Ergonomics -- the applied science concerned with the design arrangement of things so as to improve the person-to-product interface -- is a direct benefit of good design. Some call ergonomics the human factor. Within the design community, we've learned that ergonomic products and environments are designed to work with the way humans think and operate.

Interior designers -- as a profession -- design, specify and create the built environment in which humans occupy. It's in these spaces we learn, work, play, eat, reside, pray, congregate, deliberate and heal. For the end user, the benefits of integrating ergonomics into design are both real and perceived.

Ergonomics enhance health, safety and comfort. They improve human performance. They make a product's operation more intuitive to the user. They make the user of a product more at ease, thus reducing human error during use. The benefits one can quantify include increased comfort in seating, reach zones and intuitiveness of operation. Such intuitiveness can give the user a sense of control and immediate know-how. It can improve a sense of familiarity with a product and create ease. More benefits are aesthetics that calm and colors that soothe.

To design for the human body, our profession must first understand how it thinks and works. Human error stems from interface problems. When a product is designed in a manner that is inconsistent with the way people think and operate, problems ensue. This can lead to product misuse as well as user confusion. Users may make faulty decisions or misinterpret data.

Tools and techniques used to measure the effectiveness of environments and their contents require an understanding of how people work, how a facility works, and the person-to-product interface. When we are creating a design-research plan, it's important to provide for a true human factor. The true human factor is what people actually do -- versus what they say they do.

Tangible results commonly attributed to ergonomically minded spaces are reductions in human error (which impacts risk management), increases in productivity and promotion of psychological mind sets that help the natural healing process. If interior designers can indirectly increase productivity, lower costs, lower job turn-over, reduce sick days and decrease insurance claims, then why are we not promoting these benefits and our role in that process?

Maybe the interior design profession should begin to open new lines of communication and take a more active interest in the benefits of design. To establish a leadership position in ergonomic design, we must invite appropriate experts to join with us. All of us should create a fresh awareness of the real and perceived benefits to society.

Within the design community we're witnessing a coalescence among diverse groups. Perhaps this movement will enhance the profession's ability to grow the market for specialized services and training. Multi-disciplinary design teams should work with OSHA and private insurers. Some designers have already set up programs to aid companies in everything from preliminary ergonomic re-design to basic implementation. Also, there are private ergonomic and human engineering consultants. Most of the leading universities have ergonomic specialty departments staffed with some of the most respected experts.

So ergonomics is, basically, an interface. In the same way, there exists an interface between designers and the design profession as a whole. That link is the International Interior Design Association (IIDA). IIDA believes that design matters and it advocates for and educates about the benefits of good design. Interior design members of IIDA want to elevate standards for the profession and encourage design research. IIDA is the connection from the busy designer to the future of the profession. A primary motive of IIDA is to measure, quantify and qualify the value of good design.

Design is a global issue. Design surrounds us. It touches living spaces, everyday lives and even nature. Design should be spiritually and physically satisfying. It should enrich our way of life. Design matters.

Let us not forget this and let us not forget about the lives we touch.

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