As we grow up, we are learning to better understand what we need. You might recall decorating your room with an overwhelming sense of urgency – a need to re-arrange, to transform. In these early ways, we are projecting our identity through our spaces, developing a sense of what we like and what we need around us to thrive.

Susan — There really isn’t such a thing as good or bad taste – there is only selfexpression. You cannot say, my essence is better than your essence. It is what it is, and we need to honor that. We will explore ourselves for the rest of our lives. We are such intricate beings, and to allow that into the spaces that we are in holds so much potential. What we like changes and as you change, every space you inhabit somehow changes.

While conditioning makes us gravitate towards particular objects and spaces which we experience in vastly different ways, research, like that of Anjan Chatterjee of University of Pennsylvania and Oshin Vartanian at University of Toronto, has demonstrated that there are more universal neuroaesthetic principles we can adhere to when forging holistic experiences of space and architecture – the way i.e. color, light or material can be combined in order to create a uniform belief around or experience of a room.

Susan — Deep aesthetic experiences are not about taste. Beauty is totally in the eye of the beholder. Still, we know something about the effect of, let’s say, color and tactility, on us. The research reveals how these are neuroaesthetic ingredients that artists, architects, craftsmen, designers and other professionals can put together to create something elevated, in order to serve a purpose or solve a problem.

A thing to remember about personal thumbprints in aesthetics and arts is that the same thing will not work for everybody. Frequently, we are designing spaces for a group of people that might be highly diverse and interchangeable, be it a home shared with family, a bustling restaurant, or an open office accommodating a varied range of tasks. Look to adaptability and modularity, two elements that enable us to impart a sense of identity on our immediate surroundings by bringing that authentic self to a space, even for the briefest of moments.

Susan — If you did a study into people’s offices, you will find in every single one a piece of them – be it a pillow, plant or picture. We always bring our identity into a room, no matter how generic the space is. The more that is allowed, encouraged and honored, the more authentically whole we are, the more we bring ourselves into what we do. When it is not the case, the energy to restrain simply takes away from creativity and productivity.

Susan emphasizes how spaces are really about purpose, an emotional or human component that brings a tangible vibrancy to a room. It is where ‘form follows function’ and ‘form follows feeling’ intersect, producing compelling results, transcendent spaces that can elevate well- being, work flow or learning.

Susan — We are doing more research on and understanding why things such as light have such an impact on us. Like, why does up-lighting make us feel awe? We know that sunrises and sunsets affect us profoundly, and that there are certain hues throughout the day or even the year that greatly influence body and mind.
Bringing our natural landscapes inside helps us stay on a circadian rhythm, to follow our physiological day and ultimately, stay in sync. For instance, if you want to promote a stimulating learning environment, you might consider ways to introduce elements shown to improve focus like more exposure to daylight.

Research has shown that the smooth curves of modernist sculptor Jean Arp produce a pleasant sensation in the beholder – that we prefer rounded shapes to sharp angles. In a similar manner our hands naturally envelop the rotund shape of a cup or the arched frame of a chair.

Susan — There are certain shapes we just gravitate towards, like the shape of the cup, because our hands have shaped it and they can embrace it, hold it. We have so many millions of synapses and nerves in our hands that connect to our brain and what feels intuitively right. Honoring these physiologies is really when I think design gets better. When we disregard them, it's also an aesthetic experience - everything's aesthetic. But I think there's a difference between what really moves you – peak aesthetic experiences – and things that are simply utilitarian.

Of course, we not only perceive the world visually, but also sensorily, among others through touch. Tactility, or the haptic experience, is an essential part of the neuroaesthetic perception of an object or space. Through our hands, we can feel the essence of an object, deciphering its materiality and how it was made – knowing through our hands.

Susan — Our skin is the biggest organ on our body and it's so responsive. So you cannot underestimate what texture does. We are not only about what something looks like. You might be drawn to a certain kind of texture, and how it feels when you are engaging with it is incredibly powerful. It is much more powerful than seeing it.

We have an incredible toolbox at our disposal, working with color, light, objects, sound, scent, textures and more. How we wield these all depends on our intention.