Observation (Space and Uses)
By Hannah Cai, Jenna Kim, Elena Deng, Sabrina Zhai, Joel Neely
Mission
Our mission for Spaces and Uses was to observe a specific section in Construction Junction in and figure out the spatial distribution of people at a certain time, their activities, and their demographics. Without any intrusion, we researched the space with care. Although there are many different sections in Construction Junction, we focused on the space between the entrance and the cash register, where there are sections of miscellaneous objects.
We chose the area at the entrance of Construction Junction, starting from the main door of the building to the cash register. Before conducting any in depth observations, we chose this location due to our assumption that this was the space with most traffic and interaction between users. The space includes a cash register, an area with shopping carts, and a display of products.
Our Space
Instead of observing the space in one day, we decided to split into two groups for revisiting Construction Junction. One group visited from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, while the other group visited from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. During our observation, we recorded what we saw with videos and pictures as well as self-recorded notes. The videos were taken to present the traffic within the space, how people use the space, and etc. Once we compiled our findings about the space, there were overlapping observations although the space was visited on different days.
Our process
Observation
Process
Instead of observing the space in one day, we decided to split into two groups for revisiting Construction Junction. One group visited from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, while the other group visited from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. During our observation, we recorded what we saw with videos and pictures as well as self-recorded notes. The videos were taken to present the traffic within the space, how people use the space, and etc. Once we compiled our findings about the space, there were overlapping observations although the space was visited on different days.
From our observations, we discovered that the our space was primarily used as a “quick-browse” section. Customers briefly glanced over the area to see if anything intrigued them either when they first entered the store or when the customers prepared to leave. Occasionally, people would take a detour from their intended destination and look more closely at whatever merchandise caught their eye from this section, for probably a maximum of one to two minutes. We rarely caught customers deliberately go into this space to look for something in particular and spend longer than five minutes. From this observation, we decided there were two types of customers: one that actively goes through Construction Junction with an exact image of what they want to purchase and the other that passively looks from a product that can fit what they need.
Demographics
Going into further detail of the demographics of the people in our section, we mostly saw a wide range of people, with lone shoppers from ages 30–60 and couples 25–60. Lone shoppers in particular were typically men.
Tools
The customers also often used their phones, calling others to confirm a purchase or using it for reference to take photos or look something up). People also used carts to load and unload products. There were two types of carts people could grab: the traditional shopping card and the large, flat one. People who entered the store and went straight to grab a cart, especially the larger one, seemed to have been here before and had an exact goal/ intent of what they want to buy in mind. Meanwhile, others who skipped the cart area seemed to be simply browsing through or were more passive customers.
Problems
There were certain problems in this space that we noticed. One was cart size limitations where customers had miscalculated the size of the cart that they needed. Another was traffic within the small space. Because this area was right next to the entrance/exit of the store as well as the cashier, the paths around the area served different purposes and people who were entering and exiting interfered with one and other. The products in this area also didn’t have a lot of labels for what it was or what the price was. There was, however, signs in the area directing people to the exit and cashier. The object placement and category of the products seemed to be miscellaneous as well.
Five Senses
This space had a lot of movement, as there were plenty of people coming in and out of the space. There was unexpected noises, generally created by the loudness of them from the echo due to the warehouse size. The area also did not have a lot of light; the few windows that it had are frosted. There was no distinctive smell that we could attribute to the space.
Physical Traces
We observed the physical traces left by people as well. The most common one was signs of wear; because of the nature of Construction Junction as a second hand construction materials; many of their merchandise showed age or previous usage. Much of the store and products had dust as well.
Construction Junction’s “sections” were separated by walls of merchandise, rather than typical concrete or wooden walls. The signs around the area were also handmade rather than printed, created from recyclable material. As for displays of self, employees were grouped by their green “CJ” sweatshirts, and a duck sculpture was referenced in the store’s signage. Sculptures and paintings are also displayed across the store.
Final Thoughts
We concluded that our space is not meant for specific or active browsing, but more for wandering if customers were interested in the items. In the future, we would like to find out how much experience each customer had with Construction Junction, whether it was their first time or they’ve been here regularly before, etc.. We are also curious about how the space has changed or developed over time and what the customer’s goals and intent are for shopping at Construction Junction.
