Anthropometrics

When walking into a room, how many times have you hit your head when walking through the doorway? The likelihood is slim to none. This is because of Anthropometric use within design! Anthropometrics are basically the study of the human body and it's movements along the use of human measurements within a space to design specifically for the end user. When walking through an everyday doorway, the height of it is on average 6'8". This measurement is taken from anthropometric data from thousands of individual's varying heights to create a door way entry that is as user friendly as possible.

Racquetball doors often don't meet the average height requirements (usually 3'6" tall) for a normal doorway. This is the door to our training room which has never been changed to a standard sized door since being repurposed as the triathlon training room. This is an example of bad anthropometric use!
Photo taken by me at ETSU

Anthropometrics were not only used for designing spaces, but were also commonly used within the military, especially during the mid-eighteen hundreds. Timothy Cuff's article on Historical Anthropometrics states that knowing the height and sizes of men enlisting in the army during this time period provided a means of classifying and identifying the men into military units that would best fit them or even provide a standard for eliminating recruits that did not belong in the war.

Marvel character, Steve Rogers attempting to enlist in the army before he became Captain America. He was turned down from the army due to not meeting size criteria, also known as their anthropometric standards.
Source: Captain America

Anthropometrics, in total, is what keeps the end user in mind of all design. Whether you are designing a space specific to an individual or designing a space for a variety of individuals to use, anthropometric data should always be kept in mind. When designing a public space for a variety of people, individuals with disability or those who are deviant from the average should always be kept in mind. For example, everyday after practice I go to the training room where I visit our team trainer to receive treatment for anything health/injury related. I often see very tall basketball players come to the training room to receive treatment, who end up bumping their heads on the ceiling upon entering the room! This causes them to duck during their entire visit to the training room, which is uncomfortable and could have been avoided if the designer of the space used anthropometric data to have the end user in mind.

Designing using anthropometric data is a huge part of creating a universal design
Sketch drawn by me

Want to design a space that is meaningful, comfortable, and directed towards the end user? The use of anthropometric data within design can easily be applied to provide a solution to these three factors. By factoring in anthropometrics into the design of any space, you are choosing to design for not only yourself to enjoy, but also for the world around you.

Source: historical anthropometrics