The Felt Sense Project: Towards A Methodological Framework For Designing and Crafting from the Inner Self

The Felt Sense Project: Towards A Methodological Framework For Designing and Crafting from the Inner Self

(Long paper)

Keywords: HCI, Design Methodology, Phenomenology, Body-centred technology, Embodied self-awareness, Focusing, Wearable technology, Probes.

This paper offers the beginnings of a methodological framework for the design of body-centric artifacts, understood as those that use embodied self-awareness as a tool for bodily self-knowledge and wellbeing. We present a case study on the design of artifacts to be applied in the self-practice of the psychotherapeutic technique Focusing. The autobiographical journey of the researcher is documented in the use of different methods to be integrated into design research, such as crafting devices through autoethnographic phenomenological annotations, the application of secondperson methods such as facilitated interaction for novices, and the use of a design kit to be tested by previously trained users. Even though wellbeing is a core concern of this project, the application of autoethnographic exploration through Focusing has an important creative potential, particularly in the generation of selfreporting narratives informed by somatic exploration. These rich descriptions can be utilised as a core construction material in the creation of art and design pieces for bodily understanding.