Designing for the Senses
Course
Sight [7:35]
https://players.brightcove.net/2566261579001/HyuWsfFhb_default/index.html?videoId=4527064932001
About
Do not overlook the visual aesthetics of your school and library.Transcript
For individuals with sight, vision is normally our strongest sense. The neurological mechanisms of sight begin with light entering our eyes. The complex science of these electrical signals striking the retina and beginning their fascinating journey via the optic nerve to deep regions of the brain is unfortunately beyond our conversation today. Let's just say the brain plays a powerful role in not only how we see but what we see. To quote John Medina, the author ofBrain Rules, "Far from being camera, the brain is actively deconstructing the information given to it by the eyes, pushing it through a series of filters and then reconstructing what it thinks it sees and what it thinks you should see."
Sight, like all of our senses, is a function of our nervous system, carrying information to our brain, where it is analyzed, processed, and stored. Light waves initiate sight. There are two forms of light I want to comment on for a space design: sunlight and blue light. Human brains understand sunlight and respond to it in a very positive ways. Students perform better in school, when they're exposed to sunlight. So the great energy crisis in the 1970s, when school windows were covered over to reduce heat loss, was a really bad idea. New school buildings feature walls of windows and correctly filtered exposure to sunlight is an academic plus. Poorly managed sunlight can waste energy, room furniture, and discolor anything receiving prolonged exposure.
Yet notwithstanding all its annoying attributes, natural sunlight belongs in our learning environment. The tools to manage it are readily available. Don't complain about the wall of floor to ceiling windows; instead plan space layouts to leverage its benefits. In library design, try to position students in natural sunlight for reading and project work. Move shelving and computers away from the wall of windows. I also encourage the creation of reading gardens withawningsand natural arbors just outside the library. It gives students another opportunity during the day to consume both sunshine and fresh air. Both can stimulate young brains and enhance mood and improve sleep patterns.
Blue light is a new issue. Studies find that replacing standard lighting with an enriched blue light changes student behavior. Students in one study rated the standard classroom lighting better in terms of pleasantness, brightness and light color. But when asked whether to keep or remove the blue enriched white classroom lighting, half of the students expressed their wish to keep the new lighting because it made them feel more awake. Blue enriched lighting told the brain to wake up and had the effect of improving the speed of cognition, processing, and concentration. Blue light also is emitted off e-readers, tablets, smart phones, or any other light emitting digital device.
In one study researchers looked at the impact e-readers had on people's sleep patterns. At night the use of blue light emitting devices before bed disrupted circadian rhythms by suppressing the sleep promoting hormone melatonin. This suppression of melatonin may also be the reason students felt more awake in blue light classrooms. Research is just starting on the impact of blue light and the initial research is interesting. For example; one hospital study found patients in blue light wards seemed to have more energy and recovered more quickly. In a conversation I had with a lighting consultant, I learned he was developing a study with the University of Wisconsin to measure the effect of changing the tone of light during the day in classrooms from a high energy blue in the morning, to a warmer color after recess to calm students down and back to blue late in the afternoons.
While it is not clear yet why blue light impacts the brain in such novel ways, there is no question we should be studying the effect on formative young children. The manipulation of a learner's brain with lightning is a new discovery. In the design of new library spaces we need to strike a balance between sunlight and blue light, while the long term impact of blue light is determined.
Human brains pay a lot of attention to color; it was originally part of survival instinct. Colorful food was and is very good for humans. Today the human brain still responds to it very positively. For example, using bold color in schools is a common component in award winning design. Architectural awards frequently go to schools with bold new colors and contrasting accent combinations.
The new colors blend in vibrant new ways, using color to draw students into a space and focus their attention is a tool you can use in your library. Walls, floors, furniture fabric, and displays provide a three dimensional canvas for you and your designer to manipulate. Color can give a room depth and perception; a far ochre wall draws the eyes through a space and becomes a focal point. Color changes in the floor can divide a room into zones without physical barriers. If you cannot repaint of re-carpet the library, then it's time to work on access displays and graphics to infuse energy.
All these elements are easy to change and should be changed frequently during the school year, especially displays. The current generation is embroiled in color animation and personal design, their clothes, their phones, their shoes, their backpacks, all speak to their personality through color and design. Do not ask them to sit in a monotone library. They will be visually bored. Do not overlook the visual aesthetics of your school and library. Visual perception is our primary sensory learning tool. The colors should stimulate, surprise, and enrich what students see while they enhance learning.
Activities
For those with normal sight, vision is often the most powerful sense. This lesson covers the benefits and importance of sunlight and blue light in the library environment as well as how to use color and design in the library environment.
Take a visual tour of your library or a library near you. On a map or floor plan of the library, note where sunlight enters the space at various times of the day. Look for how color and design are used in the space. How can you make simple changes to make better use of sunlight? Where can you improve the use of color and design to add visual interest to the space? Look for possible small-scale (or large-scale) changes that could be made to your library and note them on your map.
Entry ID: 2132720
Additional Resources
About the Author
Margaret L. Sullivan, MA, is an independent consultant and principal at Library Resource Group, LLC. She holds a master's degree in communication arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her published works include AASL's Library Spaces for 21st Century Learners: A Planning Guide for Creating New School Library Concepts along with articles on space planning in School Library Journal, Knowledge Quest, Teacher Librarian, and American School & University. For 28 years, Sullivan was an executive at the former Highsmith Inc., a leading supplier to schools and libraries, ending her career there as director of merchandising and marketing.
Select Citation Style:
MLA Citation
Sullivan, Margaret L. "Designing for the Senses. Sight [7:35]." School Library Connection, ABC-CLIO, November 2015, schoollibraryconnection.com/content/course/1985342?learningModuleId=1980800&topicCenterId=2247903.
Chicago Citation
Sullivan, Margaret L. "Designing for the Senses. Sight [7:35]." School Library Connection video. November 2015. https://schoollibraryconnection.com/content/course/1985342?learningModuleId=1980800&topicCenterId=2247903.
APA Citation
Sullivan, M. L. (2015, November). Designing for the senses. Sight [7:35] [Video]. School Library Connection. https://schoollibraryconnection.com/content/course/1985342?learningModuleId=1980800&topicCenterId=2247903
https://schoollibraryconnection.com/content/course/1985342?learningModuleId=1980800&topicCenterId=2247903
Entry ID: 1985342