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CIC NOTE
2025. 04-16
Masahiro Yamagishi
hello everyone.
My name is Masahiro Yamagishi, a CIC designer who loves animals and technology.
As a member of the UX Design department, I am constantly challenging myself to create unprecedented experiential value by combining digital and spatial elements.
In this CICNOTE, I'd like to share with you some thoughts on "how each person perceives the world" and the mindset needed to design experiences that take this into account, so please bear with me for a moment.
Recently, I read a book called "The World Seen from the Perspective of Living Things" by Uexküll. This book, famous for its concept of the "Umwelt," advocates the idea that there is no "objective world" common to all living things on earth, including humans, and that there are countless unique worlds that each living thing has independently grasped and constructed through its own sensory organs and perceptual abilities. (It's a bit complicated, but I'll explain it with concrete examples in the next chapter.)
We tend to think, "I wonder how other living things see this world," based on the world from a human perspective, but the idea of positioning "this world" as a common base, as perceived subjectively by humans, is completely off the mark. Instead, each species has its own unique world based on their own senses!
In this article, I would like to use the concept of "Umwelt" from a slightly different perspective than Uexküll's to think about the different Umwelts of us "people who plan and design spatial experiences" and "experiencers who receive spatial experiences." Through this comparison, I would like to organize the ways of perceiving the world that should be important for people who plan and design things and events.
Before getting into the main topic, I would like to explain the concept of "Umwelt" a little more using examples from the book "The World Seen from the Perspective of Living Things" for those who are not sure if they understand it or not. (If you already know it, you can skip to the next chapter.)
This time I'd like to focus on the world of holiday camping.
The three illustrations above each depict the same camping scene. However, by color-coding the meaning of each object for the human, dog, and fly, the illustrations express how the same space can be perceived in completely different ways by each animal.
The first illustration colourises elements of a camp landscape as captured by humans.
[Human Umwelt (1st photo)]
For us humans, all camping equipment has a meaning, and we color-code each one. Naturally, we recognize the meaning of elements and distinguish them, such as a cooler box for storing food and a barbecue grill for grilling food.
Now, how would a dog perceive the same scene?
[Dog's Umwelt (2nd photo)]
The color division in the space has been greatly reduced. The same colors are used for objects that dogs have in common with humans, but the only common objects are chairs, glasses, and plates. Other objects such as coolers, stoves, and small stools are perceived as meaningless (obstacles) by dogs. Dogs cannot distinguish between charcoal containers and coolers, and small triangular stools that dogs cannot stand on are not recognized as something to sit on, and are not distinguished from other obstacles. (I think that intelligent dogs perceive the world in a way that is a little closer to humans, but this is just an example.)
Finally, if a fly were to come into this campsite, how would we catch it?
[The fly's umwelt (3rd photo)]
As you can see, the only objects in the room that make sense to the fly are the lantern and the food on the table; the other elements are meaningless to the fly. The chair, tent, and table are all perceived as one, without being differentiated as elements. Can you imagine for a moment that there exists a world completely different from the world that humans and dogs see?
The illustration in this example itself has been coloured based on the Umwelt as perceived by human vision, so it cannot be said to completely explain the Umwelt (because other living things have other senses and hierarchies of meaning, such as smell and ultraviolet light that humans cannot perceive), but I think this chapter is OK if it conveys the idea that while the things that exist there do not change, completely different worlds are created for each one depending on the subject's perception, as part of the concept of an "Umwelt".
(If you want to know more about the "Umwelt", please read "The World Seen from an Organism's Perspective"!)
Well, sorry to keep you waiting, but here we finally get to the main topic. In "The World Seen from the Perspective of Living Things," Uexküll focuses on living things and delves into the unique Umwelt of each living thing. Based on this idea, in this article I would like to expand on this idea a little more by asking, "Do the Umwelts of the same human being differ depending on their knowledge, experience, and occupation?"
When I personally visit exhibition facilities or performances and see digital devices, I often find myself unconsciously thinking, "How does this work?", "Oh, there's a sensor here. Ah, it's projecting from this projector." I'm sure many of you reading this article have had similar experiences.
This is what is known as an "occupational hazard," but I believe this sensation is the "Umwelt" of the people (planners and designers) who plan and design spatial experiences.
It feels as if the content itself, as well as the mechanism that makes it possible, seems to have color (meaning).
For example, consider "content that moves interactively through physical movements and gestures," a type of digital content often used in science museums and exhibition facilities. This is content in which images unfold as you run, jump, or reach out in front of a screen.
When we color the world we see in this content,
[The Umwelt of the spatial experience planner and designer]
In this way, I look at various parts such as the projection equipment, sensors, and wiring, and I find myself recognizing and analyzing the mechanisms and ingenuity.
In contrast, when "children," who represent pure content-experiencers, view this content, how do they perceive the world?
[The Umwelt of a Pure Exhibition Experiencer]
Naturally, children and ordinary people who simply experience an exhibition don't think about things like "there's a sensor here and this projector is projecting something." The wires connecting the devices probably aren't even recognized in their Umwelt. They simply enjoy watching the images projected on the screen react to their movements. This is the Umwelt of the person receiving the spatial experience.
Now, looking back at my own planning and design work from this perspective, I feel that I tend to think about things from a perspective based on the "Umwelt of the exhibition planner/designer." I'm sure that many other people involved in planning and design also think about the structure of a project and its design based on the experiences of the Umwelt they see. I think it's natural to think about things based on your own Umwelt, unless you're not conscious of it.
However, most people who receive the spatial experience beyond the planning and design have a different Umwelt from the planner's and designer's. What we see in our Umwelt may not be visible to the person experiencing it, or what is difficult to perceive in our Umwelt may be clearly visible in another Umwelt.
When I think about this, I am reminded that what constitutes a "good experience or space" for a designer with a wealth of knowledge and experience is not necessarily a "good experience or space" for everyone.
It is not uncommon that the attention to detail of the planner/designer, born out of their knowledge and experience, actually proves meaningless to the person using it, or that something intended based on the designer's sensibilities does not reach the user well and ends up being used in an unexpected way.
To eliminate this gap, we must recognize the difference between our own Umwelt and that of the person experiencing it, and sometimes step outside our own Umwelt to look beyond the design or planning and into the Umwelt of the person who will receive the spatial experience. If we can see the world from that perspective, we may be able to design spaces and experiences that bring joy and emotion to even more people.
I would like to conclude this article by saying that this process of "traveling between different Umwelts" is an important mindset for planning and designing "good experiences and spaces" for someone other than yourself!
Of course, it is not easy to escape from one's own Umwelt. Ironically, the more specialized knowledge and experience one accumulates, the greater the distance between the Umwelt of the people one is trying to reach, and it can even be said that traveling back and forth becomes more difficult.
However, I would be delighted if this article could serve as an opportunity for those who read it to suddenly remember that "other people's Umwelts exist" and take a moment to step outside of their own Umwelt, as a small step toward creating a better spatial experience in this paradoxical and profound world.
Although I am still a youngster who has just entered the workforce, I would like to be a planner and designer who is able to consider the Umwelts of others and empathize with them, rather than being self-centered in my own Umwelt.
Note: How to emerge from your own world a little
- Look back on your spatial experience with a clean mind, free from prerequisites and discussion processes
・Let others (children, the general public, etc.) experience the design during the process
・Try to eliminate preconceived notions based on your own knowledge and experience and listen to other people's opinions in a pure way.
etc…
The End
参考文献: （※）ユクスキュル 著 クリサート 著 日高 敏隆 訳 羽田 節子 訳, 「生物から見た世界」, 岩波書店, 2005/06/16 , 166頁
