otherwise, it could create bigger trouble than you can imagine.
Another case is different restaurants with different design style. One restaurant neat and orderly and the other one is luxury and chaos. I would rather choose the one that is neat and orderly. Because the other restaurant gives me oppressive feeling, it is offence my comfort zone. How the lay out the chair and table make people feel open and free there is a secrete in it, and lots of people had study into it. This is called Human Factors or Ergonomics in another place. Using distance to lay out a practical space. It can Bring interior design into next level. It also become one of the most important elements in modern design. Science housing resource getting tighter.
What is Human Factors?
The definition of human factors is the study of the various factors of anatomy, physiology and psychology in a particular working environment; Study the interaction between man and machine and the environment; The study of how one considers efficiency, health, safety, and comfort at work, in one’s home life, and on holiday.
Why do we use human factors?
The most comment thing is house layout. We use human factors to design the furniture that fits our different requisites. To make sure things serve us, not us serve things. Understand the size of space. What you can do with it and let the space be most useful. This is one of the reasons we use human factors. Use limited space to create a comfortable, safe, and beyond the ideal area. Even the chair that you siting, it is using human factors. It makes our life easier, so we do not have to waste valuable time on something we should not care about. The human factors not only use in things we can see, but also things we do not see it. It can affect your mind. In the museum the designer will consider human behaver, so they will design the way like one-way travel. Making sure people can visit all the stuff at once. It is amazing that designer play with distance, but the most main point is to serve people and to help people takes less side-effect from different reasons.
In closing, the distance connects human, things, and environment together as a system, so people can use human factors to actively and efficiently control the living environment. Space design by human decision, but space effects human behaver. Study human factors can understand ourself better, and a possibility to away danger avoid people use it affect your feeling.
I hope this will help you build up social communication, if it works please leave a comment.