Abstract
The symbolism of prosthetic limbs has predominantly been about restoring function. However, for prosthetic wearers, symbolism expands to include psychosocial meaning, which has been expressed in prosthetic customizations, collaborations, and artistic explorations. Therefore, an opportunity exists for designers to understand how psychosocial symbolism can be elicited and translated into pros-thetic visual and aesthetic language. The objective of the paper is to develop personalized prosthetics that reflect the principles and convictions of the individuals utilizing them. We conducted a co-design process with three Paralympian amputees to explore and visually represent the psychosocial meanings attached to their prosthetics. The results demonstrate how a collaborative process incorporating design process methods, including mood board creation and concept sketching, can elicit psychosocial meaning, which can then be applied to design. The process shows the potential that design can have for reimagining prosthetic limbs as symbolic objects for purposes of self-expression and advocacy.
Keywords
co-design; prosthetics; psychosocial; paralympian
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.875
Citation
Ibanez- Arricivita, I., L. Blackler, A., A. Woodruff, M., Swann, L., and Winter, A. (2024) A Co-Design Approach to Aesthetic Customization of Prosthetics, in Gray, C., Hekkert, P., Forlano, L., Ciuccarelli, P. (eds.), DRS2024: Boston, 23–28 June, Boston, USA. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.875
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Research Paper
Included in
A Co-Design Approach to Aesthetic Customization of Prosthetics
The symbolism of prosthetic limbs has predominantly been about restoring function. However, for prosthetic wearers, symbolism expands to include psychosocial meaning, which has been expressed in prosthetic customizations, collaborations, and artistic explorations. Therefore, an opportunity exists for designers to understand how psychosocial symbolism can be elicited and translated into pros-thetic visual and aesthetic language. The objective of the paper is to develop personalized prosthetics that reflect the principles and convictions of the individuals utilizing them. We conducted a co-design process with three Paralympian amputees to explore and visually represent the psychosocial meanings attached to their prosthetics. The results demonstrate how a collaborative process incorporating design process methods, including mood board creation and concept sketching, can elicit psychosocial meaning, which can then be applied to design. The process shows the potential that design can have for reimagining prosthetic limbs as symbolic objects for purposes of self-expression and advocacy.