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Design Prompts
Explore ideas, words and prompts to get excited about your concept and design...
Architecture As Experience
Architectural structures and space are ultimately designed as a human experience, so it is important to be conscious of what we are creating. We sense or perceive the external world through:
• Physical - Sensations from the five physical senses(touch, taste, smell, sound, sight)
We experience the external world internally through a response to the external world in the form of the more intangible:
• Mental - Thoughts, memories and beliefs.
• Emotions - A collection of internal physical sensations we give common names to.
When designing, we need to consider the internal experience we desire our user to have, and then consider the characteristics or qualities of the external environment that will create that.
Characteristics or qualities are words used to describe different aspects of a person or thing.
• Quality - A distinct or unique characteristic possessed by someone or something.
• Characteristic - A feature belonging to a place or thing and serving to identify and tell it apart as unique.
• Physical - Things perceived through the senses (touch, taste, smell, sound, sight) as opposed to the mind (thoughts, beliefs, memories, words) and emotions.
These words are just a prompt as you start to think about the experience of your user and then generate your concept and aspects of this concept. You could use thesaurus.com to refine and further develop your ideas.
Click on each tab below to drop down a list of prompts...
Experience (Physical Senses + Internal Emotions)
What we perceive internally...
SIGHT/ SEE [Appearance]
SOUND/ HEAR
Purr
Hiss
Groan
Bark
Meow
Chime
Drum
Squeal
Clap
Rumble
Grumble
Fizzle
Whistle
Screech
Beep
Slap
Ring
Hoot
Bubble
Tinkle
Rustle
Scratch
Moo
Growl
Gurgle
Jabber
Splash
Cough
Cackle
Sigh
Fart
Clink
Creak
Holler
Chirp
Rattle
Bellow
Pop
Gasp
Hum
SMELL
Airy
Acrid
Aromatic
Delicate
Delicious
Delightful
Dewy
Exotic
Exquisite
Faint
Familiar
Favourite
Floral
Fresh
Gentle
Heavenly
Heavy
Light
Lovely
Mild
Mild
Musky
Musty
Natural
Overpowering
Overwhelming
Peculiar
Pleasant
Pleasing
Powerful
Precious
Pungent
Pure
Putrid
Rancid
Refreshing
Rich
Scent
Sickening
Sweet
Soft
Spicy
Smoky
Smouldering
Stale
Strange
Strong
Subtle
Suffocating
Toxic
Unique
Warm
Wild
Wispy
Zesty
TOUCH
See "Texture" Below.
TASTE
TBA - Coming soon!!
POSITIVE EMOTIONS [Feelings]
Amazed/Amazing
Amused
Anticipation
Appreciation
Bliss/Blissful
Blessed
Calm
Cheer
Cheerful
Comfortable
Confident
Content/ Contentment
Delighted/ Delightful
Eager
Ecstatic/ Ecstasy
Elated/ Elations
Energetic/ Energy
Empathy/ Empathetic
Excited/ Excitement
Fulfilled/ Fulfillment
Glee/ Gleeful
Grateful
Gratitude
Happy/Happiness
Heartfelt
Hilarity
Hopeful/Hope
Inspiration
Inspired/Inspiring
Invigorated
Jubilation
Joy/Joyful
Joyfulness
Loving/Love
Mirth/ Mirthful
Motivated
Optimism
Optimistic
Peaceful/Peace
Pleased
Playfulness
Pride
Radiance
Rejoicing
Relieved/Relief
Reverence/Reverent
Satisfied/Satisfaction
Serendipity
Serenity
Spirited
Sunny
Surprise/Surprised
Tenderness
Thrilled/Thrilling
Trust/Trusting
Uplifted
Warmth
Zeal
Zest
NEGATIVE EMOTIONS [Feelings]
Anger
Annoyance
Apathy
Chaotic
Concern/Concerned
Confusion
Contempt
Depression
Despair
Desperation
Disappointment
Discouraged
Disgust
Dread
Embarrassment
Envy
Fear/Fearful
Frustrated
Guilt
Grief
Helplessness
Hopelessness
Hostility
Humiliation
Impatience
Inadequacy
Insecurity
Irritation
Jealousy
Lonely/Loneliness
Melancholy
Misery
Nervousness
Pessimism
Regret
Resentment
Rage
Sad/Sadness
Stress
Suspicion
Terror
Tension
Unhappy/Unhappiness
Worry/Worried
Overwhelmed
HUMAN QUALITIES
Accessible
Active
Adaptable
Admirable
Adventurous
Agreeable
Alert
Allocentric
Amiable
Anticipative
Appreciative
Articulate
Aspiring
Athletic
Attractive
Authoritarian
Balanced
Benevolent
Bold
Brilliant
Calm
Capable
Captivating
Caring
Challenging
Charismatic
Charming
Cheerful
Clean
Clear-headed
Clever
Colorful
Companionly
Committed
Compassionate
Conciliatory
Confident
Conscientious
Considerate
Constant
Contemplative
Cooperative
Courageous
Courteous
Creative
Cultured
Curious
Daring
Debonair
Decent
Decisive
Dedicated
Deep
Dignied
Directed
Disciplined
Discreet
Disruptive
Dramatic
Dutiful
Dynamic
Earnest
Ebullient
Educated
Efficient
Elegant
Eloquent
Empathetic
Energetic
Enthusiastic
Esthetic
Exciting
Extraordinary
Extravert
Fair
Faithful
Farsighted
Felicific
Fighter
Firm
Flexible
Focused
Forceful
Forgiving
Forthright
Freethinking
Friendly
Fun-loving
Gallant
Generous
Gentle
Genuine
Good-natured
Gracious
Hardworking
Healthy
Hearty
Helpful
Heroic
High-minded
Honest
Honorable
Humble
Humorous
Idealistic
Imaginative
Impressive
Incisive
Incorruptible
Independent
Individualistic
Innovative
Inoffensive
Insightful
Insouciant
Intelligent
Intuitive
Introvert
Invulnerable
Joking
Just
Kind
Knowledge
Leaderly
Leisurely
Liberal
Logical
Lovable
Loyal
Loud
Lyrical
Magical
Magnanimous
Many-sided
Masculine (Manly)
Mature
Methodical
Meticulous
Moderate
Modest
Multi-leveled
Mysterious
Mystical
Neat
Nonauthoritarian
Objective
Observant
Open
Optimistic
Orderly
Organized
Original
Outrageous
Painstaking
Passionate
Patient
Patriotic
Peaceful
Perceptive
Perfectionist
Personable
Persuasive
Planful
Playful
Polished
Popular
Powerful
Practical
Precise
Principled
Profound
Protean
Protective
Providential
Prudent
Punctual
Purposeful
Radical
Rational
Realistic
Rebellious
Reflective
Regal
Relaxed
Reliable
Resourceful
Respectful
Responsible
Responsive
Reverential
Ridiculous
Romantic
Royal
Rule-breaker
Rustic
Sage
Sane
Scholarly
Scrupulous
Secure
Selfless
Self-critical
Self-defacing
Self-denying
Self-reliant
Self-sufficient
Sensitive
Sentimental
Seraphic
Serious
Sexy
Sharing
Shrewd
Shocking
Silly
Simple
Skillful
Sober
Sociable
Solid
Sophisticated
Spontaneous
Sporting
Stable
Steadfast
Steady
Stoic
Strong
Studious
Suave
Subtle
Sweet
Sympathetic
Systematic
Tasteful
Teacherly
Thorough
Tidy
Tolerant
Tractable
Trusting
Uncomplaining
Understanding
Undogmatic
Unfoolable
Unusual
Upright
Urbane
Venturesome
Visionary
Vivacious
Warm
Well-bred
Well-read
Well-rounded
Winning
Wise
Witty
Youthful
Design Theory: Elements & Principles (Physical Qualities and Characteristics)
How we create the experience through architecture and space...
DESIGN ELEMENTS and PRINCIPLES
READ MORE in the article "Architectural Design Theory | Essential Elements And Principles Defined."
DESIGN ELEMENTS
The simplest pieces within a design.
Point/ Line/ Shape
Form
Mass
Size
Direction
Colour + Value
Texture
Pattern
Light + Shadow
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
The ways elements or pieces are put together.
Unity/ Harmony
Balance
Proportion/ Scale
Symmetry/ Asymmetry
Axis/ Datum
Repetition
Rhythm
Contrast/ Similarity
Hierarchy
Emphasis/ Dominance
Movement
Alignment
Variety
SHAPE + FORM
Blob/ Blobby
Broad
Circle/ Circular
Crooked
Curve/ Curved/ Curvy
Cylinder/ Cylindrical
Deep
Distorted
Flat
Fold/ Folded
Globular
Hexagon/ Hexagonal
Hollow
Low
Mass
Narrow
Oval
Planar
Pyramid
Rectangle/ Rectangular
Rotund
Round
Skinny
Solid
Sphere/ Spherical
Square
Steep
Straight
Tall
Triangular
Wide
SIZE
Abundant
Big
Capacious
Compact
Confine/Confined
Colossal
Dense
Enormous
Exiguous
Extensive
Fat
Giant
Gigantic
Great
Grand
High
Huge
Immense
Large
Little
Long
Majestic
Miniature
Modest
Mighty
Over-sized
Petite
Puny
Quartered
Regular
Roomy
Short
Small
Solid
Spacious
Tall
Teeny
Thin
Thick
Tiny
Vast
Wide
Wide-ranging
Wide-spread
Widespread
COLOUR
Aqua
Beige
Black
Blush Pink
Blue
Burgundy
Cantaloupe
Cerulean
Chartreuse
Chocolate Brown
Coral
Crimson
Cyan
Emerald
Fuchsia
Gold
Gray
Green
Indigo
Ivory
Jade
Khaki
Lavender
Lemon Yellow
Light Blue
Light Gray
Lime
Maroon
Mauve
Navy Blue
Olive
Orange
Peach
Periwinkle
Pink
Plum
Purple
Red
Rose
Ruby
Salmon
Sapphire
Scarlet
Silver
Tan
Teal
Turquoise
Violet
White
Wine
Yellow
Charcoal
Copper
Electric Blue
Forest Green
Garnet
Kelly Green
Mustard
Raspberry
Tangerine
TEXTURE
Abrasive
Bendy/Bendable
Bouncy
Bumpy
Cold
Cool
Crinkled
Crystalline
Crumpled
Crumbly/Crumbing
Dense
Dry
Elastic/Elasticity
Encrust/Encrusted
Firm/Firmness
Flexible
Furry
Fuzzy
Gooey
Granular
Greasy
Grainy
Gritty
Hard
Hazy
Icy
Jittery
Knitted
Leather
Lumpy
Matt
Metal/Metallic
Matted
Nubby
Peach-fuzzy
Permeable
Plastic/Plasticity
Pitted
Plush
Polished
Porous
Prickly
Pliable
Rough
Rustic
Scaly
Scrunched
Shaggy
Sharp
Shiny
Sheer
Silky
Slick
Slippery
Smooth
Soft
Spongy
Squishy
Stiff/Stiffness
Supple
Textured
Toothy
Velvety
Waxy
Woven
Woolly
Viscous/Viscosity
Wet
PATTERN
Abstract
Aligned
Angular
Asymmetrical
Balanced
Barred
Cascading
Chevron
Complex
Concentric
Criss-cross
Crossing
Curved
Delicate
Detailed
Dotted
Edged
Entwined
Ethereal
Exquisite
Filigree
Fluid
Fractal
Framed
Geometry/Geometric
Grid
Haphazard
Interlocking
Interwoven
Irregular
Layered
Linear
Minimalist
Modular
Monochromatic
Mosaic
Multi-colored
Overlapping
Organic
Ornamental
Panel/Panelled
Patterned
Radiant
Random
Repeated/Repetition
Rich
Rounded
Scattered
Simplistic
Spiraled
Symmetrical
Tangled
Textured
Tiled
Translucent
Twisted
Uneven
Unstructured
Variegated
Wavy
Woven
Zonal
ALIGNMENT [Location and Proximity]
Above
Adjacent
Afar
Alongside
Amid
At
Behind
Below
Beyond
Between
Closer
Central
Close
Distant
Enclosed
Far
Farther
Front
Inaccessible
Interlocking
Interlaced
Internal
Inward
Isolated
Nearby
Near
Off
On-site
Opposite
Outer
Outlying
Overlay
Overlap
Periphery
Perpendicular
Prevailing
Proximal
Recessed
Remote
Separated
Surrounding
Underlying
Underneath
Upstream
Within
REPETITION [Quantity]
Angular
All
Ample
Considerable
Countless
Enough
Every
Few
Full
Hundreds
Large
Light
Limited
Many
Multiple
Myriad
Numerous
Several
Some
Sparse
MOVEMENT [Time and Speed]
Ancient
Annual
Biannual
Brief/ Briefly
Daily
Early
Eternal
Fast
First
Future
Futuristic
Historical
Irregular
Late
Long
Modern
Old
Quick
Rapid
Regular
Short
Slow
Speed/ Speedy
Swift
Wait
Young
MOVEMENT [Action]
Dainty
Drama/ Dramatically
Fast
Fluid
Force/ Forceful
Gentle/ Gently
Graceful
Gradual/ Gradually
Quick/ Quickly
Rapid/ Rapidly
Sharp
Slight
Slow/ Slowly
Smooth/ Smoothly
Steady
Sudden/ Suddenly
Supple
I've taught nearly 1,000 students and 80 design studios at 8 different universities. This is what I've learned...
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