Design Studies: There's a Moose Loose, Aboot Yer Hoose

Well perhaps not exactly a moose, more me - and no cheek about there being no difference thank you very much.

Anyhow, moving swiftly on - as the title suggests we were effectively let loose in our partners homes to "snoop" - a term psychologist Sam Gosling coined in his book of the same name. Below he explains what he researched.

For the original interview source and more from Sam Gosling, visit bigthink.

I was teamed with Joanne White of Textiles, who sent me several pictures of both her residence while at University, and her bedroom back at her parents home. 

Immediately I picked up on the "girly" factor - the purple bed covers and matching curtains in one, and pink in the other, along with an arrangement of toiletry products. There was also a kids pillow on one of the beds, and from this I assume she is playful and young, but not necessarily immature. Light hearted things like childish cushions may symbolise memories from being younger, and a longing to return to then, or in fact that Joanne herself is in fact just young at heart. Secondly, I noticed that on the wall there are framed school photos. These may be significant to her as she may be a relatively new school leaver and thus have sentimental value for it. I think it shows that she still deems that part of her life as valuable - enough that is, to warrant wall space. 

There are several coats hung up at the door, and as this is in her student residence room and not at a front door, I assume it's safe to make the assumption that they are all hers. From this I can gather that she is fashion conscious, as she has different outerwear for different occasions. To add to this, there is also a few clothes shop carrier bags scattered throughout the images, suggesting she clothes shops regularly.

There is a card on the shelves with a ribbon and heart on it, which is being held by a bear. As there are not several other cards to suggest a recent birthday, I assume this is from a partner, meaning she is not single. 

Amongst the items on her shelves, aside from the card, is the previously mentioned toiletries. On closer inspection of these, there appears to be several cans of hair spray - which could mean that she is image conscious, although I would assume that this is perhaps more geared towards evenings out. This is likely, as paired with the information gathered by the collection of coats and clothes shop carrier bags, it is safe to come to this conclusion. 

Further to the "girlie" aspect that I mentioned at the beginning, I have noticed that there are a few soft toys perched on a shelf in her bedroom at her parents house. These depict the same character that was on the cushion - so this may in fact be a specific interest in this character, and not a general children's character interest. 

Everything is neat and appears to have it's own specific place. This could borderline on neuroticism, but the bedroom used while at University is marginally messier - thus meaning that the tidiness could just be because the room at her parents is used less. Her University residence is more "lived in"- but not messy.

There is a bag in the waste paper bin to catch the rubbish - suggesting that Joanne is someone who likes things to be done properly, neatly, and efficiently, as by doing this it saves time later when emptying, and it also reduces possible mess.

Overall I would say Joanne is a tidy person without being a neat freak. Sometimes things may pile up during more stressful times, however her parents home shows she is a neat and tidy person when she has the time. I think she could be prone to getting stressed, and perhaps be slightly shy as there are few bold statements made in any of the images - however this could be a result of not being allowed to fully personalise rented accommodation.

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Well, after the meeting I had with Joanne and a few others, it turns out the above is pretty accurate! She agreed with nearly all of it - and added further reasoning to my conclusions, all of which continue down the assumptions I had made.

Scarily, her analysis of me was also very accurate. From my images she got that I am bold, loud, outspoken about my beliefs and creative. She also got that I am borderline obsessive compulsive about my organising of things, pointing out that I often over arrange things - such as my hangers. Pretty much spot on (although I'm more things, not a horrid unbearable loud brute, I hope!) Another thing that was brought to my attention is my selection of Andy Warhol quotes on my bedroom wall. One stated that "one's company, two's a crowd and three's a party". From this she got that I'm light hearted, and up for having a laugh and enjoy company. She also got this from my halloween costume where I was dressed as a Pacman ghost. My choice of decor, namely the assortment of frames in the hallway indicate I am creative and take pride in presentation. My decision to tattoo the Andy Warhol banana to myself she said, was another indication to my personal beliefs - showing that I have no issues with being outspoken, and not concerning myself with what others think about me.

As I said, pretty accurate!

We also had to complete the Joharis Window task - a task that requires us to fill in adjectives into the relevant box, revealing areas of your personality that you may not be aware of. Groups of key words tended to be together under the various areas you may place them. The boxes include Open - which is the field that descriptions that are obvious to both you and others are places. Blind is the box that is traits obvious to others, but not yourself. Hidden is the field that are traits you know you have but others do not, and unknown are any other uncategorizable traits. Below are my findings (I used a standard set of 56 adjectives) :