Designing with the Body - Somaesthetic Interaction Design

Abstract

With the rise of ubiquitous technology, data-driven design and the Internet of Things, our interactions and our interfaces with technology will look radically different in the years ahead, incorporating changes like full body interaction, shape-changing interfaces, wearables and movement tracking apps. These changes offer an enormous opportunityindeed, a necessity-to reinvent the way we interact with the inanimate world. Once-familiar, everyday objects, from our phones to our vacuums, require novel interaction models not just typing text on screens, but, increasingly, movementbased, bodily communication. A qualitative shift is required in our design methods, from a predominantly symbolic, language-oriented design stance, to an experiential, felt, aesthetic stance permeating the whole design and use cycle.

Dancing With Drones

“…The collected data was analyzed using the concepts and theories outlined in the background: soma [15], somaesthetics [47,48], intercorporeality [34], and human-technology relations [18,41]. The analysis focused on questions such as how the performer/choreographer encounter the drones, what movement actions that are enabled and restricted by the drones and how emotional expressions are shaped and formed in and through movement.…”

“…As discussed by Höök [15], a soma design process requires engaging not only with your own soma, but also with (digital) materials to extract and make novel aesthetic expressions possible: "we must never forget that the digital and technological materials are only half of our design material: the other half consists of our own somas and those of our users. Our materials are, in fact, sociodigital.…”

“…As a theoretical lens to understand the interactions between the choreographer, engineer, drones and the ensemble choreography, we found concepts from somaesthetic-and postphenomenological theories informative. Somaesthetic theories and concepts in soma design [15] helped us see and understand the 'somatics' and subjective, first-person, felt experiences of the choreographer. Postphenomenology, in particular the alterity relations concept [18], helped us understand how the choreographer related to the 'otherness' of the drones' morphology.…”

Emotion Work in Experience-Centered Design

“…Soma Design is a new framework for how to do design with your whole "soma" involved: mind, body, emotion, movement, experience [21], aiming for aesthetic engagement. Soma Design researchers propose a first person felt stance [22].…”

Supporting Relaxation: Slowbreath for People With Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

“…Also, an account is given of how participants interacting with them during interviews perceived these shapes. The three distinct shapes were used to explore materials, forms, and shapes through bodily experiences of artefacts similar to soma shapes and tools (Höök, 2018).…”