Five Lenses for Designing Exertion Experiences

Abstract

The field of HCI has increasingly looked at ways to support the physically active human being, however, new work suggests that the field has only begun to understand the many virtues of exertion. To further the field, we present a set of five design lenses extended primarily from sports philosophy literature to help approach exertion not just as a means of deferring death, but also as an opportunity for personal growth. The lenses facilitate learning how to appreciate a void (Reverie), welcome pleasure (Pleasure), become humble (Humility), as well as be fearful and excited simultaneously (Sublime), whilst being more carefully aware of one's own body (Oneness). Using these lenses, we articulate associated technology opportunities through related work as well as our own craft knowledge. With our work, we aim to support designers who want to facilitate the many virtues of exertion so that ultimately more people profit from the many benefits of being physically active.

13 Game Lenses for Designing Diverse Interactive Jogging Systems

“…The experiential lenses are concerned with the visceral aspects that unfold throughout the jogging experience, whereas the instrumental lenses are aimed to provide an underlying structure to support the jog. The experience-focused view on jogging aligns with current popular jogging culture accounts [44] that recommend shifting our perspective of seeing jogging as a task to be accomplished (such as when doctors prescribe physical activity) to seeing jogging as an opportunity to facilitate personal growth [3,83]. By considering the instrumental lenses, designers can support the "mechanics" of jogging.…”

“…Designing for jogging can also learn from perspectives of being physically active. For example, several movementfocused research projects [23,34,36,45,72,83] highlight the expressive power of bodily movement and its potential in a public context. These works led us to lenses that consider the larger public space, such as jogging in a park.…”

Body-centric computing

“…Participants also observed that two lines of conversations emerged when reflecting on the activity; one was about designing for the human body from the lens of what is good for the human, while the second line is about designing new experiences that are experiential and not necessarily good for the human body; however, they do not necessarily need to stand in contrast, as Mueller and Young previously highlighted [3].…”

“…Moving the body comes with certain risks, however, these risks have value in and of themselves, and interaction designers need to be aware of how to deal with this [3]. Participants argued that the alternative is to design for stillness, which might not facilitate immediate injury, but ultimately leads to obesity and unhappiness, something that all participants aimed to avoid.…”

Designing for Lifelong Sports Experience

“…That is, these systems should empower users with knowledge about their body, and facilitate improving skills through training and practice (Doherty, Lemieux, & Canally, 2014). To address this, the systems should facilitate listening to the "inside" of their body and should give reasonable feedback rather than simply forcing the users to push their limits (Mueller & Young, 2017).…”