The journey was an exploration of people, space & place.

Broadly speaking, anxiety stems from a fear of people and/or space. To explore this idea I have recorded a journey through different spaces recording my specific location and the people present around me. I was questioning whether or not external factors in an environment provoke anxiety, in particular the people in particular spaces. I wanted to become a participant in my experimentation because I thought it would give me a more realistic perception of the research process.

I thought it would be interesting to note the environment around me while walking a familiar route through the city and so recorded this on a map alongside a photo of crucial points on the journey. I don’t usually suffer from anxiety but tried to emphasise my feelings, in particular focussing on what parts of the journey made me feel uncomfortable or nervous. I did feel that anxious feelings were more prevalent in spaces with more people around, particularly in crowded areas. I think this was feelings of claustrophobia.

This confirmed what other people had told me about their anxious feelings. In both focus groups and through cultural probes it was revealed that people are a common trigger for anxiety.

Colour Key for journey