Abstract
Research shows that lack of physical activity in westernized societies has serious negative health consequences. We explore a physically sustainable design approach centered around joyful physical activity in an effort to remedy this situation in some way. Much technology development has been blind for our basic human need for healthy, joyful physical activity. This paper presents our approach as used in an explorative case study. During a college course, thirty students explored how physical movement of their bodies could be used as creative components in the design process. They engaged in what we introduce in this paper as "physical movement sketching" - a method for experiencing, sharing and reflecting on designs through body movement. The students used this approach to generate, test and discuss new design concepts for outdoor gyms. Engaging in physical movement sketching allowed the students to both enjoy and trust their bodies as design tools. We discuss how our students used physical movement in design and what we learned from the case study.
Keywords
Sketching; Physical movement; Wellbeing; Sustainability; Design space
Citation
Tobiasson, H., Hedman, A., and Gulliksen, J. (2014) Less is too little – more is needed Body-Motion Experience as a Skill in Design Education, in Lim, Y., Niedderer, K., Redström, J., Stolterman, E. and Valtonen, A. (eds.), Design's Big Debates - DRS International Conference 2014, 16-19 June, Umeå, Sweden. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2014/researchpapers/101
Less is too little – more is needed Body-Motion Experience as a Skill in Design Education
Research shows that lack of physical activity in westernized societies has serious negative health consequences. We explore a physically sustainable design approach centered around joyful physical activity in an effort to remedy this situation in some way. Much technology development has been blind for our basic human need for healthy, joyful physical activity. This paper presents our approach as used in an explorative case study. During a college course, thirty students explored how physical movement of their bodies could be used as creative components in the design process. They engaged in what we introduce in this paper as "physical movement sketching" - a method for experiencing, sharing and reflecting on designs through body movement. The students used this approach to generate, test and discuss new design concepts for outdoor gyms. Engaging in physical movement sketching allowed the students to both enjoy and trust their bodies as design tools. We discuss how our students used physical movement in design and what we learned from the case study.