Importance of Anthropometry and Ergonomics in Interior Design

Anthropometrics is the study of the human body and its movements, especially in terms of its measurements, but ergonomics is the scientific discipline that involves designing products and environments to match the individuals who use them. While anthropometrics involves the systematic measurement of the physical properties of the human body (height, weight, shape, arm length, etc.), ergonomics involves incorporating anthropometric data in designing products and environments. For instance, anthropometrics may involve measuring the circumference of heads of a target population and obtaining an average value whereas ergonomics may use this average head circumference value to design safety helmets.

Anthropometrics involve research that includes measurements of the human body while ergonomics involves using anthropometric data when designing products to improve user experience. The primary difference between anthropometrics and ergonomics is their focus and use. Anthropometric data helps designers to design their product.

For instance, when designing a hairdryer, measurements like the average height of users and length of average arms become useful to decide the shape of handle and distance to be held from the head. When taking measurements form a target population for a specific product design, designers generally derive an average value (midpoint) as the final measurement. Anthropometrics plays an important role in various fields such as furniture design, clothing design, architecture, and ergonomics.

Ergonomics is the scientific discipline of designing products and environments to match the people who use them. It incorporates anthropometric data when designing products to improve user experience. For example, when you manufacture a door handle, you use the measurements of the hand to design the shape and size of the handle. The same theory applies to designing various products such as furniture, vehicles, clothes, etc.

On occasions, designers don’t use anthropometric data in designing products; it may lead to users’ discomfort, pain or even injury. Moreover, size, shape, weight, the position of controls, etc. are measurements that contribute to ergonomic designing.