Building on the ideas of eminent psychologists like Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, this course offers designers the chance to understand emotional and subconscious reactions to spaces. This will offer them an advantage in their work and should also make it more meaningful. Students will learn about Jungian archetypes and how they can inform design. This should make a difference to the designer’s experience as well as how they interact with clients. They’ll also learn about the importance of art, nature, artefacts, and objects. And gain understanding of the importance of narrative to the human experience. After completing the course, designers will be able to engage with clients in a different way. Rather than focus on their clients’ cognitive reactions, designers will be able to consider and encourage an understanding of a deeper response to design. With an informed and empathic approach to their work, designers will achieve greater resonance and become more aligned with clients’ needs. This will impact the wellbeing of both designer and client, and improve relationships with each other and the spaces created. The course has been created by Dr Peter Sear, a Chartered Psychologist, who first focused on this area as at the subject of his Masters thesis at the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies, University of Essex. Peter has since completed a PhD focusing on empathy and published a book on the related research.
