Anthropometrics

Anthropometrics is the comparative study of human body measurements and properties.

During the 1950's research was carried out into the sizes of people. Most of the early research was produced for the United States Army so that equipment could be standardised. Anthropometrics has proven a very useful science to help designers and engineers produce products that the general public can use.Most data tables show the average and the two extreme's, of human size. These are the 50 percentile, and the 5th and 95th percentile respectively. Male and female sizes are generally separate since there are big differences in the sizes of males and females.

This graph shows how the distribution of sizes for an average population varies. The 50%'ile, is the 'average' person. In most population's, people are around the 'average' size. As you move outwards to either extreme, the number of the population who are that big rapidly drops off. Sizes over the 95th percentile are rare and therefore most tables don't show these extremes.

When designing a product designers tend to use the data from the 5th to the 95th percentile for two reasons

1. The data out with this range i.e. 0 to 5th and 95th to 100th percentile is rare (there are much fewer people)

2. It is very difficult to design a product for both of these extremes. (imagine a car that could be driven by both the tallest and smallest man in the world)

The End