Abstract
Current human-computer interaction and more-than-human design increasingly emphasize affective experiences emerging from the dynamic interplay between humans and their environments. However, research in this domain remains largely anthropocentric, often translating non-human emotions in anthropomorphic terms and thereby neglecting their distinctive affective expressions and relational nuances. This paper draws on classical Chinese poetry, renowned for its profound sensory and affective engagement with nature, to analyze how nonhuman entities convey complex emotions such as tranquility, melancholy, and transience. Using grounded theory, we systematically code and categorize the representations of Shui (水, Water), flora, and fauna in poetic excerpts that convey specific affective states. Building on these insights, we propose a design framework that connects material and environmental cues with human affective experience. The main contributions include: (1) mapping nonhuman entities to corresponding emotional qualities; (2) establishing a cross-cultural affective design framework; and (3) demonstrating its practical and theoretical value through more-than-human design cases.
Keywords
More-than-human design; Affective experience; Design framework; Multisensory
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1733
Citation
Li, Y., Ji, S., Chen, Y., Luo, W., Ma, Y., Gao, Y., and Zhou, X. (2026) Translating nature's emotions: Building an affective design framework rooted in classical Chinese poetry, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1733
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Translating nature's emotions: Building an affective design framework rooted in classical Chinese poetry
Current human-computer interaction and more-than-human design increasingly emphasize affective experiences emerging from the dynamic interplay between humans and their environments. However, research in this domain remains largely anthropocentric, often translating non-human emotions in anthropomorphic terms and thereby neglecting their distinctive affective expressions and relational nuances. This paper draws on classical Chinese poetry, renowned for its profound sensory and affective engagement with nature, to analyze how nonhuman entities convey complex emotions such as tranquility, melancholy, and transience. Using grounded theory, we systematically code and categorize the representations of Shui (水, Water), flora, and fauna in poetic excerpts that convey specific affective states. Building on these insights, we propose a design framework that connects material and environmental cues with human affective experience. The main contributions include: (1) mapping nonhuman entities to corresponding emotional qualities; (2) establishing a cross-cultural affective design framework; and (3) demonstrating its practical and theoretical value through more-than-human design cases.