The Design of Spaces

1. A main point of Whyte's article is that supply leads to demand. He also mentioned different plazas in New York, and that the main focus any designer should have when constructing a space is the people that will be visitng it. Location and seating were large factors in this, because the space must be in an accessible and safe area, and the customers or visitors must have sufficient and comfortable seating. Chairs were not the only type of seating discussed, because people can sit on ledges, or a more viscerally appealing option, which is grass. Another point was the idea of concentrated crowding, in order to make an area appear more crowded than it actually is.

2. The design of urban spaces is similar to the design of consumer products because both rely on the image conveyed to the consumer or user. Each type of design incoporates visceral design to sell its product, and must focus on whether or not the product or space is optimal for the user. Spaces and products require the designer to construct their respective product in a way that catches the attention of the user in a brief period of time. If a space does not look inviting, clean, or comfortable, chances are that it will fail. Likewise, if a product looks too complicated or not complex enough, it will have a poor record. Space and product design differ mostly on the aspect of usability. A product is physically used by a consumer, where as a space is just an area occupied by them. All it necessitates is comfort and a pleasant atmosphere, where a product must be easy to operate.

3. A public space should be analyzed based on comfort, whether or not the atmosphere is inviting, location, seating (both types and its location), cleanliness, where the space is in relation to the street, crowding, and the traffic flow of people to the street.