Søren Lekbo’s research while affiliated with University of Southern Denmark and other places

Warm-ups, as preliminary activities to physical training, are an inherent part of any physical exercise and sports practice. Rooted in the concept of embodied cognition, embodied design is a paradigm that shifts the focus of interaction design from external artefacts and devices to the human body (Svanæs & Barkhuus, 2020). A body-centred design emphasises the importance of having the human body at the centre of the entire design cycle, conveying movement, physical expressivity, feelings, and aesthetics, in a design process that uses the body as both a resource and target. Designing with the body is, therefore, a physically demanding activity that requires a specific set of warm-ups to educate and prepare designers mentally, socially, and physically for the act of embodied design. We propose social videogames as a resourceful framework for creating such a set of warm-up exercises. This paper presents a methodology comprising off-the-shelf commercial videogames whose rules have been adapted for embodied design. Three studies have been executed to validate the game's capacity as warm-up activity and icebreaker for embodied creativity and to study the conditions for an optimal method facilitation to external instructors in preparation for an applied session. The method applied is qualitative and quantitative feedback data gathered from the three studies using questionnaires, tests, observation, and open interviews. The results of the series of studies showed the potential of the proposed methodology as warm-ups for teaching, training, and practising embodied design, as well as giving insights on how to facilitate it. Overall, the game-based warm-ups for embodied design preparation using off-the-shelf movement games have a social and playful nature. The proposed twisted gameplays make them suitable to exert body moves and get ready to think and design with their bodies. The study on facilitation shows the need for a preparation session supported by an experienced person. However, one introductory session is enough for the toolbox to become an easily configurable resource that adapts to the facilitator's needs and goals. We suggest including sample implementation cases along with instruction cards of the embodied games. Further, the warm-up games are customisable using the toolbox's modifier cards.

Movement-based design methods are increasingly adopted to help design rich embodied experiences. While there are well-known methods in the field, there is no systematic overview to help designers choose among them, adapt them, or create their own. We collected 41 methods used by movement design researchers and employed a practice-based, bottom-up approach to analyze and characterize their properties. We found 17 categories and arranged them into five main groups: Design Resources, Activities, Delivery, Framing, and Context. In this paper, we describe these groups in general and then focus on Design Resources containing the categories of Movement, Space, and Objects. We ground the characterization with examples from empirical material provided by the design researchers and references to previous work. Additionally, we share recommendations and action points to bring these into practice. This work can help novice and seasoned design researchers who want to employ movement-based design methods in their practice.

Along with technology trends like extended reality, wearables, IoT, and exergames, new design approaches have emerged, focusing on full-body interactions by actively working with the lived body’s capacity to sense, feel, and create. Thus, designers are recommended to use movement as part of the design activity when designing for and of movement, regardless of the targeted application domain. However, designing for bodily experiences is challenging. We have identified a gap of no movement-based design framework available, including the moving body as the centre part and core material of the design processes. We recognise the human body is more than a physical object in the world, but a feeling, perceptualising body, that creates meaning in interaction with the environment. It thus frustrates and challenges us to reach a bodily grounded design process embracing the lived body. A common framework informed by the theoretical aspect of embodied cognition and the practical element of movement design can be a starting point for embodied design research. Recognising these challenges, we see a need for creating a bridge between practice and theory. Based on the bridging concept from Dalsgaard and Dindler, this paper presents a movement-based design framework to bridge the abstract idea of embodied cognition theory with the 4E perspectives of embodied, embedded, enactive and extended and concrete movement-based design practices. We created a movement-based design framework structuring the movement-based methods of different perspectives. The 4M model we propose contains three types of facilitator-mediated methods: 1) Mood-setters stimulating a creative body being, 2) Movement-based design methods for creating immersion in creative bodily activities, and 3) Movement concepts as knowledge and evidence for developing and validating movement artefacts. Besides the facilitator cards, the participants have access to Modifiers that can be used in conjunction with the other methods as creative inspiration for exploring, trying, or performing new movement possibilities.

Our work presented is grounded in Movement-based Design and used for creating solutions with movement as a focal point. Several researchers utilise the moving body in their design for embodied products such as ubiquitous computers and interactive prototypes. The recognition of the moving body is seen in embodied design approaches with a body-centred focused design supporting and encompassing human experience. We believe that incorporating the moving body at the centre of the design process is required to create a future of sustainable movement related to technology, e.g., exertion games, VR or general health and fitness solutions. To understand the nuances of a movement-based design process, we see a need to go beyond the specific design methods. Designers need to approach the complex problem from multiple perspectives. To nuance our movement-based design process, we use the Svanæs and Barkhuus framework to categorise the body-centred design process in two dimensions: Tenses and Point-of-view. The aim is to learn how Point-of-view and Tenses can be utilised to increase the value of the Movement-based Design Process. The empirical material generated in this project stems from two Movement-based Design workshops, each with its own scope: workshop one, the creation of outdoor fitness equipment and workshop two, the creation of technology-based motion games. Both workshops were filmed, and selected participants were interviewed subsequently. The analysis indicated how Point-of-view and Tenses have distinct qualities when interpreted through the framework combined with the empirical material. Point-of-views: 1st-person perspective is used to create insights that are to be shared. 2nd-person perspective is used when two users are designing. 3rd-person perspective creates a distance for analysis. Tenses: Past tense was utilised by watching recorded videos. Present tense creates a feel of here and now, and the future tense was aimed at looking forward in time. The workshops went through several phases, each with its distinct way of working with movement. We wrap up with recommendations for designing a movement-based design process guided by point-of-view and tenses: Start and stay in the 1st-person, let the group share insights, let the participants distance themselves, and the use of tenses should be explicit.

The perspective that the human body is not only an object in the world, but a lived body with feelings and sensations that creates meaning in interaction with the world is emerging in interaction design. Utilising movement as a part of the design process is a new discipline in the field of design. Movement-based design methods (MbDM’s) are techniques, procedures or tools that contain movement to stimulate experience, understanding, or creativity within the design process. MbDM can be situated, enacted, context specific or, but not limited to, the use of somaesthetics to gain insights in designing services and products. Although differences exist between these movement-based approaches, they share the commonality of conceptualising physical movement as a material in the design process. Utilising MbDM in a design process can be a daunting task, and with no existing overview of MbDM the development of a practical tool which provides an overview of existing MbDM’s and supports the planning of design activities. The aim of this paper is to present a typology of movement�based design methods to be used as a practical tool for designers and facilitators. Through an overarching constructive design research approach, we first did a search in literature and identified seven articles and 23 MbDM. With a phenomenological hermeneutic analysis and critical discussion, we created a typology for mapping identified MbDMs. The ‘movement-based design method’-typology consists of two dimensions: 1) seven submediums that stimulate, form or catalyse movement and 2) the type of design stage for which the movement will gain insights. By displaying the 23 identified MbDMs in the typology, a structured overview gives a practical tool for design professionals, practitioners, and educators to plan a design process with movement. By using the typology as a guide, the designer gets an overview of available methods in different mediums and design stages.