Assignment 3 : Design Safari

People watcher is a funny statement, it gives off connotations of some long coated dark 'Jack the Ripper' looking character, suits me perfectly!


Therefore the next assignment will be rather fun. I chose to carry out my experiment in a shopping centre and local supermarket where I work part time, luckily within the supermarket there is a clothes department not quite 'All saints' but it sort of relates to my discipline. I think my findings were majorly influenced by the surroundings as the shopping centre is situated in a 'run down' area in Glasgow therefore there can sometimes be a very negative attitude projected form some of its customers but overall there is a friendly and community based environment.





Firstly, customers almost always walk directly ahead, personally I expected most people to 'keep to the left' considering the majority will be drivers, reason being that there is a huge escalator slightly to the left that is visually dominating that leads upstairs, to the clothes department. This I suppose is kept separate for two reasons, firstly because once your up there the aisles are narrower making it harder to get past trolleys and in turn making you spend more time. The other is that the light bulbs are strategically placed upstairs in the very back corner, sometimes to the companies regret as on numerous occasions have I witnessed customers say "oh never mind then".



Generally customers navigate in a clockwise direction, subconsciously directed by the shop layout? Or to do with our own preferences? Maybe its both.





Women usually operate in small groups, sometimes with countless hyperactive children on the loose but due to the time of year mostly with friends, they shop at a far more relaxed pace and seem to wander endlessly in their own worlds, maybe shopping gives them a sense of escape? Doubt it, sooner or later the will be bombarded by a reckless trolley driver who forgets its not just them on the road.





Men on the other hand are usually more straight to the point and would much rather ask a willing and helpful member of staff for every single item on the shopping list. I think that women associate shopping as a social experience and men with a more practical and 'get it done and get out' approach. I found this especially with the well dressed 'professionals' who barely ever use baskets and would much rather carry their items, but majority flocked around the sandwiches and bottles of juice.





I think mostly all 'rules' of common etiquette are disregarded in supermarkets and people do not treat them with much respect, far different from the behaviour I would expect to see in a coffee shop or library for instance but far more fun to watch.