One third of the cattle and hogs in the United States are handled in facilities I designed. (p167)
Here and there she gives an insight into her method of designing which appears quite unique and which she attributes to her autism. She thinks in pictures and can play video reels of incidents and objects she has seen before in her head and join them together to make a new image which can be tested before the design is complete.She speaks about using a camera at the level of a cow's eye to see what it would look like to walk through a chute.
Early in my career I used a camera to help give me the animals' perspective as they walked trhough a chute for their veterinary treatment. I would kneel down and take pictures through the chute from the cow's eye level. Using the photos, I was able to figure out which things scared the cattle, such as shadows and bright spots of sunlight. (p4)
I thought it was an ingenious idea. So few designers, in my experience, use nitty-gritty, hands-on, realistic, practical devices to inform their decision-making and enhance their knowledge.She also spoke about pressure and the relief she got from lying in a cattle machine and being squeezed, and mentioned how this is similar to the pleasure of taking a bath and feeling gentle pressure from the water.
I feel I'm very much paraphrasing and hope I've done her ideas justice.
