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Designing for Diverse Bodies: Toward a Constructionist Perspective

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[ ] With Design: Reinventing Design Modes (IASDR 2021)

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Abstract

The concept of embodiment and the human body have been important subjects in various fields including human-computer interaction (HCI). The quality of embodied experiences shapes the ways how we live and act and is closely linked to well-being. While bodily experiences and interactions have been widely explored in HCI, the differences among bodies have not been a focus in the field. We argue that how we perceive and manage the differences of bodies affect the quality of embodied experiences of both ourselves and others. Therefore, we feel the urge to conduct a systematic study to establish a framework of designing for the diversity of bodies. We take the social constructionist perspective which asserts that bodies are shaped in the context of culture, society, and history. To understand the influences of the socio-cultural forces, an identity-based approach is adopted to analyse the differences among bodies. Subsequently, we explore how multimodal technologies could contribute to deconstructing and reconstructing bodies. In particular, we investigate the possibilities of three types of technological bodies which are classified based on the ways how the physical human bodies are involved and interacted with. These technological bodies (cyborg bodies, hybrid bodies, cyber bodies) are examined and illustrated with existing design cases.

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Acknowledgments

The study was supported by the School of Design at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

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  1. School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

    Xin Shen & K. N. Kenny Chow

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  1. Xin Shen
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Correspondence to K. N. Kenny Chow .

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  1. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Gerhard Bruyns

  2. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Huaxin Wei

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Shen, X., Chow, K.N.K. (2022). Designing for Diverse Bodies: Toward a Constructionist Perspective. In: Bruyns, G., Wei, H. (eds) [ ] With Design: Reinventing Design Modes. IASDR 2021. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4472-7_73

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