Placing objects in space reflects our understanding of a given concept

How we arrange/place/sort objects in space, reveals our understanding (internal representation, "mental model") of a given concept.

This is the idea that powers the method of Card sorting in user research.

Placing things in space reveals how we think about the categories, relationships etc.: by revealing the "territories" (see Visual models are "Objects Placed into Territories").

Could this idea be the key to reveal mental models during user research. (see Mental models in design).

Tags: understanding user research

ID: 2021-0323-0723

References:

• Anderson, Fast – Figure It Out, ch. 9, p. 232