Designed without true function in mind: The opposite of Neuroaesthetics

As discussed in previous posts, the aesthetic I have selected for my upcycle is neuroaesthetics. Neuroaestetics describes the study of the underlying neural processes which compose our response to an aesthetic experience and the use of these responses to tailor an aesthetic to elicit a desired behavior (Nalbantian, 2008). Essentially, the resulting aesthetic is a visual and multisensory composition justified by scientific principles of psychology, cognition, and human behavior and performance. Thus, the embodiment of this aesthetic can take a multiplicity of visual forms, however, each form is tightly connected by the strategic and pointed use of all compositional factors to induce a targeted human response. 

Said another way, think about your favorite coffee shop you like to do work in; what about that location draws you back to that same place? What about the shop itself helps you concentrate or draws you out of your writers block to pump out that essay you have been holding off? Think about the smells, tactile sensations, the ambient sounds, the colors, the materials of the table and chairs; this is neuroaesthetics at work. All of those aesthetic components which comprise your draw to that location are forcing functions for some psychological processes which subconsciously modulate your attention, perception, and memory and result in your ability to pump out that personal essay or catch up on your chemistry homework (see Magsamen (2019) for a comprehensive explanation of this phenomenon). 

Now, compare all those sensory experiences of your favorite coffee shop, to those of a traditional educational institution, take for instance, the memory of your elementary school classroom. What comes to mind here? For me, I think about a perfectly rectangular room constructed from cement walls, with fluorescent lighting, hard, cold, rigid desks in a highly structured layout. Some may say that this composition perfectly suits the function of a classroom, but if the purpose of a classroom is to enable a space for learning, growth, maturation, and exploration, why are we designing a space that blatantly disregards any psychological process which promote these human behaviors? 

This concept is exactly the opposite of neuroaesthetics. A built environment in which the design of the space negatively affects or even contradicts its function or purpose. Take our classroom example; nothing within that described design was constructed with the intent to promote concentration, creativity, curiosity, or any aspect of engaged learning. Rather, it was designed to serve the perceived function of learning, which for so long has negated the importance of sensory stimulation. Light, color, shapes, textures, layout, and much more complex combination of elements are incredibly impactful in tuning the efficacy of a space relative to its intended function (Agnew, 2019).

Numerous studies have demonstrated how human cognition can literally be heightened by the composition of the space, yet little has been done to formalize this practice in our everyday lives (Mar Llorens-Gamex et al., 2022). With this, the design of most of our surroundings is the opposite of neuroaesthetics. I encourage you to think of what the world could be like if we begin to include this simple practice in the design of our everyday lives.

References

Agnew, D. (2019). The Psychology of Style: What neuroscience reveals about education and healthcare design. Insight. https://www.globalfurnituregroup.com/insight/neuroscience-part2-education-and-healthcare [last three photos]

Nalbantian S. Neuroaesthetics: neuroscientific theory and illustration from the arts. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews. 2008;33(4):357-368. doi:10.1179/174327908X392906

Magsamen S. Your Brain on Art: The Case for Neuroaesthetics. Cerebrum. 2019 Jul 1;2019:cer-07-19. PMID: 32206171; PMCID: PMC7075503.

Mar Llorens-Gámez, Juan Luis Higuera-Trujillo, Carla Sentieri Omarrementeria, Carmen Llinares, The impact of the design of learning spaces on attention and memory from a neuroarchitectural approach: A systematic review, Frontiers of Architectural Research. Volume 11, Issue 3, 2022; ISSN 2095-2635; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2021.12.002.

https://www.dezeen.com/2024/04/25/cultural-study-design-hotels-focuses-neuroaesthetics/