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Space Portrait: Establishment of a Lifestyle-Directed Visualized Model for Interior Design

Space Portrait: Establishment of a Lifestyle-Directed Visualized Model for Interior Design Effective interior design service relies on users' needs and the agreements between designers and users; this requires good communication between the two parties. Therefore, establishing an interactive model to record user involvement in the design process, as well as visually analyzing the user's lifestyle and needs, warrants exploration. This study targeted specific interior design cases and the daily lives of users. The research introduces a sphere activity change map that uses information visualization to understand users' daily activities. This model offers a life-model-based information tree as a tool to highlight the space spheres individual family members emphasize. The tool then visualizes the distribution of the average time family members spend in each space sphere. Keywords: interior design; lifestyle patterns; information visualization; aesthetic computing 1. Introduction skills to convert to concrete form the concept generated 1.1 Background of the Study from the ideas and needs of the user (client). The final Architecture design refers to any design activity product is created through a very time-consuming specific to the purposes of architecture, including process of repeated communication and modification. activities intended to meet requirements for Although this process has been accelerated by environment, usage, and visualization. Such activity computer graphics software, repeated discussions and concerns historical, cultural, and symbolic meanings confirmations with users are still required. Innovative specific to architecture. The scope of architecture interior design service must consider user needs and design includes appearance design and interior design, reach consensus with the user. Users should be given and it can be further extended to the relationship sufficient design-related information, thus allowing between architecture and the environment. Interior them to understand the style elements of their needs design is, then, the re-creation of the interior and participate in the provision of innovative design environment of architecture. In the field of residential service. The time and cost of communication can space design, the styles and preferences of inhabitants therefore be reduced, and the user may gain a sense of are transformed into design concepts and employed in achievement. the process of design, thus converting interior spaces to 1.2 Objectives of the Study reflect life values. This activity emphasizes the tastes Building a platform that can document the user's of families and individuals, expresses the user's attitude participation in design communication, as well as toward life, and provides a more cozy living space. In visualize his or her life model and design requirements, terms of functionality, therefore, architectural design warrants further study and development. To produce provides an existing space, but lifestyle and interior a design object that reflects the user's experience and space have to be refined through detailed design. meets his or her expectations, designers need more In other words, interior design not only beautifies messages that influence the interaction between the architectural interfaces, but also re-creates interior user and the design object. Combining these messages functionality and space form. with the designer's expertise helps him or her not Regarding interior design service, in the traditional only explore the user's experience and needs, which process, a designer uses his or her knowledge and are introduced into the design, but also investigate innovative design concepts early in the process. To save the time spent on searching for design data *Contact Author: Chiung-Hui Chen, Assistant Professor, and converting the data acquired from the user's life Department of Visual Communication Design, Asia University, model, data are visualized into design information 500 Lioufeng Rd., Wufeng, Taichung 41354, Taiwan, R.O.C. with specific meanings. Once the designer understands Tel: +886-4-23323456-1072 Fax: +886-4-23316699 the visualized information, it is converted to design E-mail: 7451616@gmail.com knowledge and eventually applied in the actual design. ( Received April 1, 2014 ; accepted October 15, 2014 ) In other words, a space user's life model is analyzed Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering/January 2015/128 121 using visualization techniques to create a system divisions of the circles correspond to the sizes of modeled after interior design knowledge. The user the directories or documents. Hyperbolic viewer is a documents his or her personal experience in a model visualization technique proposed by Lamping et al. requirement chart, allowing the researcher to analyze (1995) and is used to visualize large hierarchies. In this interrelations between analysis documents and identify technique, data are presented in a tree structure and the logic and substance of the data conversion. The placed on a hyperbolic plane. Through interaction with documented data are then transformed into design the user, important information is moved to the center information for sharing and reuse. A professional of the screen and magnified into a fisheye view. The interior designer can sort out the correlations relationships between objects in the hierarchy are thus among user preferences, life patterns, and design clearly observed. specifications, thus determining the critical elements in Skog et al. (2003) developed the concept of blending the design process. information into environmental design. The information art expressed in weather forecasts thus resembles a 2. Related Studies and Model Construction piece by Mondrian. Each rectangle represents one 2.1 Technology Used in Information Visualization day, and the size of the rectangle represents the Information visualization is a unique academic temperature of the day. The color represents weather discipline. It combines multiple disciplines, including conditions with yellow for sunny, blue for rainy, and computer science, psychology, semiotics, graphics red for cloudy. The date is calculated and displayed design, interaction design, and art. It pays close left to right, from top to bottom, in the sequence of attention to creating effective interaction between tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and so forth. By abstract data and users in a visual and metaphorical communicating information in a public space using way. Abstract data is characterized by a lack of an information display object, this design becomes space initiative; as such, the visualized presentation more than just a pure display object. The "7000 oaks of abstract data and the development of new visual and counting" project developed by Holmes (2007) metaphors and data presentation methods are displays energy consumption through information challenging for information visualization researchers. visualization. The values of various energy flows Card et al. (1999) define information visualization provided by a building's central control system are as the visible presentation of the interaction between acquired through customized software. These values abstract data for the purpose of better understanding. are saved in a server and converted to data showing the As such, visualization can improve the interaction carbon footprint created by human activity in real time. between users and abstract data as well as users' Electricity consumption is displayed metaphorically degrees of awareness. On the other hand, information through the idea that trees can absorb carbon dioxide. visualization consists of two concepts—data and The more electricity is consumed, the more trees visualization. This means that objects, concepts, or are to be planted. Such information is presented as abstract data are expressed as images instead of text. a display in a hallway. This artwork was intended to Because of the multiple types and various structures explore methods to help people see and understand the of data, Shneiderman (1992) divides data into seven underlying information hidden in a building. Based basic types: one-dimensional, two-dimensional, on the analysis and comparison of visual information three-dimensional, multi-dimensional, time, tree, and and the interviews with residents, energy consumption network. information obtained from visualization can indeed Visualization can be further expressed as visually help people understand electricity consumption and presenting abstract data using human feeling and save energy, thus promoting sustainable development. cognition. There have been several relevant case Color design is the best strategy for creating an studies on information visualization technology attractive product economically and effectively, regarding efficacy and the type of visualization. especially in the field of interior design. Huang et al. Treemapping is the type of visualization technology (2006, 2009) developed a color-plan consulting and proposed by Shneiderman (1992). This method visual-simulating system to help designers produce uses skillful spatial allocation techniques to present optimum colors for components and decorative hierarchical data structures in nested rectangles. The patterns. A color plan can help designers find good size of the rectangle space expresses the relationships color schemes, and color combinations can have a among certain attributes of the information object. strong influence on how clients feel. The sunburst type proposed by Stasko et al. (2000) is 2.2 Definition of the Life Model similar to a visualization technique called space filling , Humans develop close interactions with their and is used to present the information in file directories. environments, which involve standing behaviors The circular image in the center represents the root and the locations where such behaviors occur. directory or the top level of hierarchical information. Environmental behaviors are thus multifaceted This circle spreads outward from the center according (Lewin, 1943). Barker (1968) proposes four factors to the level or depth of the directory, while the in "Behavior Settings": the user, the standing pattern 122 JAABE vol.14 no.1 January 2015 Chiung-Hui Chen of behavior, the physical environment, and a specific visualization improves a cognition system's period of time. Lang (1987) also proposes that behavior understanding by visually presenting abstract data. settings are standing patterns of behavior that appear These studies also indicate that a perception system repeatedly in a specific place and time. If different achieves understanding much faster than a cognition users access the place, the behavior settings do not system, with visual capacity providing understanding disappear as a result. They will only disappear when in the shortest amount of time. Exploring the the physical environment changes. In other words, the visualization of data allows people to participate in the standing pattern of behavior has a close relationship process of data mining. As a result, relevant subjects with time. Further exploring the perspective of time, of study emerge, such as architecture data mining, Wicker (1987) proposes a dynamic change model architecture design knowledge, and knowledge mining. for behavior settings. He describes behavior settings In design analysis and decision making (Cawthon as segmented in a time sequence with composition and Vande, 2007), design data visualization can assist factors as the major points of entry. From the initial architecture design data mining and knowledge mining gathering to the standing pattern of behavior to the through data classification and capture, using methods ending behavior, this is a process of dynamic change in such as cross-examination and statistical analysis. behavior settings. In his book The Ten Books on Architecture (De As such, the time during which behavior settings Architectura), the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius appear may be short or lengthy. For the purposes of (1960) identifies three architectural design principles analysis, the records obtained during the study must be that should adhere to the following: completeness, well controlled during the investigation. Wicker (1992) practicality, and aesthetics. Vande Moere and Purchase and Schoggen (1989) also point out that to describe (2011) suggest that these principles can be applied in confirmed behavior settings objectively, they must information design and various applications that are be divided into four parts to discuss the relationships suitable for information design. They also indicate between the parts and all information must be recorded. that good visualized content should be very complete. These four parts include the user's frequent behaviors In other words, the form of the design must match and classifications, the amounts and attributes of the information described by the design. Moreover, behavior settings, the time and duration of occurrences, visualized content should be practical so that the and the location and size of the dimensions. The life user can derive meaning from it. Finally, similar model in this study is thus defined as a cycle consisting to any other design, information design should be of the generation, growth, change, fading, and ending aesthetically appealing, drawing the user's attention and of a user's behavior in a residential environment within providing an overall pleasant visual experience. The a time sequence. In studying the value of the life three design principles proposed by Vande Moere and model, Højrup (2003) stresses that designers should not Purchase (2011) provide a solid foundation for judging only focus on understanding the user's life model but the value of information visualization. This study is also integrate the user's preferences, family, and future founded upon the above-mentioned viewpoints, as well demands with the characteristic information of a house, as Colin's (2004) four steps of visualization: collecting thus creating a complete map of the user's life model. and storing data, preprocessing and converting data To develop a joint design service based on a life model, into an intelligible form, displaying images generated users must share their ideas and opinions, especially in by the graphical engine on a screen, and human the initial design phase. Communication and reflection observation and cognition of the image. Feedback are crucial to the core of the design. In summary, this also exists between these steps, whose correlations are study employs the theory of behavior settings as the shown in Fig.1. Quantified data are used to express infrastructure for investigation, thus enabling space certain characteristics with symbols in lieu of the users to record behaviors that occur at home and the digital expression of data. In terms of visual meanings locations where such behaviors occur during the test and perception, an interior designer is more inclined period. The users' life models for a single day and over to accept symbols than text, mainly because he or a period of time are analyzed accordingly. she can quickly understand the data and grasp their 2.3 Relationship between the Life Model and characteristics with the help of symbols. As for the Information Visualization data itself, the area scale, color, length, and quantity A vast amount of information has been involved of the image are used to express content. The created in the development of human cognitive abilities. image symbols replace textual explanations through Accordingly, Card et al. (1999) created the term visual metaphors. The project interior designer can information visualization, which involves properly thus review the digital data, provide opinions, and offer organizing mass data to gain insight, find answers, higher-quality design service. discover correlations among data, and understand things otherwise difficult to perceive. A few studies 3. Methodology: Exploring the Life Model (Spence, 2001; Bederson and Shneiderman, 2003; 3.1 Client Background Colin, 2004) have confirmed that information This study uses a nuclear family as a case study. JAABE vol.14 no.1 January 2015 Chiung-Hui Chen 123 This study is guided by the degree of privacy in a behavior and divides the sphere structures of living spaces in the case study into four levels (i.e., space coding) on a scale ranging from "private" to "open." Living spaces therefore include several independent space units: rest room, master bedroom, child's bedroom, kitchen, study, dining room, living room, balcony, and yard. Each room is described as below. The bathroom and bedrooms are space encoded as No. 1 because they belong to the same category, having the highest levels of privacy. The kitchen and study are spaces where independent behaviors occur, but they may be shared by family members, thus leading to cooperative behavior. They are space encoded as No. 2. The dining and living rooms are spaces where family members and visitors gather for cooperative behaviors; they are space encoded as No. 3. The balcony and yard can be seen by pedestrians; they are space encoded as No. 4. Behavior settings for holidays or weekends— Fig.1. Life-Model-Based Information Visualization Model such as school, office, park, and market—are space encoded as No. 5. Space levels encoded 1 to 4 are the There are three members in the family: Mr. Peng, Mrs. main subjects of this study. Spaces outside the house Peng, and their son, who is a senior in high school. Mr. (No. 5) are not considered for information conversion. Peng, 47, owns a medium-sized company. His hobbies Definitions for each level are shown in Table 1. include reading and travel. His friends often visit him at home. He likes to chat over coffee, and he spends Table 1. Interior Space Encoding for the House much of his time before a computer. He occasionally Sphere Sphere Name of Space plays basketball. Mrs. Peng, 45, stays home most of Characteristics Encoding the time. She is a very good cook. She sometimes 1 Bathroom, bedrooms invites friends over for a meal. She likes coffee, arts, The larger 2 Kitchen, study room and crafts. She often goes for walks in the country and the number, 3 Dining room, living room travels overseas. The Peng family home is located on the lower 4 Balcony, yard Main Street; it has two floors and is 1,800 square feet. the privacy 5 (not Space outside the house included) The living room, dining room, kitchen, and rest room are on the first floor, while the master bedroom, son's 3.3 Journal Encoding room, study room, bathroom, and balcony are on the People's daily lives are filled with people, events, second floor. times, things, and places. This study begins with a 3.2 Space Encoding space user's daily life sphere. Different from ordinary Different cultures account for different space questionnaires and interviews, a space user records his forms under different environments. Any space has a or her daily activities and uses a journal to complete sphere depth, and the defined sphere is the result of the recording of his or her daily behaviors. User the encompassed boundary. This study defines space journals allow the researcher to receive details of a sphere depth according to Hillier and Hanson's (1984) space user's daily life. The descriptions of a space and Hillier's (1996) theories of sphere structure. Hillier user's preferences, activities, environments, and uses of (1996) suggests that sphere depth in space is obtained objects are therefore received through this mechanism. by observing the physical environment, the walking The interior designer thus obtains a complete script distance in space, and the accessibility of visual of life. The journal is recorded every hour, 24 hours a permeability. He also indicates that space relations are day, for 14 days. During the recording period, family not geometrical but topological. The study of space members are required to record behaviors that occur structure is thus rid of plane-based study, and space in daily activities, along with where and when they encoding is rendered and numeralized into symbols happen. Samples from the journal encodings are given and a mathematical system with a single meaning for in Tables 2. through 4. better exploration of the correlation between spaces. 3.4 Changes in the Life Sphere in a Day Thus, when a space has lower accessibility and the This section analyzes journal codes collected from behavior is more private, the sphere depth is deeper. the daily records in the case study. Visualization Conversely, when more people share a space and the analysis is performed for changes in the life sphere space has higher accessibility, the sphere depth is during a day and for numeric data about the members' shallower. sphere distribution records during the test period. 124 JAABE vol.14 no.1 January 2015 Chiung-Hui Chen Table 2. Journal Encoding: A Day in Mr. Peng's Life Table 4. Journal Encoding: A Day in the Pengs's Son's Life Time Activity Name of Space Sphere Encoding Time Activity Name of Space Sphere Encoding 12:00 AM Sleeping Bedroom 1 12:00 AM Sleeping Bedroom 1 1:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 1:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 2:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 2:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 3:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 3:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 4:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 4:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 5:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 5:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 6:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 6:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 7:00 Get up and wash Bathroom 1 7:00 Get up and wash Bathroom 1 8:00 Prepare breakfast Kitchen 2 8:00 Eat breakfast Dining room 3 Space outside 9:00 Eat breakfast Dining room 3 9:00 Catch a bus 5 the house Space outside 10:00 Visit customers 5 Space outside the house 10:00 Go to school 5 the house Space outside 11:00 Visit customers 5 the house Space outside 11:00 Go to school 5 the house Space outside 12:00 PM Visit customers 5 the house Space outside 12:00 PM Go to school 5 the house Space outside 1:00 Eat lunch 5 the house Space outside 1:00 Go to school 5 the house Space outside 2:00 Go to work 5 Space outside the house 2:00 Go to school 5 the house Space outside 3:00 Go to work 5 Space outside the house 3:00 Go to school 5 the house Space outside 4:00 Go to work 5 Space outside the house 4:00 Go to school 5 the house Space outside 5:00 Go to work 5 the house Space outside 5:00 Go to school 5 the house 6:00 Prepare dinner Kitchen 2 Space outside 7:00 Eat dinner Dining room 3 6:00 Catch a bus 5 the house 8:00 Eat dinner Dining room 3 7:00 Eat dinner Dining room 3 9:00 Prepare project report Study room 2 8:00 Eat dinner Dining room 3 10:00 Prepare project report Study room 2 9:00 Do homework Study room 2 Take a bath and get 11:00 Bathroom 1 10:00 Do homework Study room 2 ready for bed Take a bath and get 11:00 Bathroom 1 ready for bed Table 3. Journal Encoding: A Day in Mrs. Peng's Life Time Activity Name of Space Sphere Encoding Family members' activities in the environment 12:00 AM Sleeping Bedroom 1 are presented by the hour; these are the maps of 1:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 sphere changes in a day during the test period, as 2:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 shown in Fig.2. (based on Tables 2., 3., and 4.). The 3:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 measurement scale for life sphere change in a day is 4:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 defined according to three principles: 5:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 (1) The line coordinates of the concentric circles 6:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 have 24 gradations with each representing one hour. 7:00 Get up and wash Bathroom 1 8:00 Prepare breakfast Kitchen 2 The number increases clockwise. One circle represents 9:00 Eat breakfast Dining room 3 one day. 10:00 Chore Kitchen 2 (2) The concentric circles are indicative of degrees 11:00 Chore Dining room 3 of privacy. The farther the circle is from the center, 12:00 PM Prepare lunch Kitchen 2 the more open the sphere characteristics of the space it 1:00 Eat lunch Dining room 3 represents and the bigger the number. 2:00 Nap time Bedroom 1 (3) The colored area indicates that some family 3:00 Nap time Bedroom 1 members were using that space at that particular time. Space outside 4:00 Walk the dog in the park 5 the house Space outside 5:00 Go grocery shopping 5 the house 6:00 Prepare dinner Kitchen 2 7:00 Eat dinner Dining room 3 8:00 Eat dinner Dining room 3 9:00 Do laundry Balcony 4 a) Mr. Peng b) Mrs. Peng c) Pengs's Son Take a bath and get 10:00 Bathroom 1 ready for bed Fig.2. Maps of Sphere Change in Each Space in a Day 11:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 JAABE vol.14 no.1 January 2015 Chiung-Hui Chen 125 4. Discussion and Analysis 4.2 Visualization of Sphere Activity during the 4.1 Sphere Activity Change Index during the Test Period: Life Model Information Tree Period A good visualization design not only has aesthetic Continuing from the members' maps of life sphere value but also facilitates easier reading for the changes in the previous section, a two-week numerical analysis and comparison of charts. In this section, the analysis of the Pengs's sphere activity changes was distribution of the family members' average time spent performed. The results are shown in Tables 5. to 7. in each space sphere was visually simulated and then Two assessment indexes were derived: duration-days converted to graphic information according to sphere (D.D.) as in (1) and frequency-days (F.D.) as in (2). activity change indexes D.D. and F.D. Just as plants These two indexes show the sphere changes of the change under different conditions of light, water, and family members, the space sphere where each spent soil, the family members' "Life Model Information most of his or her time, and the frequency of visits to Tree," developed through this process, behaves the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, study room, dining similarly. The structure of the growth model is detailed room, living room, and balcony. In formula (1), this below: index estimates the time the family members spent in (1) Tree trunk: This is the center as well as the the space per day. In formula (2), this index estimates beginning of growth. the number of visits to the space per day. The formulas (2) Branches: This refers to the direction of growth. of indexes D.D. and F.D. are given below: The number of spaces varies from one interior design project to another. The change and calculation of Total time used for the space during the period of recording angles have a relationship with the number of spaces, D.D.  (1) Days of recording thus generating different patterns. (3) Segments of branches: The F.D. index is Total visits to the space during the period of recording indicated by the length of a segment of the branch. F.D.  (2) Days of recording The length of a segment represents the total visits to a space. The longer the segment, the more frequent the Table 5. Numerical Analysis for Mr. Peng's Sphere Changes visitations to the space. During a Two-Week (14-day) Period (4) Number of petals: The D.D. index is indicated Name of Space Total Time of D.D. Total Visits F.D. by the number of petals, which represents the average Usage (hours) amount of the time the family members spent in the Bathroom 14.5 1.04 29 2.07 space. The more petals there are, the more time spent Bedroom 97.0 6.93 19 1.36 in the space. Kitchen 22.0 1.57 20 1.43 (5) Rule of growth: The growth model is divided Study room 16.5 1.18 8 0.57 into two basic elements—core and direction. A polygon Dining room 19.5 1.39 23 1.64 represents the originating core of a tree trunk, while Living room 9.5 0.68 7 0.50 Balcony 1.5 0.11 3 0.21 the text inside the polygon represents the appellation of the family members. The number of sides the polygon Table 6. Numerical Analysis for Mrs. Peng's Sphere Changes (N) has depends on the number of spaces in the interior During a Two-Week (14-day) Period design project (Table 8.). The rule of growth for a Name of Space Total Time of D.D. Total Visits F.D. single member's Life Model Information Tree is defined Usage (hours) as follows: Multiple branch axes are generated and Bathroom 24 1.71 42 3 extended from the center, with the direction of each Bedroom 121.5 8.68 47 3.36 axis representing a space. The angle of each branch Kitchen 33 2.36 35 2.5 Study room 10 0.71 7 0.5 (θ) is obtained by evenly dividing 360 degrees by the Dining room 34.5 2.46 34 2.43 number of spaces in the interior design project. For Living room 11.5 0.82 12 0.86 instance, as indicated in Fig.3., θ = 360 degrees / 6 = 60 Balcony 6 0.43 11 0.79 degrees. The length of a branch axis (F.D.) is derived from the frequency of a member's visits to each space, Table 7. Numerical Analysis for Pengs's Son's Sphere Changes while the number of petals at the end of the branch axis During a Two-Week (14-day) Period is derived from the average amount of time spent in the Name of Space Total Time of D.D. Total Visits F.D. (hours) space (D.D.). The Pengs's Life Model Information Tree Usage Bathroom 13 0.93 32 2.29 is shown in Fig.4. (based on Tables 5., 6., and 7.). Bedroom 114.5 8.18 41 2.93 Table 8. Growth Pattern of Life Model Information Tree. Table 8. Growth Pattern of Life Model Information Tree Kitchen 5.5 0.39 11 0.79 Triangle Square Pentagon Hexagon Heptagon Octagon Triangle Square Pentagon Hexagon Heptagon Octagon Study room 11 0.79 7 0.5 Dining room 19 1.36 23 1.64 Living room 6 0.43 5 0.36 Balcony 2 0.14 4 0.29 126 JAABE vol.14 no.1 January 2015 Chiung-Hui Chen This is the no. of petals (D.D.): This indicates the time the family members spent in a space per day. The area of the circle is scaled as 100%. The area occupied by the petals indicates the percentage. The more petals there are, the more time spent in the space. Length of branch segment (F.D.): This indicates the total visits to a space. The total length of the segment is scaled as 100%. The whole length is then divided into sections in proportion to the percentage of each part. The length of each segment indicates the percentage of each part. The longer the segment, the more frequent the visits to the space. Fig.3. The Structure of the Life Model Information Tree c) Pengs's Son Fig.4. Representation of the Pengs's Life Model Information Tree 5. Conclusion and Future Research This research created a method for providing an interior design data source that suited the objectives of this study. This paper also detailed how the consistency of the numerical data was maintained in the process of formatting. It will take a long time for project interior designers to find a periodic mode that is inherent in the data if only a simple electronic data table is provided. Although the current design outcome of the visualization is a static image, the whole iconic infrastructure and hierarchies have been established, which is the most difficult part of the task. Generally speaking, mass information may be converted into a meaningful image framework through information a) Mr. Peng visualization. Compared to the pure digital displays used in the past, information visualization is easier and more intuitive in helping interior designers quickly understand and use information. The life sphere change map defined and developed in this study can help interior designers understand family members' changes in the space sphere, from which their life models may be determined. Preferences and habits in space usage can be determined in accordance with combination of these types. The indexes D.D. and F.D., created by changes in sphere activity, can further highlight the space sphere an individual family member emphasizes and visualize the distribution of average time spent in each space sphere per day. Follow-up studies should build on the current results and develop an algorithm for building an interactive information system platform with the visualized model b) Mrs. Peng of the Life Model Information Tree as its foundation. Different images may be created based on visits to the space and may vary with time. Images presented this way can sharply display the characteristics of the data and the differences among them, thus assisting interior designers in easily interpreting information related to the design. JAABE vol.14 no.1 January 2015 Chiung-Hui Chen 127 16) Shneiderman, B. (1992) Tree visualization with treemaps: A 2-D Moreover, interior designers may extract information space-filling approach. ACM Transactions on Graphics, 11 (1), more efficiently from the space users' journal records pp.92-99. and in the model of the exported visualized results. 17) Skog, T., Ljungblad, S., and Holmquist, L. E. (2003) Between More interior design service case studies may be aesthetics and utility: Designing ambient information recorded for further analysis of the space users' favorite visualizations. INFOVIS 2003, pp.233-240. 18) Spence, R. (2001) Information visualization. Reading: Addison- data. 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(1987) Behavior setting reconsidered: Temporal stages, resources, internal dynamics, context. In D. Stokols and I. 2221-E-468 -014). Altman (eds.), Handbook of environmental psychology. New York: John Wiley & Sons, pp.613-653. References 23) Wicker, A. W. (1992) Making sense of environments. In W. B. 1) Barker, R. G. (1968) Ecological psychology: Concepts and method Walsh, K. H. Clark, and R. H. Price (eds.), Person-environment for studying the environment of human behavior. Stanford: psychology: Models and perspectives. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Stanford University Press. Erlbaum Associates, pp.158-191. 2) Bederson, B. B. and Shneiderman, B. (2003) The craft of information visualization: Readings and reflections. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann. 3) Card, S. K., Mackinlay, J. D., and Shneiderman, B. (1999) Readings in information visualization: Using vision to think. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann. 4) Cawthon, N. and Vande Moere, A. 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(2006) Interactive evolutionary computation (IEC) method of interior work (IW) design for use by non-design-professional Chinese residents. Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 5 (1), pp.91-98. 11) Huang, W. and Xu, W. (2009) Interior color preference investigation using interactive genetic algorithm. Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 8 (2), pp.439-445. 12) Lamping, J., Rao, R., and Pirolli, P. (1995) A focus+context technique based on hyperbolic geometry for visualizing large hierarchies. Proceedings of the CHI'95, ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, New York, pp.401-408. 13) Lang, J. (1987) The behavior setting: A unit for environmental analysis and design. In Creating architectural theory: The role of the behavioral sciences in environmental design. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, pp.113-125. 14) Lewin, K. (1943) Defining the field at a given time. Psychological Review, 50, 292-310. Republished in Resolving social conflicts and field theory in social science. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1997. 15) Schoggen, P. (1989) Behavior settings: A revision and extension of Roger G. Barker's ecological psychology. Stanford: Stanford University Press. 128 JAABE vol.14 no.1 January 2015 Chiung-Hui Chen http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering Taylor & Francis

Space Portrait: Establishment of a Lifestyle-Directed Visualized Model for Interior Design

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Taylor & Francis
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© 2018 Architectural Institute of Japan
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1347-2852
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1346-7581
DOI
10.3130/jaabe.14.121
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Abstract

Effective interior design service relies on users' needs and the agreements between designers and users; this requires good communication between the two parties. Therefore, establishing an interactive model to record user involvement in the design process, as well as visually analyzing the user's lifestyle and needs, warrants exploration. This study targeted specific interior design cases and the daily lives of users. The research introduces a sphere activity change map that uses information visualization to understand users' daily activities. This model offers a life-model-based information tree as a tool to highlight the space spheres individual family members emphasize. The tool then visualizes the distribution of the average time family members spend in each space sphere. Keywords: interior design; lifestyle patterns; information visualization; aesthetic computing 1. Introduction skills to convert to concrete form the concept generated 1.1 Background of the Study from the ideas and needs of the user (client). The final Architecture design refers to any design activity product is created through a very time-consuming specific to the purposes of architecture, including process of repeated communication and modification. activities intended to meet requirements for Although this process has been accelerated by environment, usage, and visualization. Such activity computer graphics software, repeated discussions and concerns historical, cultural, and symbolic meanings confirmations with users are still required. Innovative specific to architecture. The scope of architecture interior design service must consider user needs and design includes appearance design and interior design, reach consensus with the user. Users should be given and it can be further extended to the relationship sufficient design-related information, thus allowing between architecture and the environment. Interior them to understand the style elements of their needs design is, then, the re-creation of the interior and participate in the provision of innovative design environment of architecture. In the field of residential service. The time and cost of communication can space design, the styles and preferences of inhabitants therefore be reduced, and the user may gain a sense of are transformed into design concepts and employed in achievement. the process of design, thus converting interior spaces to 1.2 Objectives of the Study reflect life values. This activity emphasizes the tastes Building a platform that can document the user's of families and individuals, expresses the user's attitude participation in design communication, as well as toward life, and provides a more cozy living space. In visualize his or her life model and design requirements, terms of functionality, therefore, architectural design warrants further study and development. To produce provides an existing space, but lifestyle and interior a design object that reflects the user's experience and space have to be refined through detailed design. meets his or her expectations, designers need more In other words, interior design not only beautifies messages that influence the interaction between the architectural interfaces, but also re-creates interior user and the design object. Combining these messages functionality and space form. with the designer's expertise helps him or her not Regarding interior design service, in the traditional only explore the user's experience and needs, which process, a designer uses his or her knowledge and are introduced into the design, but also investigate innovative design concepts early in the process. To save the time spent on searching for design data *Contact Author: Chiung-Hui Chen, Assistant Professor, and converting the data acquired from the user's life Department of Visual Communication Design, Asia University, model, data are visualized into design information 500 Lioufeng Rd., Wufeng, Taichung 41354, Taiwan, R.O.C. with specific meanings. Once the designer understands Tel: +886-4-23323456-1072 Fax: +886-4-23316699 the visualized information, it is converted to design E-mail: 7451616@gmail.com knowledge and eventually applied in the actual design. ( Received April 1, 2014 ; accepted October 15, 2014 ) In other words, a space user's life model is analyzed Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering/January 2015/128 121 using visualization techniques to create a system divisions of the circles correspond to the sizes of modeled after interior design knowledge. The user the directories or documents. Hyperbolic viewer is a documents his or her personal experience in a model visualization technique proposed by Lamping et al. requirement chart, allowing the researcher to analyze (1995) and is used to visualize large hierarchies. In this interrelations between analysis documents and identify technique, data are presented in a tree structure and the logic and substance of the data conversion. The placed on a hyperbolic plane. Through interaction with documented data are then transformed into design the user, important information is moved to the center information for sharing and reuse. A professional of the screen and magnified into a fisheye view. The interior designer can sort out the correlations relationships between objects in the hierarchy are thus among user preferences, life patterns, and design clearly observed. specifications, thus determining the critical elements in Skog et al. (2003) developed the concept of blending the design process. information into environmental design. The information art expressed in weather forecasts thus resembles a 2. Related Studies and Model Construction piece by Mondrian. Each rectangle represents one 2.1 Technology Used in Information Visualization day, and the size of the rectangle represents the Information visualization is a unique academic temperature of the day. The color represents weather discipline. It combines multiple disciplines, including conditions with yellow for sunny, blue for rainy, and computer science, psychology, semiotics, graphics red for cloudy. The date is calculated and displayed design, interaction design, and art. It pays close left to right, from top to bottom, in the sequence of attention to creating effective interaction between tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and so forth. By abstract data and users in a visual and metaphorical communicating information in a public space using way. Abstract data is characterized by a lack of an information display object, this design becomes space initiative; as such, the visualized presentation more than just a pure display object. The "7000 oaks of abstract data and the development of new visual and counting" project developed by Holmes (2007) metaphors and data presentation methods are displays energy consumption through information challenging for information visualization researchers. visualization. The values of various energy flows Card et al. (1999) define information visualization provided by a building's central control system are as the visible presentation of the interaction between acquired through customized software. These values abstract data for the purpose of better understanding. are saved in a server and converted to data showing the As such, visualization can improve the interaction carbon footprint created by human activity in real time. between users and abstract data as well as users' Electricity consumption is displayed metaphorically degrees of awareness. On the other hand, information through the idea that trees can absorb carbon dioxide. visualization consists of two concepts—data and The more electricity is consumed, the more trees visualization. This means that objects, concepts, or are to be planted. Such information is presented as abstract data are expressed as images instead of text. a display in a hallway. This artwork was intended to Because of the multiple types and various structures explore methods to help people see and understand the of data, Shneiderman (1992) divides data into seven underlying information hidden in a building. Based basic types: one-dimensional, two-dimensional, on the analysis and comparison of visual information three-dimensional, multi-dimensional, time, tree, and and the interviews with residents, energy consumption network. information obtained from visualization can indeed Visualization can be further expressed as visually help people understand electricity consumption and presenting abstract data using human feeling and save energy, thus promoting sustainable development. cognition. There have been several relevant case Color design is the best strategy for creating an studies on information visualization technology attractive product economically and effectively, regarding efficacy and the type of visualization. especially in the field of interior design. Huang et al. Treemapping is the type of visualization technology (2006, 2009) developed a color-plan consulting and proposed by Shneiderman (1992). This method visual-simulating system to help designers produce uses skillful spatial allocation techniques to present optimum colors for components and decorative hierarchical data structures in nested rectangles. The patterns. A color plan can help designers find good size of the rectangle space expresses the relationships color schemes, and color combinations can have a among certain attributes of the information object. strong influence on how clients feel. The sunburst type proposed by Stasko et al. (2000) is 2.2 Definition of the Life Model similar to a visualization technique called space filling , Humans develop close interactions with their and is used to present the information in file directories. environments, which involve standing behaviors The circular image in the center represents the root and the locations where such behaviors occur. directory or the top level of hierarchical information. Environmental behaviors are thus multifaceted This circle spreads outward from the center according (Lewin, 1943). Barker (1968) proposes four factors to the level or depth of the directory, while the in "Behavior Settings": the user, the standing pattern 122 JAABE vol.14 no.1 January 2015 Chiung-Hui Chen of behavior, the physical environment, and a specific visualization improves a cognition system's period of time. Lang (1987) also proposes that behavior understanding by visually presenting abstract data. settings are standing patterns of behavior that appear These studies also indicate that a perception system repeatedly in a specific place and time. If different achieves understanding much faster than a cognition users access the place, the behavior settings do not system, with visual capacity providing understanding disappear as a result. They will only disappear when in the shortest amount of time. Exploring the the physical environment changes. In other words, the visualization of data allows people to participate in the standing pattern of behavior has a close relationship process of data mining. As a result, relevant subjects with time. Further exploring the perspective of time, of study emerge, such as architecture data mining, Wicker (1987) proposes a dynamic change model architecture design knowledge, and knowledge mining. for behavior settings. He describes behavior settings In design analysis and decision making (Cawthon as segmented in a time sequence with composition and Vande, 2007), design data visualization can assist factors as the major points of entry. From the initial architecture design data mining and knowledge mining gathering to the standing pattern of behavior to the through data classification and capture, using methods ending behavior, this is a process of dynamic change in such as cross-examination and statistical analysis. behavior settings. In his book The Ten Books on Architecture (De As such, the time during which behavior settings Architectura), the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius appear may be short or lengthy. For the purposes of (1960) identifies three architectural design principles analysis, the records obtained during the study must be that should adhere to the following: completeness, well controlled during the investigation. Wicker (1992) practicality, and aesthetics. Vande Moere and Purchase and Schoggen (1989) also point out that to describe (2011) suggest that these principles can be applied in confirmed behavior settings objectively, they must information design and various applications that are be divided into four parts to discuss the relationships suitable for information design. They also indicate between the parts and all information must be recorded. that good visualized content should be very complete. These four parts include the user's frequent behaviors In other words, the form of the design must match and classifications, the amounts and attributes of the information described by the design. Moreover, behavior settings, the time and duration of occurrences, visualized content should be practical so that the and the location and size of the dimensions. The life user can derive meaning from it. Finally, similar model in this study is thus defined as a cycle consisting to any other design, information design should be of the generation, growth, change, fading, and ending aesthetically appealing, drawing the user's attention and of a user's behavior in a residential environment within providing an overall pleasant visual experience. The a time sequence. In studying the value of the life three design principles proposed by Vande Moere and model, Højrup (2003) stresses that designers should not Purchase (2011) provide a solid foundation for judging only focus on understanding the user's life model but the value of information visualization. This study is also integrate the user's preferences, family, and future founded upon the above-mentioned viewpoints, as well demands with the characteristic information of a house, as Colin's (2004) four steps of visualization: collecting thus creating a complete map of the user's life model. and storing data, preprocessing and converting data To develop a joint design service based on a life model, into an intelligible form, displaying images generated users must share their ideas and opinions, especially in by the graphical engine on a screen, and human the initial design phase. Communication and reflection observation and cognition of the image. Feedback are crucial to the core of the design. In summary, this also exists between these steps, whose correlations are study employs the theory of behavior settings as the shown in Fig.1. Quantified data are used to express infrastructure for investigation, thus enabling space certain characteristics with symbols in lieu of the users to record behaviors that occur at home and the digital expression of data. In terms of visual meanings locations where such behaviors occur during the test and perception, an interior designer is more inclined period. The users' life models for a single day and over to accept symbols than text, mainly because he or a period of time are analyzed accordingly. she can quickly understand the data and grasp their 2.3 Relationship between the Life Model and characteristics with the help of symbols. As for the Information Visualization data itself, the area scale, color, length, and quantity A vast amount of information has been involved of the image are used to express content. The created in the development of human cognitive abilities. image symbols replace textual explanations through Accordingly, Card et al. (1999) created the term visual metaphors. The project interior designer can information visualization, which involves properly thus review the digital data, provide opinions, and offer organizing mass data to gain insight, find answers, higher-quality design service. discover correlations among data, and understand things otherwise difficult to perceive. A few studies 3. Methodology: Exploring the Life Model (Spence, 2001; Bederson and Shneiderman, 2003; 3.1 Client Background Colin, 2004) have confirmed that information This study uses a nuclear family as a case study. JAABE vol.14 no.1 January 2015 Chiung-Hui Chen 123 This study is guided by the degree of privacy in a behavior and divides the sphere structures of living spaces in the case study into four levels (i.e., space coding) on a scale ranging from "private" to "open." Living spaces therefore include several independent space units: rest room, master bedroom, child's bedroom, kitchen, study, dining room, living room, balcony, and yard. Each room is described as below. The bathroom and bedrooms are space encoded as No. 1 because they belong to the same category, having the highest levels of privacy. The kitchen and study are spaces where independent behaviors occur, but they may be shared by family members, thus leading to cooperative behavior. They are space encoded as No. 2. The dining and living rooms are spaces where family members and visitors gather for cooperative behaviors; they are space encoded as No. 3. The balcony and yard can be seen by pedestrians; they are space encoded as No. 4. Behavior settings for holidays or weekends— Fig.1. Life-Model-Based Information Visualization Model such as school, office, park, and market—are space encoded as No. 5. Space levels encoded 1 to 4 are the There are three members in the family: Mr. Peng, Mrs. main subjects of this study. Spaces outside the house Peng, and their son, who is a senior in high school. Mr. (No. 5) are not considered for information conversion. Peng, 47, owns a medium-sized company. His hobbies Definitions for each level are shown in Table 1. include reading and travel. His friends often visit him at home. He likes to chat over coffee, and he spends Table 1. Interior Space Encoding for the House much of his time before a computer. He occasionally Sphere Sphere Name of Space plays basketball. Mrs. Peng, 45, stays home most of Characteristics Encoding the time. She is a very good cook. She sometimes 1 Bathroom, bedrooms invites friends over for a meal. She likes coffee, arts, The larger 2 Kitchen, study room and crafts. She often goes for walks in the country and the number, 3 Dining room, living room travels overseas. The Peng family home is located on the lower 4 Balcony, yard Main Street; it has two floors and is 1,800 square feet. the privacy 5 (not Space outside the house included) The living room, dining room, kitchen, and rest room are on the first floor, while the master bedroom, son's 3.3 Journal Encoding room, study room, bathroom, and balcony are on the People's daily lives are filled with people, events, second floor. times, things, and places. This study begins with a 3.2 Space Encoding space user's daily life sphere. Different from ordinary Different cultures account for different space questionnaires and interviews, a space user records his forms under different environments. Any space has a or her daily activities and uses a journal to complete sphere depth, and the defined sphere is the result of the recording of his or her daily behaviors. User the encompassed boundary. This study defines space journals allow the researcher to receive details of a sphere depth according to Hillier and Hanson's (1984) space user's daily life. The descriptions of a space and Hillier's (1996) theories of sphere structure. Hillier user's preferences, activities, environments, and uses of (1996) suggests that sphere depth in space is obtained objects are therefore received through this mechanism. by observing the physical environment, the walking The interior designer thus obtains a complete script distance in space, and the accessibility of visual of life. The journal is recorded every hour, 24 hours a permeability. He also indicates that space relations are day, for 14 days. During the recording period, family not geometrical but topological. The study of space members are required to record behaviors that occur structure is thus rid of plane-based study, and space in daily activities, along with where and when they encoding is rendered and numeralized into symbols happen. Samples from the journal encodings are given and a mathematical system with a single meaning for in Tables 2. through 4. better exploration of the correlation between spaces. 3.4 Changes in the Life Sphere in a Day Thus, when a space has lower accessibility and the This section analyzes journal codes collected from behavior is more private, the sphere depth is deeper. the daily records in the case study. Visualization Conversely, when more people share a space and the analysis is performed for changes in the life sphere space has higher accessibility, the sphere depth is during a day and for numeric data about the members' shallower. sphere distribution records during the test period. 124 JAABE vol.14 no.1 January 2015 Chiung-Hui Chen Table 2. Journal Encoding: A Day in Mr. Peng's Life Table 4. Journal Encoding: A Day in the Pengs's Son's Life Time Activity Name of Space Sphere Encoding Time Activity Name of Space Sphere Encoding 12:00 AM Sleeping Bedroom 1 12:00 AM Sleeping Bedroom 1 1:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 1:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 2:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 2:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 3:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 3:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 4:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 4:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 5:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 5:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 6:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 6:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 7:00 Get up and wash Bathroom 1 7:00 Get up and wash Bathroom 1 8:00 Prepare breakfast Kitchen 2 8:00 Eat breakfast Dining room 3 Space outside 9:00 Eat breakfast Dining room 3 9:00 Catch a bus 5 the house Space outside 10:00 Visit customers 5 Space outside the house 10:00 Go to school 5 the house Space outside 11:00 Visit customers 5 the house Space outside 11:00 Go to school 5 the house Space outside 12:00 PM Visit customers 5 the house Space outside 12:00 PM Go to school 5 the house Space outside 1:00 Eat lunch 5 the house Space outside 1:00 Go to school 5 the house Space outside 2:00 Go to work 5 Space outside the house 2:00 Go to school 5 the house Space outside 3:00 Go to work 5 Space outside the house 3:00 Go to school 5 the house Space outside 4:00 Go to work 5 Space outside the house 4:00 Go to school 5 the house Space outside 5:00 Go to work 5 the house Space outside 5:00 Go to school 5 the house 6:00 Prepare dinner Kitchen 2 Space outside 7:00 Eat dinner Dining room 3 6:00 Catch a bus 5 the house 8:00 Eat dinner Dining room 3 7:00 Eat dinner Dining room 3 9:00 Prepare project report Study room 2 8:00 Eat dinner Dining room 3 10:00 Prepare project report Study room 2 9:00 Do homework Study room 2 Take a bath and get 11:00 Bathroom 1 10:00 Do homework Study room 2 ready for bed Take a bath and get 11:00 Bathroom 1 ready for bed Table 3. Journal Encoding: A Day in Mrs. Peng's Life Time Activity Name of Space Sphere Encoding Family members' activities in the environment 12:00 AM Sleeping Bedroom 1 are presented by the hour; these are the maps of 1:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 sphere changes in a day during the test period, as 2:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 shown in Fig.2. (based on Tables 2., 3., and 4.). The 3:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 measurement scale for life sphere change in a day is 4:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 defined according to three principles: 5:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 (1) The line coordinates of the concentric circles 6:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 have 24 gradations with each representing one hour. 7:00 Get up and wash Bathroom 1 8:00 Prepare breakfast Kitchen 2 The number increases clockwise. One circle represents 9:00 Eat breakfast Dining room 3 one day. 10:00 Chore Kitchen 2 (2) The concentric circles are indicative of degrees 11:00 Chore Dining room 3 of privacy. The farther the circle is from the center, 12:00 PM Prepare lunch Kitchen 2 the more open the sphere characteristics of the space it 1:00 Eat lunch Dining room 3 represents and the bigger the number. 2:00 Nap time Bedroom 1 (3) The colored area indicates that some family 3:00 Nap time Bedroom 1 members were using that space at that particular time. Space outside 4:00 Walk the dog in the park 5 the house Space outside 5:00 Go grocery shopping 5 the house 6:00 Prepare dinner Kitchen 2 7:00 Eat dinner Dining room 3 8:00 Eat dinner Dining room 3 9:00 Do laundry Balcony 4 a) Mr. Peng b) Mrs. Peng c) Pengs's Son Take a bath and get 10:00 Bathroom 1 ready for bed Fig.2. Maps of Sphere Change in Each Space in a Day 11:00 Sleeping Bedroom 1 JAABE vol.14 no.1 January 2015 Chiung-Hui Chen 125 4. Discussion and Analysis 4.2 Visualization of Sphere Activity during the 4.1 Sphere Activity Change Index during the Test Period: Life Model Information Tree Period A good visualization design not only has aesthetic Continuing from the members' maps of life sphere value but also facilitates easier reading for the changes in the previous section, a two-week numerical analysis and comparison of charts. In this section, the analysis of the Pengs's sphere activity changes was distribution of the family members' average time spent performed. The results are shown in Tables 5. to 7. in each space sphere was visually simulated and then Two assessment indexes were derived: duration-days converted to graphic information according to sphere (D.D.) as in (1) and frequency-days (F.D.) as in (2). activity change indexes D.D. and F.D. Just as plants These two indexes show the sphere changes of the change under different conditions of light, water, and family members, the space sphere where each spent soil, the family members' "Life Model Information most of his or her time, and the frequency of visits to Tree," developed through this process, behaves the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, study room, dining similarly. The structure of the growth model is detailed room, living room, and balcony. In formula (1), this below: index estimates the time the family members spent in (1) Tree trunk: This is the center as well as the the space per day. In formula (2), this index estimates beginning of growth. the number of visits to the space per day. The formulas (2) Branches: This refers to the direction of growth. of indexes D.D. and F.D. are given below: The number of spaces varies from one interior design project to another. The change and calculation of Total time used for the space during the period of recording angles have a relationship with the number of spaces, D.D.  (1) Days of recording thus generating different patterns. (3) Segments of branches: The F.D. index is Total visits to the space during the period of recording indicated by the length of a segment of the branch. F.D.  (2) Days of recording The length of a segment represents the total visits to a space. The longer the segment, the more frequent the Table 5. Numerical Analysis for Mr. Peng's Sphere Changes visitations to the space. During a Two-Week (14-day) Period (4) Number of petals: The D.D. index is indicated Name of Space Total Time of D.D. Total Visits F.D. by the number of petals, which represents the average Usage (hours) amount of the time the family members spent in the Bathroom 14.5 1.04 29 2.07 space. The more petals there are, the more time spent Bedroom 97.0 6.93 19 1.36 in the space. Kitchen 22.0 1.57 20 1.43 (5) Rule of growth: The growth model is divided Study room 16.5 1.18 8 0.57 into two basic elements—core and direction. A polygon Dining room 19.5 1.39 23 1.64 represents the originating core of a tree trunk, while Living room 9.5 0.68 7 0.50 Balcony 1.5 0.11 3 0.21 the text inside the polygon represents the appellation of the family members. The number of sides the polygon Table 6. Numerical Analysis for Mrs. Peng's Sphere Changes (N) has depends on the number of spaces in the interior During a Two-Week (14-day) Period design project (Table 8.). The rule of growth for a Name of Space Total Time of D.D. Total Visits F.D. single member's Life Model Information Tree is defined Usage (hours) as follows: Multiple branch axes are generated and Bathroom 24 1.71 42 3 extended from the center, with the direction of each Bedroom 121.5 8.68 47 3.36 axis representing a space. The angle of each branch Kitchen 33 2.36 35 2.5 Study room 10 0.71 7 0.5 (θ) is obtained by evenly dividing 360 degrees by the Dining room 34.5 2.46 34 2.43 number of spaces in the interior design project. For Living room 11.5 0.82 12 0.86 instance, as indicated in Fig.3., θ = 360 degrees / 6 = 60 Balcony 6 0.43 11 0.79 degrees. The length of a branch axis (F.D.) is derived from the frequency of a member's visits to each space, Table 7. Numerical Analysis for Pengs's Son's Sphere Changes while the number of petals at the end of the branch axis During a Two-Week (14-day) Period is derived from the average amount of time spent in the Name of Space Total Time of D.D. Total Visits F.D. (hours) space (D.D.). The Pengs's Life Model Information Tree Usage Bathroom 13 0.93 32 2.29 is shown in Fig.4. (based on Tables 5., 6., and 7.). Bedroom 114.5 8.18 41 2.93 Table 8. Growth Pattern of Life Model Information Tree. Table 8. Growth Pattern of Life Model Information Tree Kitchen 5.5 0.39 11 0.79 Triangle Square Pentagon Hexagon Heptagon Octagon Triangle Square Pentagon Hexagon Heptagon Octagon Study room 11 0.79 7 0.5 Dining room 19 1.36 23 1.64 Living room 6 0.43 5 0.36 Balcony 2 0.14 4 0.29 126 JAABE vol.14 no.1 January 2015 Chiung-Hui Chen This is the no. of petals (D.D.): This indicates the time the family members spent in a space per day. The area of the circle is scaled as 100%. The area occupied by the petals indicates the percentage. The more petals there are, the more time spent in the space. Length of branch segment (F.D.): This indicates the total visits to a space. The total length of the segment is scaled as 100%. The whole length is then divided into sections in proportion to the percentage of each part. The length of each segment indicates the percentage of each part. The longer the segment, the more frequent the visits to the space. Fig.3. The Structure of the Life Model Information Tree c) Pengs's Son Fig.4. Representation of the Pengs's Life Model Information Tree 5. Conclusion and Future Research This research created a method for providing an interior design data source that suited the objectives of this study. This paper also detailed how the consistency of the numerical data was maintained in the process of formatting. It will take a long time for project interior designers to find a periodic mode that is inherent in the data if only a simple electronic data table is provided. Although the current design outcome of the visualization is a static image, the whole iconic infrastructure and hierarchies have been established, which is the most difficult part of the task. Generally speaking, mass information may be converted into a meaningful image framework through information a) Mr. Peng visualization. Compared to the pure digital displays used in the past, information visualization is easier and more intuitive in helping interior designers quickly understand and use information. The life sphere change map defined and developed in this study can help interior designers understand family members' changes in the space sphere, from which their life models may be determined. Preferences and habits in space usage can be determined in accordance with combination of these types. The indexes D.D. and F.D., created by changes in sphere activity, can further highlight the space sphere an individual family member emphasizes and visualize the distribution of average time spent in each space sphere per day. Follow-up studies should build on the current results and develop an algorithm for building an interactive information system platform with the visualized model b) Mrs. Peng of the Life Model Information Tree as its foundation. Different images may be created based on visits to the space and may vary with time. Images presented this way can sharply display the characteristics of the data and the differences among them, thus assisting interior designers in easily interpreting information related to the design. JAABE vol.14 no.1 January 2015 Chiung-Hui Chen 127 16) Shneiderman, B. (1992) Tree visualization with treemaps: A 2-D Moreover, interior designers may extract information space-filling approach. ACM Transactions on Graphics, 11 (1), more efficiently from the space users' journal records pp.92-99. and in the model of the exported visualized results. 17) Skog, T., Ljungblad, S., and Holmquist, L. E. (2003) Between More interior design service case studies may be aesthetics and utility: Designing ambient information recorded for further analysis of the space users' favorite visualizations. INFOVIS 2003, pp.233-240. 18) Spence, R. (2001) Information visualization. Reading: Addison- data. 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Journal

Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering – Taylor & Francis

Published: Jan 1, 2015

Keywords: interior design; lifestyle patterns; information visualization; aesthetic computing

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