Do patterns affect your feeling?
- (“Food pattern free vector download (23,463 Free vector) for commercial use. format: ai, eps, cdr, svg vector illustration graphic art design,” 2018)
Scientists understand more about how our feelings are affected when we are sucking a lemon and taste sourness or pricked by a needle and feel pain. How human mood is affected by what they see is not comprehensible for experts. That is because seeing is a much more complicated activity that which involves shape, colour and dimension with multiple objects associations that are changing over time.
We know that some shapes and colours influence our feelings, for instance, the colour red draws our attention to the object. But the question is do other visual characteristics like pattern produce the same emotions in people?
According to Dr George Stylios studies, a pattern can affect people’s feelings. (George Stylios, 2016)
First stage: Spot the pattern
Dr Stylios tested 10 pairs of patterns on 20 participants. Each participant was shown some images in black and white. Dr Stylios and his team investigated their emotional responses by measuring their brain and heart activity as well as asking them how they felt about each pattern. (George Stylios, 2016)
After data analysing they discerned two trends. Participants were more pleased by repeating patterns than non-repeating ones and intense patterns were more exciting for them than weak ones. (George Stylios, 2016)
Second Stage: Wise Woollens
In the second stage of the study, they designed and produced four smart knitted fabrics. Each fabric could toggle between two kinds of patterns on a graduating scale. Two of four fabrics switched between a repeating and non-repeating pattern, while the other two toggled between weak and intense patterns. After they tested on 20 more people not only their results confirmed stage one outcomes but also, they realized by shifting between patterns, they could make participants switch from one emotion to the other and back. (George Stylios, 2016)
I am always interested in patterns, especially natural patterns like the snow pattern in my inspiration post, that was a beautiful snow pattern on the ground, made by ice melting and dripping from the tree. As an interior designer, I found out how important it is to choose the right pattern for my design because these patterns can affect human’s feelings both positively and negatively.
I always felt like patterns do change the way I feel about something but I was not sure if it is scientific or it is just some feelings that I imagined. When I started doing some research about pattern and feelings, I was thinking about choosing this subject for my project 2 research question. But now that I am completing this post, I feel like, I want to know more about different human senses and how other senses are affected by design or how we can improve our design using different senses.
References:
Food pattern free vector download (23,463 Free vector) for commercial use. format: ai, eps, cdr, svg vector illustration graphic art design. (n.d.). Retrieved February 19, 2018, from http://all-free-download.com/free-vector/chinese-pattern.html
George Stylios. (2016). Psychotextiles’ can change patterns – and your mood | World Economic Forum. Retrieved February 16, 2018, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/09/psychotextiles-can-change-patterns-and-your-mood
The Amazing Pattern Library. (2014). Retrieved February 19, 2018, from http://abduzeedo.com/node/78278
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