Design Studies: Snooping in London

Further to my recent posts about ethnography, I thought I'd explain my findings during my primary and secondary locations.

My primary location - a place in which we are unfamiliar with, somewhere we do not regularly occupy, and therefore feel a reasonable amount of discomfort in - was the London underground system, primarily in the business district, stretching into the ExCel exhibition centre. These places were locations that I felt generally out of my depth, as busy business men smoothy made the transition from work to transport with their silent unspoken etiquette. This was something a student in particular would find intimidating, as you are an amateur to their world, and feel like you are getting under their busy feet. Do I stand? Do I give them my seat? What do I do when I can't reach a rail to steady myself? How do you get across the extremely busy carriage if you find the stop's doors are on the opposite side to which you are? Do you apologise if you brush up against someone? It's all easier said than done, but regulars to this do it with ease.

Oh, and apparently nobody apologies in London.

this was just the entrance hall, mid morning!

We also had to select a secondary location - somewhere where we felt comfortable, a place that we regularly visit. For this, I selected my local bus stop - in which I visit up to 4 times a day. I understand that if an older person were to come to the stop I would allow them on first so they don't feel like they are holding up the bus by getting on last, I'd also help them with any bags. I understand that you allow the people to alight the bus before I board. I understand that you only say "you first", "no you" a maximum of twice, or the politeness catch 22 will never end. I also understand, that at an empty stop you should always sit at the waiting seats towards an end, so that others arriving can sit on it without feeling they have to sit right next to a stranger, or do the awkward slide along. Not all stops have a "No Smoking" sign - but everyone from Scotland is aware of the law stating you may not smoke in a bus stop with 3+ sides. This means a post is ok to smoke at, a side with a roof is ok, but not two sides and a roof. I know all this because over time I have absorbed the unspoken etiquette.

All of these things are learnt through doing, but how could this be made more apparent for newcomers? My primary and secondary locations have highlighted that although I find my daily routine easy, I only perceive it to be easy as I have done it for so long. A new surrounding brings new customs to adhere to, but how can you prevent that awkward "oh look, here's an out of town-er" stare? This brings me to my next task:

Relating This To Interior & Environmental Design


Signs can be overwhelming. Yes, we need minimal signage to direct us generally, and warn us of serious dangers and hazards, but bombarding a person with ways in which to behave and react would be inappropriate - in fact it would do the opposite of it's intention and leave the newcomer even more intimidated by the whole situation.

So how can the design of the location help improve acceptable etiquette in busy a metropolis? Perhaps a simple floor plan on the carriage floor may help - similar to that of footsteps found on the ground at cash points, making people aware of how far away they should stand from the user for security and privacy when access private information, such as that of bank balances.

A consistent distance away from everyone means that there's less chance of the awkward squeeze, and perhaps align these with easy access to rails for each passenger to hold on to. Footstep places would of course need to be much closer together in order to hold a similar amount of people to present numbers, but by arranging them in a more logical fashion, it would perhaps allow for a calmer organised structure of people to travel - thus making it less daunting for newbies.

Pompidou Centre

Another thing that I found was missing was clearer signage to platforms. In a large crowd, it was difficult to see which way to go when switching line at one station. We travelled a lot on the DLR to Lewisham, however several DLR lines travelled in that general direction, although with different final destinations. Perhaps colour coded lines on the ground directing you to each platform would prevent people having to scout for signs - something that slows up crowds and irritates people who know where they are going. Following a simple thing like this would make it easier for people who have never experienced such a place before to blend in with the masses of regulars. This form of direction is regularly seen in hospitals, and an example is given above from The Pompidou Centre, Paris.

As far as The ExCel goes, it was quite well laid out, and made it easy for us to make our way around. It was more intimidating in terms of the social aspect, as we were out of our depths in terms of knowledge, rather than navigation.