Proxemics - Prox-what-ics?

Proxemics. Every time I go to say this word, my mind naturally wants to say “proxemetrics”. I mean, I find myself having to pronounce the word in my head before I speak it *shake my head*. Fyi, I do not think proxemetrics is a thing, lol. Now proxemics, definitely a thing. In fact, it is so much a thing that it is an actual theory which is studied in multiple academic fields. Proxemics studies the psychological meaning between human behavior and spatial zones. Specifically, four spatial zones: public, social, personal, and intimate.

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PUBLIC ZONE

◊ The public zone refers to a distance ranging from twelve feet or more between one human and another. While public spaces can obviously get crowded due to being (hint) “public places”, designers must think about what may cause crowding, then design a layout to intuitively keep people at a comfortable public distance. Due to the COVID-19 health pandemic, the only public zone space I have felt comfortable in over the past several months is at one of our local parks. While I still have my mask handy as I stroll through the park, I can safely distance from others and walk around without it on for most of the time. The walking pathway has several pieces of dimensional art sculptures as well as beautiful flowers and is outlined around the exterior of the park. Thus, allowing one to walk separately from the internal spaces of play areas, yoga sessions, and picnics. This type of public zone has provided me with a sense relaxation and peace during times of uncertainty and dangers posed to our health and safety.

Photo Credit: City of Savannah

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SOCIAL ZONE

◊ The social zone refers to a distance ranging from four to twelve feet between one human and another. This spatial zone is a good one to keep in mind when designing a business where employees and customers are interacting with one another. Think about being at an outdoor restaurant/bar with some friends. The space between people is significantly closer than the space between a stranger and you at the park. This is so everyone in the social setting can communicate effectively and comfortably while staying in their own personal bubbles. In current times, many people are avoiding social settings due to the COVID-19 health pandemic. Designers and businesses are being pushed to think of how employees, clients, and consumers can function in social zones while safely distancing to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Sketch Credit: Me

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PERSONAL & INTIMATE ZONES

◊ The personal zone distance ranges from one to four feet between one human and another. The intimate zone distance ranges from one foot or less between one human and another. I combined these two separate zones into one point because for many people, the personal zone feels intimate, and often the two zones intertwine anyway. Take a college football game for example. Even though we are in a public setting, fans are pushed into each other’s personal and intimate zones once inside the stadium. With seats side by side and the stadium hallways full of people standing in line for drinks or to use the bathroom, it's very hard to keep others out of your personal bubble. For the players, there is no way to avoid constantly being in one another’s intimate zones via all the physical contact they make when tackling and blocking.

Photo Credit: Me at Neyland Stadium

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CONCLUSION

“Psychological variables are critical, however, in that they provide some general guidelines for the context in which specific design decisions are made.” (Evans, 1979) Proxemics is another great psychology tool for designers and these guidelines can help us become better, more mindful designers. How a human acts in their personal space at home may be completely different than how said human interacts within their personal space while in a social setting/zone. It is important to understand there are so many differing proxemic spatial zone scenarios and they can easily all be in interwoven in one setting. Remember, we must first develop an understanding of the needs of our clients and consumers. That is how we will then be able to appropriately address the different spatial needs within our designs.

Peer Reviewed Citation:

Evans, Gary W. (1979). Design Implication of Spatial Research. Residential and Crowding

Design, 197-215.