HCI VISTAS, VOLUME-II, 2006-2007
	Child's Perception of Space   Dr. Dinesh S. Katre
About HCI VISTAS	INDEX	Article INS-18./Mar. 2007	<< >>
This article is in continuation of my series on "child's perception of the world". I have already written-   A child's testimony to toy and game designers User's reality: The big truth of small things!   Like most psychologists have their favorite subjects who are familiar and easily accessible for observation; for me it is Pari (Paritosh, my son), who has always amused me with his drawings. I have archived most of his drawings since he was 4 years old till today with dates.   Many times, I wonder about what has this topic to do with design, usability or HCI (Human-Computer Interaction)? Does it go with the theme? But honestly, I feel that- 'H' in HCI is far too complex than 'C'.   I often get drowned or drifted in the study of human beings. And I love that. Such observations will be useful in understanding the topics like user's perception of design, early learning, cognitive development and so on.   That day, I had just finished sipping tea, and quite spontaneously, I kept the empty cup on floor in front of Pari as his new drawing assignment. He was about 5 years old then. In 10 mnts he scribbled something on paper and fled away. What I saw, tickled my brain.   What is so special about the tea-cups drawn below?     Figure 1.   It is the cup handle! It is filled with black color in all drawings. Isn't it unconventional? The first drawing of the cup must have been bit difficult. But other drawings seem to be replicas. It is evident from the sameness of 'viewpoint' and the peculiar depiction of the handle filled with black color.   The child seems to have faced difficulty in the comprehension of -     hollow space between the cup and handle (filled with black color) thickness of handle (instead of two parallel curved lines there is only one curved line) vision of continuous background seen around the cup and through the cup-handle (but obstructed by the cup and the handle)     As grown ups, we understand empty space as 'nothing'. Most of us would leave the space between cup and handle as blank (paper color). But in this case, the child seems to have 'objectified' the hollow space by painting it with thick black color! The example is quite eloquent about child's struggle to figure out that hollow space, its interpretation and depiction.   Well, we have discussed only a fraction of child's perception of space. There is much more it.
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