Our approach to human factors

Traditionally, designs for the workplace have been developed focusing on the physical needs and interactions of the worker - a good design was an efficient design. More recently, we have seen a shift towards the psychological and cognitive aspects. This holistic approach, where the entire user experience is considered, is known as the Human Factors Discipline.

Read on to explore how human factors affects the workplace, and how we design our products with the user's experience at the centre.

Office design for humans

The overall interior design of a working environment should consider the wants and needs of its occupants, not only with productive and efficient work spaces, but also with places to relax, to communicate and a whole host of amenities and features to enhance wellbeing and happiness. Here is an example of a balanced and positive working environment.

1.Private Office 2.Multi-user Workspace 3.Coworkbay 4.Workbay 5.Booth 6.Touchdown 7.Workshop/Lab 8.Flexible Work area 9.Informal Meeting Space 10.Formal Meeting Space 11.Conference Room 12.Event Space 13.Storage 14.Welcoming Area 15.Lounge/Relax 16.Eating Area 17.Kitchen 18.Coffee Station 19.Acoustic Screens

Read more - The benefits of Activity Based Working

Furniture - Designed for you

When we design furniture, we look closely at human needs, particularly within the context of day-to-day activities that take place.

Our goal is to make furniture that provides a positive experience for every user. Be it in the workplace or the home, we make sure that everyone can understand the benefits of our designs, and can clearly see how they are intended to be used.

To achieve that goal we have identified four key criteria that we consider in all of our designs.

Movement & Support

Movement and variation are so important when it comes to everyones wellbeing. Our solutions are either designed for movement or invite the user to move and change postures regularly. However, there is a critical relation between stability and movement.

When designing, we consider the users’ need to feel safe to be able to move on or with the product. If the feeling of stability is challenged, the body will react by fixating its position to regain control.

Comfort

The most noticeable thing for anyone using a piece of furniture is how comfortable it is. Measuring what comfort actually is, is a little more tricky. We focus on three aspects of comfort in all our designs, one following the other in the users’ journey of experiencing a product.

• Visual comfort - What we see with our eyes primes our minds on what to expect; our expectations influence our experience of comfort.

• Initial comfort - How does it feel upon first contact? Tactile sensations and degree of softness are evaluated at this stage. We make sure our chair’s settings are highly...

Moebelstoffene Sirdal Setesdal og Suldal i Norsk Ull_

Usability

Not understanding how something works is frustrating. We work hard to make all of our designs intuitive, and provide simple instructional guides to make sure that any potential problems are met head on.

We see five key areas to address in order to provide a positive user experience

• Intuitive design - Effortless understanding of the architecture and operation of the product

•Ease of learning - How fast a new user can grasp the basic...

Inclusive Design

Inclusive design means a lot of things, but at its core, it means designing products that can be adapted, adjusted or specified for all kinds of people. Physical size, age and special needs are all considered, and we ensure that each user group can not only use our designs, but can understand and enjoy them too.

In short: we design products that positively affect all people that are in touch with them, in one way or another.

The birth of Human Factors

A definition

The core characteristics of Human Factors were defined by Dul et al (2012)¹. He describes the Human Factors Discipline as:

• Design driven
• Following a system approach where humans are part of the system.
• Focusing on a dual outcome of wellbeing and (system) performance