A responsive design strategy : tested in the Centurion licensing department to serve as a national roll-out solution

Abstract

Interior design is more than just the design of spaces. It is the study of human activity, interaction, movement and spatial governance. These result in the user being both emotionally and physically involved in the interior. Therefore interior design also allows for cooperation between building and user. However when this matter of cooperation is overlooked the negative effect falls on the service that the building provides leading to a negative user perception. User perception is currently not seen as a physical parameter within an interior condition; however it has a big role to play in terms of how public service buildings function. The interior spaces within the current South African public service domain are prone to this lack of cooperation between building and user. As is evident in service delivery, there is no sharing of information between building and user leading to confusion, frustration and an overall negative perception of the work that is being done there. Many different forms of analysis can be used to determine where these problems lie within the interior. Using elements from other fields of design can add layers of information enriching the design decisions made through the interior design solution. By overstepping the boundary between Service Design and interior design, the designer delves into a unique understanding of the processes and associated problems within the service delivery, and through this understanding a more informed spatial solution can be developed. Information visualization and interior design work hand in hand as an instrument in presenting both problems and solutions in a way that the layman can understand. In an industry where information is lacking, finding new streams of portraying it could change user perception in a positive way. The investigation of this problem will unfold in the Tshwane Licencing Departments. Four sites within this study will be investigated namely, Centurion, Waltloo, Akasia and Rayton traffic departments. These sites will be analysed to decipher the core problems that they share. The Centurion Licencing Department will be the site used to develop and test the proposed interior intervention. This site is an example of an interior with a lack of cooperation due to its misuse of interior space, lack of wayfinding, circulation and non-existent identity. Through efficiency, pleasant experience and providing the user with all the information needed to complete the process should allow for a cooperative interior and therefore a change in perception. Interior Design becomes the instrument to realise pleasant-efficiency for service delivery. Even though Interior Design has no control over the administrational aspects of service delivery, it can shape the platform on which it is delivered having a positive influence on both user and service provider.