Nathan Moody, Stimulant
Spatially Literate Experience Design
What turns a space into a place? In the realm of architecture and urban planning, “placemaking” is a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design
Nathan Moody, Stimulant
Spatially Literate Experience Design
What turns a space into a place? In the realm of architecture and urban planning, “placemaking” is a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design and management of physical spaces. It is both a process and a philosophy that capitalizes on people’s assets, inspiration and potential to create meaning through human use of a space. Physical space has vast reserves of untapped potential as a means to connect people to ideas, brands, and to each other. Welcome to the age of placemaking in experiential marketing.
Experiential marketing has explored this idea for some time, but only recently has the evolution of technology made it feasible to digitally enhance human experiences in physical space. Indeed, the only barriers to site-specific digital experiences that adhere to the principles of placemaking are those of understanding and workflow. When brands and their agency partners strive to reach people where they live, work, play and visit (in the physical world rather than online) all manner of ancillary disciplines and knowledge are required: architecture, engineering, lighting, interior design, technology, human geography and more.
When done right, a place becomes a space and a space becomes smart. The key to successful smart spaces is spatial literacy. If you develop a place-based digital experience without understanding user expectations, analyzing patterns of past use of the space in question, examining cultural norms, or grasping architectural principles rooted in humanism, you will never be able to craft something that is true and appropriate to its physical context.
In his seminal book Digital Ground (2004, MIT Press), Malcolm McCullough shares an example of a real estate developer who builds homes based on pre-existing, stock designs. All of the homes in one such development end up being sited incorrectly because the developer lacked an understanding of the architect’s original design rationale as well as the physical geography of the land where the houses were to be built. Rather than having sloped roofs angled to the north towards the prevailing winds (with the windows facing south for warmth), the roofs we