Help us develop a more evidence-based foundation for human-centred interior design
Have you ever noticed that some places give you energy while others make you tired? That some spaces make it easier to concentrate, think creatively or relax, while others feel less supportive?
Think of this booklet as a tool for discovering which surroundings help you feel most like yourself. The booklet was developed to help you become more aware of how your everyday surroundings affect you.
At the same time, you will contribute to a broader effort to understand the relationship between people, activity and the built environment.
Who Is the Booklet For?
The self-observation booklet is relevant to anyone who regularly spends time at home, in a workplace, within an educational environment or in other places that form part of everyday life.
It can be used by:
- private homeowners
- tenants
- interior designers
- architects
- students
- educators
- companies and organisations
- professional feng shui practitioners
You do not need any particular qualifications to participate. The most important thing is to be curious about the relationship between people and their surroundings.
Why Is This Interesting?
We are different.
Some people thrive best in open and lively surroundings. Others prefer calm, enclosed or more structured spaces. Some are inspired by daylight and views. Others find focus in more sheltered environments.
Our responses to spaces are influenced by both innate dispositions and the ways in which we are exposed to our local environment.
By observing your own experiences over time, you may begin to discover patterns that would otherwise remain invisible.
You may discover that certain places support concentration, while others strengthen creativity. You may find that some surroundings promote greater calm, better relationships or stronger motivation.
These insights can be used to develop environments that more closely support your individual needs, preferences and goals.
Why Are We Doing This?
The purpose is to understand how people experience their immediate surroundings in real life.
The more people contribute their experiences, the more we can learn about the relationship between:
Person → Environment → Activity → Experience → Area of Life
This additional environmental layer is essential if we want to develop a more evidence-based foundation for the interior design of the future, human-centred design methods and those aspects of feng shui that can be investigated and described through systematic observation.
From Inner Experience to the Built Environment
Many existing questionnaires investigate people’s experiences of well-being, stress, meaning and quality of life.
These include:
- the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS)
- the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)
- quality-of-life scales
- workplace environment surveys
- Post-Occupancy Evaluations (POE)
These tools primarily investigate human experience.
The self-observation booklet builds upon this research by also including the physical environments in which the experiences occur.
We therefore examine not only how people feel, but also which environmental conditions appear to support particular experiences, activities and areas of life.
Why Do We Observe for 14 Days?
If we want to understand the relationship between people and their surroundings, a single observation is rarely sufficient.
One day may be influenced by:
- sleep
- weather
- conflict
- illness
- work pressure
- financial circumstances
After 14 days, patterns often begin to emerge.
You may consistently experience a particular working area as supportive of focus but less supportive of creativity.
You may consistently experience a living area as restorative and inspiring.
These recurring patterns are what make the observations interesting.
What Are We Investigating?
For each place of occupation, both the environment and the experience are registered.
The Environment
You will observe:
- primary colours
- forms
- materials
- daylight
- ventilation
- contact with nature
- tidiness
- cleanliness
- structure and organisation
The Experience
You will register:
- focus
- energy
- calm
- comfort
- well-being
- creativity
- a sense of confinement
Areas of Life
The booklet also investigates experiences relating to:
- direction in life
- development
- community
- resources
- recognition
- relationships
- creativity
- helpfulness
- balance
What Do We Hope to Learn?
When a sufficient number of observations have been collected, it becomes possible to investigate questions such as:
- Is experienced creativity associated with daylight?
- Is focus associated with tidiness?
- Is well-being associated with natural materials?
- Is the sense of community associated with particular types of space?
- Are experienced meaning and direction associated with particular environmental characteristics?
This approach is closer to evidence-based interior design and environmental psychology, while also investigating many of the human experiences that traditional spatial practices have historically addressed.
Your Participation Makes a Difference
Statistical significance does not arise from individual cases, but from the combined experiences of many people.
When many people describe their experiences over time, it becomes possible to identify patterns extending beyond the experience of the individual.
This may benefit:
- individual participants
- professional designers
- architects
- researchers
- workplace environment specialists
- the interior design industry as a whole
When You Have Finished
Once you have completed the self-observation booklet, please send it to:
The collected observations will be evaluated on an ongoing basis to identify patterns between people, activities and the built environment.
Thank you for contributing to a broader understanding of how surroundings relate to well-being, focus, creativity, relationships and quality of life.
Request the Observation Form
The English observation form is available on request.
To receive a copy, please contact Blissbode at contact@blissbode.live
Blissbode develops practice-based methods that are undergoing active research development and validation, including through the Resonant Living Project™. The work complements, but does not replace, relevant medical, psychological, geological, electromagnetic or building-related professional advice.
© Bonna Ravn Thomsen / Blissbode. Mechanical, photographic or electronic reproduction of this text, or any part of it, requires written permission from Blissbode.