Assignment 3 Design Safari

For assignment 2 we were asked to observe people and the ways in which they act and behave, within different environments. For this I went to a coffee shop called the tartan café. We sat there for about an hour and within that time many people came and went. In this environment I think people feel very comfortable and relaxed and enjoy spending time here, this could be because of a number of factors, including the décor with the nice homely feel with hand made prints on the wall and big comfy couches, the layout of the café itself as it has different seating areas with couches and more comfortable seats through the back and tables and chairs through the front. The positioning of the tables and chairs might also play a part as they are not situated to close to each other and there is the right balance between two and more seated tables. Another interesting observation was that when the music was playing in the café people felt more relaxed compared to when it was off and people seemed less relaxed and talked a lot more quieter. These might be seen as design factors and that the café was designed to create this type of environment and atmosphere.
The age groups of the people in the café varied from some young children with there parents, to students and to older people, there was also not a particular type of target selection of people that the café was aiming to attract as they seemed to cater for all ages. Although they cater for all ages there was separate groups of people seated in separate sections of the café fro example more of the students were seated through the back in the couches section. I found the behaviour and the etiquette of the people within the café quite interesting and how there are certain things and ways in which you act when your in a café in terms of seating, ordering, talking and service etc. The different people that we observed while we were there all varied in terms of the ways in which they acted and the reasons why they were there.
There was a variety of people in the café, behind us there was two people deep in conversation, possibly having a debate or discussion. Behind them there was a man on his laptop and in front of us there were a number of people in groups having lunch and conversations. In a café or anywhere you are being served there are certain behaviours and ways in which you should act and certain typical interactions which take place, between your role as a customer and the role of the waiter/waitresses. These roles include the customer taken a seat in the café, viewing the menu and placing their order and the waiter/waitresses receiving the order, placing it together and presenting it to the customer.
The people deep in conversation seemed to be oblivious to everything else around and only when been served did they stop to carry out the usual behaviours. The man on his laptop was sitting at a table designed for more than one person, and was obviously using this environment to do work and have lunch. The other aspect to him having a laptop with him may have been because he was on his own, possible a security, and something to keep him occupied. The groups of people were there to relax and socialise and enjoy their lunch.
All these factors relate to design in that it you must consider that different people have different needs and uses for different environments.