Abstract
This poster introduces Attuned Design Practice (ADP), a concept that examines how design practice can be used to interpret and articulate alternative understandings of studying human-computer relationships, by prior it ising ‘embodied knowing’ as an alternative design vocabulary. We shortly introduce the current state of scientific research in general, explain the notion of ‘attunement’, and show an existing framework that has inspired us to start an eighteen-months field study of body-based inquiry in the domains of Design, Art and Technology. In our field study, we have explored developmental paths of scientific and artistic inquiry towards constructing embodied knowledge, and have employed per formative techniques to examine affective, temporal, and somatic qualities in human-computer relationships. As a follow-up to our field study, we propose an Open Rehearsal framework that integrates (1) the preparation of design tools and instruments, (2) the enactment of per formative techniques at the intersection of artistic-scientific inquiry, and (3) the development of notation methods that attract, respond, and release compositional or per formative activity. Through a dynamic interplay of human intentionality, algorithmic responsiveness, and material agency, we investigate how embodied knowledge can be produced and mediated through Attuned Design Practice. We conclude by outlining our future research to produce alternative ways of understanding the body in human-computer relationships.
Keywords
Attuned design practice; Embodied knowing; Design vocabulary; Human-computer interaction
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.947
Citation
Olthof, A.M., Verlinden, J.,and Allouch, S.B.(2025) Attuned Design Practice: a design vocabulary for embodied knowing, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.947
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 3 - Design, Art & Technology
Attuned Design Practice: a design vocabulary for embodied knowing
This poster introduces Attuned Design Practice (ADP), a concept that examines how design practice can be used to interpret and articulate alternative understandings of studying human-computer relationships, by prior it ising ‘embodied knowing’ as an alternative design vocabulary. We shortly introduce the current state of scientific research in general, explain the notion of ‘attunement’, and show an existing framework that has inspired us to start an eighteen-months field study of body-based inquiry in the domains of Design, Art and Technology. In our field study, we have explored developmental paths of scientific and artistic inquiry towards constructing embodied knowledge, and have employed per formative techniques to examine affective, temporal, and somatic qualities in human-computer relationships. As a follow-up to our field study, we propose an Open Rehearsal framework that integrates (1) the preparation of design tools and instruments, (2) the enactment of per formative techniques at the intersection of artistic-scientific inquiry, and (3) the development of notation methods that attract, respond, and release compositional or per formative activity. Through a dynamic interplay of human intentionality, algorithmic responsiveness, and material agency, we investigate how embodied knowledge can be produced and mediated through Attuned Design Practice. We conclude by outlining our future research to produce alternative ways of understanding the body in human-computer relationships.