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7/11/2015

Vitruvian principles: The interdependancy of firmitas, utilitas and venustas in architecture and design Pui's Blog

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Vitruvian principles: The


interdependancy of firmitas,
utilitas and venustas in
architecture and design
BYPUI|FEBRUARY17,2011

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Vitruvianprinciples

projectsintermsoftheVitruvianprinciplesofBusiness,Commodity,Firmness
andDelight.
Havingmisunderstoodtheemphasisforthepresentation,Ihadresearchedinto
theconceptoftheVitruvianprincipleswhichIwilldetailherebrieflysoasnotto
wastetheworkthatIhavedone.Iambasicallystatingthattheoriginal
principlesoffirmitas,utiliasandvenustascannotworkindependantlyofeach

DESI1184
WebsitePlanning

otherandcannotstandaloneinadesign.Iwillthengointodetailwithregards
tocognateandnoncognatewebsites.
Thefundamentalprinciplesofarchitecture
Thefundamentalprinciplesofarchitecturecanbesummarisedasfirmitas,
utilitasandvenustaswhichcanbetranslatedfromLatinasfirmness,commodity
anddelight.
Firmitas(Firmness):Thisdenotessomethingthatiswellmadeandhasa
structure.
Utilitas(Commodity):Thismeansadesignshouldhaveafunction,ausage.A
buildingsfunctioncanbecategorisedintoitsprimaryspaceanditssecondary
space.Theprimaryspacewillbethemainfunctionofthebuilding(i.e.its
rooms).Thesecondaryspaceiswhatmakesthebuildingusable(i.e.corridor,
toiletsetc.).
Venustas(Delight):Signifiesthatadesignmusthavebeauty.Thisinvolves
order,arrangement,eurhythmyandsymmetry.Forexample,inadesign,each
componentisconsideredseparatelyaswellasproportionallytothewhole.It
requiresanarrangementandanadjustmentdependantonitscharacter.
AlisonBarnesarguesinherblogthatdesigndoesnothavetobepleasurableor
delightful.ShereferstotheBerlinHolocaustmemorialasanexampleofthis.In
herblogshehasaproblemwiththeworddelightasatranslationoftheword
venustasandsheadvocatesthatthismaybetoosubjectiveaword.Rather
designshouldbesomethingthatevokesanemotionalresponsefromthereader.
ItisdescribedthiswaybyOGorman:
Architecturalspaceisfirstofallutilitarian.Architecturalartbeginsphysicaland

http://www.webdesignstuff.co.uk/lp018/2011/02/17/vitruvian-principles-the-interdependancy-of-firmitas-utilitas-and-venustas-in-architecture-and-design/

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Vitruvian principles: The interdependancy of firmitas, utilitas and venustas in architecture and design Pui's Blog

endspsychological.
Somaybetheworddelightindesigncanmeansomethingmorethanaesthetic
pleasure,butsomethingthatevokesmeaningtoitsusersintermsoftheirown
experiences.
However,itstillisthecasethatneitheroftheVitruvianfactorscanbe
independantofeachother.Wecanlikenthistotheinterdependancyofclient,
builderandarchitecture.OGormandescribesitwell:
Theworkofthearchitectistheresultofthearchitectsinterpretationofthe
programinrelationtotheclientsbudget,thebuildingssite,andtheavailability
ofmaterialsandstructuraltechnology.
Thustheclientprovidestheplandiagramsoftheirneedsincreatingabuilding.
Thebuilderprovidessectiondiagramsforthestructureofthebuilding.
Thearchitectprovidestheelevation,thedesign,whichevokesthebeautyofthe
building.
Thusneithertheclient,architectnorbuildercanpursueacreationdependently
ofeachother.ThesameappliestotheVitruvianprinciples:thereisnopoint
havingawellstructured(firmitas)buildingwithoutithavingafunctionorany
beautyormeaningbehinditsdesign.Likewise,therecannotbeabeautiful
buildingwithoutitbeingwellstructuredorhavinganyfunctionetc.
Delightisstilldebatable.Howeverarchitectureisdesignanddesign,intheend,
musthavemeaning.Wherebeitthemeaningispleasureorsomeotherresponse,
thiswillbeuptothearchitectandthemeaningshe/shewouldliketoinputinto
theirowndesign.
Cognatewebsites
Chinesefoodrecipes.com
Chinesefoodrecipes.comisthefirstsitetoappearinGooglesearchenginewhen
auserentersthewordsChinesefoodrecipes.Thusitwillbepartofmy
cognatewebsiteanalysis.

Business:
Intermsofthissitesbusinessitreliesheavilyonadvertisements,particularly
Google.Thesiteisheavilylitteredwithadvertsandmakeitlookappalling.The
advertsinhibititsdesignandthesitesfunctionasarecipeindex.Thelessonto
learnfromthissite,istointegratetheuseofadvertsinabetterwayandnotto
makethesitetooheavywithit.

http://www.webdesignstuff.co.uk/lp018/2011/02/17/vitruvian-principles-the-interdependancy-of-firmitas-utilitas-and-venustas-in-architecture-and-design/

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Vitruvian principles: The interdependancy of firmitas, utilitas and venustas in architecture and design Pui's Blog

Commodity:
Thesiteattempts,onthefaceofit,toachieveeverything:
Cookingmethods
Glossary
Tips
Measurementconversions
Foodarticlesandfunstuff
Chineserestaurantguides
Bookshopping
Cookingvideos
Detoxdiet
Itisinnowaylackingcontent.Howeverthecontentisextremelytextheavy.
Thereareveryfewimagesanditmakesthecontenthardtoread.Itisntclear
ontheonsetexactlywhatthesiteisfor.
Firmness:
ThesiteismadeusingXHTMLandCSSstylesheetsandPHP.Intermsofits
navigationitcouldbealotmoresuccinctandclear.Thefrontpageisjustlittered
withlinksofeverywordthatausermaysearchfor.Thisispossiblythereason
whytheyaresohighintheirrankingonGooglesearch.
Delight:
Thesiteusesthecoloursyellow,redandgreenandbluelinks,whicharehighly
saturated,onawhitebackgroundmakesitverydifficultontheeyes.Thereisno
clearhierarchyinitsinformationstructureanditslayoutofdifferentelements
causesconfusionfortheuser.
BBCFood

Business:
BBCareacompanywhoprovidetelevisionentertainmentforthecommunitywho
supportit.Thustheirbusinessontheirwebsiteistopresentanextensiontothis
service.Inparticular,theirrecipeindexsectionisusedtopromotetheir
televisionchefsandtheirprogrammesandprovideatrustworthyanduseful
extensiontotheirprogrammes.
Commodity:
Itisallaboutthesearch.Thatistherecipeindexsitesmainfunction.Assoonas
auserentersthispage,theirmindisautomaticallyinnavigationmodewherebeit
iftheyknowwhattheyarelookingfororjustbrowsing.Alsointermsofusages,
BBCFoodprovidesvideos,imagesandhighqualitycontentinasimplistic
manner.

http://www.webdesignstuff.co.uk/lp018/2011/02/17/vitruvian-principles-the-interdependancy-of-firmitas-utilitas-and-venustas-in-architecture-and-design/

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Vitruvian principles: The interdependancy of firmitas, utilitas and venustas in architecture and design Pui's Blog

Firmness:
Thesiteensuresitiscodedwell,withuseofXHTMLandJavascriptandform
fieldsforsearchbar.Itssitenavigationisexcellentandclear.Incomparisonwith
chinesefoodrecipes.comitstillisincludingalotofkeywordstodrawinusers
searchingforthosekeywordsbutBBCFooddoesitinaclearandsuccinctway.
Delight
Delightisanimportantaspecttothispage.Useofmouthwateringimagesto
enticetheuserintoclickingandexploring.Alsoarrangementandorderof
contentisparticularlyimportant.Thereisastronggridofthirds(orsixths).The
useofneutral,desaturatedcoloursincontrastwithitsstrongimagesevokesa
homelyfeelandintermsofdelightitsproportionalspacingofindividual
elementsprovideapleasurablereadingexperience.
BBCGoodFood

Business:
BBCGoodFoodisasitewhichrunsoffitsmagazinebusiness.Aswellasthisit
supportsadvertisingfrompaidcompanies.Itsadvertsarequiteintrusive(notas
muchaschinesefoodrecipes)butfeelsacceptableasauserbecauseitpurports
totheirexpectationsofadvertising,duetothefactthattheyarerelevantand
alsodonotclashwiththedesign.TheyalsoselliPhoneappsandaresponsored
toadvertiseproductsontheirsite.
Commodity:
Intermsofcommoditytheyhaveaplethoraoffunctionsfortheirusers.Users
mayregisterformonthlynewsleters,theymayrate/like,comment,addtheir
ownrecipesandsaverecipestotheirbinders.Theyhaveastrongsenseofa
communitythroughtheirLatestMemberRecipessectionandtheiroccasional
StarMembersRecipe.Userstendtocommentonsuccesswiththerecipeand
suggestalternatives.
Firmness:
BBCGoodFoodisbuiltonaJavaplatform(J2EE).Intermsofitsnavigational
structure,itisdoneinatastefulwayalbeitreminiscentofchinesefood
recipes.comtextheavynavigation,thisisallimagerybased.

http://www.webdesignstuff.co.uk/lp018/2011/02/17/vitruvian-principles-the-interdependancy-of-firmitas-utilitas-and-venustas-in-architecture-and-design/

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7/11/2015

Vitruvian principles: The interdependancy of firmitas, utilitas and venustas in architecture and design Pui's Blog

Itisjustamassofimages,whichareatleastofhighqualityandforregular
foodiestothesite,itwillcatertoanykindofmoodthatoneisin,intermsof
foodandcooking.
Delight:
Useofstrongcolourslikegreen,blueandbrownfortheheaders.Again,
reminiscentofchinesefoodrecipes,butdoneright!Thereisasenseofhierarchy
andthelayoutforthepagemakessenseintermsofthemanylinksthatare
placedinit.
Wemustconcludethatinordertobesuccessfulintermsoftargetingkeywords,
itisimportanttohavemanylinksonthefrontpageaspossibletogettrafficinto
yoursiteandtorankhighlyinsearchengines.Thewaythatthisisdonehas
beenshownhere,rangingfromthebadtothegood.
Noncognatewebsites
Favecrafts.com
Favecraftsisasiteforknittingandcrochetpatternsalongsidecrafttutorials.

Business:
FavecraftsupportsGoogleadvertisements.Theadvertsareintegratedwellinto
thedesignwhichjustshowsthatthisispossible!Theyalsolinktoacraftsstore
ofadifferentdomainname,howevertheymaywellbeconnectedintermsof
business.
Commodity:
Itissimilarinsubstanceandfunctionalitytobbcgoodfoodasusersareableto
registerandsavetheirfavouriteprojectsintotheirMyCraftProjectssection.
Theymayalsosignupforanewsletterandcomment,rate,saveandshare

http://www.webdesignstuff.co.uk/lp018/2011/02/17/vitruvian-principles-the-interdependancy-of-firmitas-utilitas-and-venustas-in-architecture-and-design/

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Vitruvian principles: The interdependancy of firmitas, utilitas and venustas in architecture and design Pui's Blog

(socially)oneachofthetutorials.Thereisalsoasearchbartofindaparticular
tutorial.Thefrontpagehoweverisquitetextheavyintermsofitscontent.The
designmakesitslightlyeasiertodissect,andisonlytheinformationthatis
belowthefoldthatisquiteheavy.
Firmness:
ThesiteisbuildonaPHPframework.Intermsofitsnavigation,thereisa
similaritytothepreviouscognatesitesinthatmanykeywordsaretargetedin
theirmenu.Thislefthandnavigationisquitetextheavyhoweveritworkswell
anddoesnotcausetoomuchconfusion.Sothissiteshowsthattextheavy
navigationalsystemscanwork,particularlyasitisalphabetised.Althoughitis
moreessentialforarecipeindexsitetouseimagestoenticereaders.
Thesitehastwonavigations,onethatishorizontalalongthetop,andtheother
whichshowscategoriesalongthelefthandside.Itsnottooconfusingbutitis
quitealottotakein.Iwouldavoidthisonmyownsite.Isuspect,thisisdone
justtotargetkeywords.
Delight:
Iparticularlylikethesitescolourschemeanditslogowhichmakesthesite
seemfun.Theuseofthetwodifferentshadesofgreenforitsheadersseparates
thedifferentsectionsquitenicelyandechoesbbcgoodfoodssite.
Summary
InorderforasitetobesuccessfulitmusthaveallaspectsoftheVitruvian
principles.Delightisdebatable,howeverwehaveseenthatforrecipeindex
sites,anaestheticallypleasingsitewithhighqualityimagescanevokea
pleasurableandmouthwateringexperiencefortheuser.Alongsidethis,itmust
bewellbuiltinordertoaccomodatethefunctionsthatauserwouldrequirefrom
thesite.
IvebeenparticularlyinspiredbyGooglesdesignprinciples.

TheGoogleUserExperienceteamaimstocreatedesignsthatareuseful,fast,
simple,engaging,innovative,universal,profitable,beautiful,trustworthy,and
personable.Achievingaharmoniousbalanceofthesetenprinciplesisaconstant
challenge
Aswellasthistheyaimtoprovideuserswiththebestexperienceintermsofits
function.Itsprovisionforvideos,images,webcontent,mapsetc.inthequickest
amountoftimeissomethingthattheystrivefor.
Thusalthoughtheworddelightisdebatableastowhetheritonlymeans
aestheticpleasureorsomethingwhichevokesemotionorevensomethingwhich
aidsfunction,suchasGoogle,whateverthecase,delightorbeautyisa
subjectivenotionandintheenditisalwaysuptothearchitecttointerpretand
designinwhateverwayhe/sheseesasbeautiful.
Delighttheeyewithoutdistractingthemind

http://www.webdesignstuff.co.uk/lp018/2011/02/17/vitruvian-principles-the-interdependancy-of-firmitas-utilitas-and-venustas-in-architecture-and-design/

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Vitruvian principles: The interdependancy of firmitas, utilitas and venustas in architecture and design Pui's Blog

References:
Wikipedia.org,Vitruvius[Accessed13/02/11]
Penelope.uchicago.edu,Vitruvius:OnArchitecture,[Accessed13/02/11]
Library.thinkquest.org,Thefundamentalprinciplesofarchitecture,[Accessed
13/02/11]
NYtimes.com,ABCofArchitecture,JamesOGorman,[Accessed13/02/11]
Blogspot.com,Firmitas,utilitas,venustas,AlisonBarnes,[Accessed13/02/11]
Google.com,GoogleUserExperience:DesignPrinciples,[Accessed14/02/11]
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