The USER JOURNEY tool guides learners through an observational process that places lived experience at the center of spatial design. Instead of starting from predefined functions or formal solutions, it focuses on how spaces are actually used, perceived, and emotionally experienced in everyday life.
Space is understood as a dynamic system shaped by routines, relationships, and behaviors. By mapping paths, actions, and interactions, learners can identify gaps between intended use and real practices, revealing hidden needs, critical points, and latent opportunities.
Data Interpretation
The information collected through the USER JOURNEY tool should not be read as quantitative data or standardized assessments, but as visual and functional narratives that describe people’s real experiences within a space.
Every post-it placed, every line drawn on the flow map, and every note written on the templates represents a fragment of lived experience: a difficulty encountered, a perceived need, or an opportunity for improvement.
The learner can observe:
- Repeated or avoided paths (indicative of attractors or obstacles);
- Congested or underused areas;
- Recurring cross-cutting needs (privacy, natural light, quiet, orientation);
- The location and frequency of identified pain points.
These traces provide a dynamic, qualitative map of user experience, useful for:
- Highlighting gaps between the designed space and how it is actually used;
- Stimulating the generation of more targeted, empathetic, and accessible design solutions.
- Identifying critical issues and implicit desires;
It is important to maintain an open and non-judgmental perspective: there are no “mistakes” or “wrong data”, only subjective indicators that can reveal needs often invisible in traditional design processes.
Together, the collected outputs form a shared narrative of the space, which – when integrated with other tools (such as OBSERVE or LISTEN TO YOUR SENSES) — can provide a comprehensive view of contemporary living: not only functional, but also symbolic and relational.
Made with love by Wellhome team
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
