Browsing Through, 2021
Medium: metal frame, transparent film
Artistic Research / Installation Art
EN
The Browsing Through deep map explores the way visitors browse through a bookstore. The data were collected at the bookstore Hijman Ongerijmd located in Arnhem, Netherlands; throughout two weeks on different days of the week and hours. The data aimed to study visitors behavior.
The investigation began with creating a roomplane of the bookstore. It was followed by observing a visitor entering the bookstore. The data note his choices during the visit.
There were three main properties that can be assumed through this data. Firstly, at Hijman Ongerijmd, the new and popular recommendation sections are located at the centre of the floorplan. Through observation, most customers directly go straight to these sections; as it is also their first encounter after entering. Often customers also browse through these sections before asking for help to look for specific books. Secondly, visitors are most likely to be intrigued to stop by the side items that are sold at the cashier table (the notebook section, and also the object merchandise section). People who are passing by spent the least time at the bookstore. these visitors browse through magazines and momentos. Thirdly, the art, poetry and history sections are widely popular at Hijman Ongerijmd. Customers who were in these sections stayed for the longest time. nevertheless, the bookstore gave these sections a great amount of focus as it takes up forty percent of the bookstore.
In conclusion to this project, some of the key factors that are influential to the customer flow in a bookstore are the layout of the bookstore, the cover of the books, and the object merchandise options.
"Form follows function — that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union." - Frank Lloyd Wright
