Anthropometrics

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In the 1951 film, Alice in Wonderland, Alice explores a different world (Wonderland). To enter, she must get through a tiny door. However, she is much too big. When she realizes she's too big, a table appears with potion on it. This allows her to shrink to the perfect size to fit through the door. This is a prime example of anthropometrics, which is the study of human dimensions in relationship to various activities. When she first arrives at the door, the proportions of her body and the proportion of the door do not align. The doorknob explains, "sorry, you're much too big. Simply impassable". Alice then questions if he meant "impossible". Understanding anthropometrics, the doorknob explains to her that she is simply too large to pass through. It is only after she shrinks that she can walk through the door with ease. This shows how important it is for designers to take their clients' measurements into consideration. 

When I was 18, I started working at Starbucks. We had an older store, and everything was large. We had a huge open lobby, tall ceilings, and tall cabinets. I remember always making the joke, "I'm too short for this store" whenever I had to get something from an upper cabinet. (I would climb onto the counter so I could reach) I'm 5' 5", so I'm about average height. However, the cabinets were extremely tall, even my 6' tall coworker had to stand on his tip toes to get anything from the top shelf. I remember being extremely frustrated with this. When the cabinets were put in, reach length was not taken into consideration. For an average size person, like myself, one should not have to climb onto a counter to reach something from a cabinet above. This is why it is extremely important to understand the relationship between human dimensions and different activities. 

Photo taken by me to show height of my old Starbucks

Another example of anthropometrics is a classroom. In Kindergarten, you would've had tiny desks or tables with very small chairs. As you continued your education, the furniture got bigger and bigger. I remember in 3rd grade, I went to help my Kindergarten teacher with a lesson. The chairs were so much smaller than what I could remember. That is because anthropometrics was part of the design process for the classroom. The small kindergarteners needed much smaller furniture than a big 3rd grader. The designer knew that with larger furniture, kindergarteners would not be able to comfortably learn because they would not be able to see over or reach the table. This is why they created the furniture on a smaller scale. 

Understanding anthropometrics is crucial to efficient design. The way people move about and use a space should be considered when designing. Designing for a specific client is much easier to apply anthropometrics rather than not knowing who exactly the end user will be. However, many studies have been done to help guide designers in the correct direction for universal design.