Christopher Alexander writes about design patterns in living spaces in his book A Pattern Language, I’m going to talk about how some of these patterns are implemented into the Work Community online.
activity pockets
“The life of a public square forms naturally around its edge. If the edge fails, then the space never becomes lively.”
A Pattern Language, 1977, Christopher Alexander
It would be impossible to post anything on Facebook without buttons allowing you to do so. These buttons are located at the edges of any website, or “pockets of activity” as Alexader calls them in construction terms. Without these pockets, it just becomes a blank space for people to navigate by, without stopping to interact. I think it would be confusing to have these buttons located in the center, as one would have to make the extra effort to look for these.
Common areas at the heart
“No social group – whether a family, a work group, or a school group – can survive without constant informal contact among its members.”
A Pattern Language, 1977, Christopher Alexander
Sources:
facebook.com
Alexander, Christopher. A Pattern Language, 1977, https://arl.human.cornell.edu/linked%20docs/Alexander_A_Pattern_Language.pdf.
