Lecturers:

Dr Joëlle Bitton
Johannes Reck

Office hours by appointment

The course runs from 22.10.25 - 27.11.25, from 9.00 - 17.00. See Timetable for more detailed hours.
The theory class ‘Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This’ runs in parallel and will provide theoretical framework to some of the questions that will emerge.

Overview and Objectives

Our body is our interface with others: humans, non-humans, nature, infrastructure, machines.... We interact with the world through our senses, our mind, our limbs, our movements, our emotions.... We constantly leave traces, visible or invisible, conscious or unconscious... In turn, the world around us impacts our selves, shapes our perceptions; technology transforms our physicality, provides body extensions; materials mediate our experiences, etc. Measures of data can reveal the wide spectrum of movements and presence, capturing forms of attention to ourselves and our environment.

And yet, the body is not often addressed as a primary factor in designing interactive experiences, either own own or that of the others. This course proposes in turn to put the physical body and sensory aspects at the center point of our ideation.
Could we design an experience that reveals some of these interactions and that alters the physical world? Could we capture and reinterpret the abstract interactions we have with our environment, the material world, the intangible world, the phenomena that surround us?

In order to create this experience, we propose an examination and speculation of design factors that emphasise embodiment and physicality: we use sensors, data, wearability, materials, technologies and movements to ground the story we tell.
This year we put the emphasis on designing a collective experience. Forms of embodied interaction can include corporeal devices, orthotics and prosthetics, sensorial interfaces, interactive materials, immersive experiences, tangible interfaces, etc.
In this design process, we also include societal, ethical and social influences.

Indeed, we now face a convergence of tools and processes that dramatically facilitate an even greater tangible interaction between bits & atoms, giving us access to shape interfaces between the analog/physical and the digital/programmed: interactive modes of digital fabrication, data-tracking, sensors, physical computing, generative design, AI-driven outputs, ML tools, biodesign, material affordances...we thus have the opportunity to investigate ways that we can transform our physical selves and environments.

And as materials and data that are used in interaction design become more easily entangled with our visions, they bring forth questions about resource scarcity, environmental impact, and the societal narratives we construct through design. We should therefore include questions of extraction, and human and environmental impacts.

By group work (2-4 students max), you'll propose interactive experiences for a collective group of people in a public or specific space, with attention to what narratives your design choices create.

The course is divided into 6 weeks:

Week 1: Embodiment & Data. Understanding the topic, context and possibilities
Week 2: Sensing & Material Experimentation
Week 3: Fabrication, advancing prototypes
validity of core design choices
Week 4: Fabrication, advancing prototypes & first actuations
Week 5: Advanced Production
including shaping emerging narrative of final proposal
Week 6: Final production, finalising details & Documentation

Some of the following questions should be covered in your design process:

Define your own meaning of an interaction that is 'embodied'
How does data ground your narrative?
How do you map or translate the data into a meaningful interaction (e.g., using metaphor, source, narrative, or situational relevance)?
How do movement, performance & space inspire your design choices?
How materials help express that interaction?
How does your design interact with the surrounding environment, and what relationships does it reveal?
What meanings, narratives, or mental shifts does your experience aim to create, provoke, transform with your participants?
How do you involve your audience?

Expectations and Gradings

Grades will be based on group presentations and exercises, class participation, documentation (journal) and final work.
Contributing to constructive group feedback is an essential aspect of class participation.
Attendance to inputs is required. Attendance to final presentation is required.
Two or more unexcused absences will affect the final grade. Arriving late on more than one occasion will also affect the grade.

Final Presentation/Experience 40%

Assignments/presentations 30%

Journal Documentation 20%

Class participation 10%

Any assignment that remains unfulfilled receives a failing grade.

Deliverables

Collection Exercise I: Analogue Data Collection
Look for sources of your personal body data in the real world. What traces do we leave behind that give us indications about our movements, interactions or emotions?
Be aware of the data you're collecting without intention. Or are you currently collecting data intentionally?
Is there a type of data that reveals something specific about your life, complex patterns of interactions with your environment? Can a short sample offer a nuanced reflection?
Your survey has to comprehend at least 6 hours of tracking and showcase a complex thoughtful aspect of your entangled life (beyond a specific quantity tracking).
Think of questions you want to answer before you start tracking.
Represent that data in a performative way the day after.
Presentation/performance: max 2 minutes - you can invite the audience to take part, use props, etc
Individual work
Collection Exercise II: Sensory and Listening Collection with accompanying Reflection
Collection Exercise III: Material Collection, Demo & Miro board info
In advance, select a material or material-specific craft you want to experiment with: biomaterials, minerals, off-the-shelf, chemicals, liquids, growing, reactive, decaying, static, states, duration, texture, smell, taste, touch, techniques, processes etc

Bring them for a collective experimental day, list characteristics, qualities & behaviours, processes and determine which interface, interactive, collective and sensory experience could be derived from its properties. Create a showcase for the chosen material / craft - you will also demo how the material you chose can inspire an interaction, interface, experience. Think of materials & crafts in terms of the sensory experience they afford.

In the second part of the day, as a group, choosing one of the materials presented, you will propose a rapid ‘prototyping’ exercise for the class to join in.

As you present and demo properties, add info on your blog about the material you have chosen:
-where the material comes from, how it has been extracted, lifecycle, trade, environmental impact, affordances, etc..

In-class Exercises, Reflections, Performances-analysis & Weekly progress reviews (bring iterated prototype/sketches/experiments for each mentoring)
Mid-Class Delivery: on blog, recap showcasing concept, prototype & inspirations
Recap post: Overall Concept, Main directions, Inspirations/Related Work (references, authors, dates, visuals), Material inquiries, and Prototype
Final Project: Interactive collective experience
Final version of your work iterated on for several weeks: an interactive experience aimed at all participants and showcasing in a situation how the experience influences movement & transforms interaction with oneself, others, environment, etc...
In groups of 2-4 students
Final Exhibition/Experience: Students present with their group an experiment for the collective, together with prototypes and an oral presentation.
Presentation on: 26.11.25
Documentation
- A 'Journal' is developed by each group of students that reflects on experiments and learnings from the course. It should be in the form of an online blog (ie. WordPress, Tumblr or other):
  - The journal should be structured in a generally comprehensible manner
  - The lecture notes, including annotations, are stored
  - Notes, sketches for each lesson should be included as well
- Final Documentation per usual guidelines: title, authors, abstract, hi-res pics, PDF with commentary text, video documentation (see Wiki)

Course outline

Timetable 2025

Student Teams & Journals

Group 1:
Group 2:
Group 3:
Group 4:
..

Journals Readings

Embodied Interaction: Exploring the Foundations of a New Approach to HCI

http://acadia.org/papers

Creating physical visualizations with makervis

Supporting the design and fabrication of physical visualizations

https://issuu.com/pabloherrera/docs/algorithmicmodelling

Related Projects (small selection)

Visualisation

Magnetic Movie

Technorama Building (analog wind visualization)

Experimental study of apparent behavior

Study for Fifteen Points

Parametric design and Digital Fabrication for Inflatables

Fashion context

https://www.pinterest.nz/pin/336573772141747181/

http://behnazfarahi.com/bodyscape/

https://www.pinterest.nz/pin/564779609510964664/

https://www.pinterest.nz/pin/563794447076862696/

http://www.iaacblog.com/programs/miura-ori-skin/

https://www.pinterest.nz/pin/288511919858286303/

https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/rottlace/overview/

Data

https://driesdepoorter.be/thefollower/ (Revealing hidden information)
https://mkorostoff.github.io/1-pixel-wealth/ (data experienceable)

Tools and Software

Rhino 6.0 Trial for Windows or Rhino 5.2 for Mac (90 Day test license) including Grasshopper
https://shiftr.io/
Skanect (3d scanning with kinect)
Meshmixer (editing meshes)

Tools available: 3D printer (Ultimaker, Delta, Cetus, Single-line), laser cutter, foam cutter, wire bender, photogrammetry....