An Annotated Soma Design Process of the Pelvic Chair

Dissolving distances: Designing close-to-body experiences for remote settings

“…It has been suggested that visual and textual tools for eliciting felt experiences are combined to unpack the diverse aspects of the felt phenomena (Demir et al, 2022b). In this paper, we employ body maps of the human form to give visual expression to somatic experiences (Cochrane et al, 2022;Gastaldo et al, 2018;Ståhl et al, 2022). For textual elicitation, we employ semi-structured interviews (Frances et al, 2009), a lived-experience diary (Bolger et al, 2003) and a research diary (Given, 2008).…”

“…For example, a designer's autobiographical exploration of neglected body parts informs the design of Breathing Wings (Tsaknaki, 2021); a group of designers' first-person exploration of menstruation manifests in shape-changing artefacts (Søndergaard et al, 2020); and a designer's examination of her breastfeeding experiences manifests in various wearable artifacts (Helms, 2021). Similarly, a first-person exploration of the pelvic floor area is materialized in Pelvic Chair (Ståhl et al, 2022) and a researcher's inquiry into her own research process inspired the work Armour of Researcher (Beuthel, 2022). These projects exemplify how first-person bodily explorations can inspire the design of prototypes.…”

“…Often, they start the design process with kinesthetic explorations for cultivating felt experiences. For example, the projects Pelvic Chair (Ståhl et al, 2022) and Soma Mat (Höök et al, 2015) use Feldenkrais exercises (a form of exercise therapy). On the other hand, for elicitation, many of these projects also employ body maps and interviews with participants (Anne Cochrane et al, 2022;Núñez-Pacheco, 2021;Beuthel et al, 2021) that serve the purpose of reflection, documentation, and to inspire further ideas.…”