When preparing some guest lectures we revisited with the students the work of Edward T.Hall who established e.g the concept of:
´High context ´In a high-context culture, there are many contextual elements that help people to understand the rules. As a result, much is taken for granted. This can be very confusing for person who does not understand the ‘unwritten rules’ of the culture.
´Low context ´In a low-context culture, very little is taken for granted. Whilst this means that more explanation is needed, it also means there is less chance of misunderstanding particularly when visitors are present.
He established in his book ´In The Hidden Dimension’ (1966), his theory of proxemics (= the study of the human use of space within the context of culture), arguing that human perceptions of space, although derived from sensory apparatus that all humans share, are moulded and patterned by culture. ´Differing cultural frameworks for defining and organizing space, which are internalized in all people at an unconscious level, can lead to serious failures of communication and understanding in cross-cultural settings.’
We could argue that this especially applies to Japan and post-pandemic, post-olympic settings urge us even more to find better design practices to respond this changes in an efficient way.