Let’s not talk

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Let

’

s not talk

Sabra Razavi Emadi

Connect through our body and mind

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MSc Interaction Design / 120 ECT / Thesis Project K3 / Malmö University / Sweden

September 2020 Supervisor / Susan Kozel

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ABSTRACT

This thesis investigates the experience of bodily movement as the basis of social interaction. The design concept is based on the exploration of “unfocused interaction” among visitors to a public library (library of Malmo university).

This thesis is framed with relevance to the “Soma Design program,” as proposed by Kristina Höök, and it expands Höök’s foundation of attending to bodily senses by paying attention to bodily movement. Moreover, this thesis looks explicitly at the experience of using body movement as the most basic form of human communication in social interaction.

Imagining the world in which using body movement is an effective alternative to oral communication motivated me to formulate and select the methodological approach in this thesis project. Research Through Design has been utilizing as the primary process to explore the subject. This concept emerged from the participants’ experiences in exploratory

workshops based on somaesthetic techniques focusing on body movement with the help of the body storming method and the experience of using body movement as a tool/medium for creating social interaction. The final concept is presented in this thesis through the Wizard of Oz prototype.

The final concept focuses on tow keys areas: 1: individuals’ awareness of their body movement. 2: Embodied interaction and using technology along with natural body movement to create social interaction.

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1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1.1. Project outline

There are many ways to communicate; however, some ways are more effective than others. It might be impossible to imagine the world without conversation, but human interaction does not only occur through speech; facial expressions and body language are also ways of communicating. Human body language is often described as the most basic form of

communication between people, which is replaced early on by dialog. Movement is learned as a way of communication before cognitive and linguistic abilities. As embodied organisms, we use movement as the primary means of accessing the outside world. However, body movement has not commonly used as the main way of interaction (Loke, 2013)

In designing for movement-based interaction, body movement can be defined as an indirect and nonverbal way of stimulating social interaction. Also, it is possible to use this experience to increase awareness of our physical outcomes that can be influenced by our mental and emotional experiences. In the context of interaction with others, it is essential to note that our body and its movements create meaning for others and be seen as a reflective display of our perception of ourselves. According to Höök, designers should pay attention to “what we shall call the soma," i.e., the awareness of the body from the inside (Höök, 2018, p. 3).

The project goal is an exploration through the experience of somatic techniques, sketching, and body storming. Furthermore, it aims to stimulate social interaction among people. My approach is giving attention to the first and second-person experiences of movement where the body is in motion.

This thesis project will attempt to address the research area of nonverbal communication to make social interaction. It utilizes the design process to understand the participant's

experience and their insight into moving their bodies as primary components of social interaction. I will reflect on the Höök definition of "somaesthetic." Investigating the personal and group experience bodily movement as the main attribute of embodied interaction to stimulate social interaction because it is "capable of transforming interaction" (Levisohn, 2011, p. 3), looking at the potential of "unfocused interaction" as a motivation to break the ice among people and invite them to create a group experience. Finally, I explored how the

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2 experience of using body movement can be used as an input of embodied interaction in relation to social interaction.

During the thesis project, I used the help of a group of students at Malmo university to run workshops and proceed with the design process; the design space is the library of Malmo University.

1.2. Positioning within IxD

This thesis is seeking alternatives to human interaction by investigating movement-based interaction in a social context. To better understand human interaction, I looked into research from sociology, where studies point to evidence that people notice each other without direct monitoring or interaction or even speaking, which is called unfocused interaction.

Body movement is often described as the most basic way of communication among people, even before language (Höök, 2018, p. 13). Movement is capable of transforming interaction (Levisohn, 2011, p. 3). In recent years, along with the development of technology, there has been an increasing interest in body movement as an interaction modality. Previous

researches attempt has explored different areas, such as using body movement or gestures as input for palm-based imaginary interfaces (Sean G. Gustafson, 2013), investigating body movement in relation to technology; or works using body-movement based interaction related to understanding body movement itself, increasing kinesthetic awareness, and using body-movement for education purpose.

In an attempt to investigate the new experience of social interaction and increase individual's awareness of their body movement, I will look to the social and emotional aspects of human interaction within interaction design. Generally speaking, my project will shed light on the aspects and experience of body-movement as an input of embodied interaction in relation to social interaction.

IxD design practices such as RtD allow me to explore the creative way of the design process. To merge design experience with theory more effectively and get enough insights from participants' experience.

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3 My work looks at the movement as a way to increase our awareness of ourselves and the environment around us. It also attempts to expand our interaction with others by

connecting our minds and body.

In this thesis project, I assumed that people are not voluntarily keen to communicate with strangers around them. They tend to ignore each other and make themselves busy with their work. So I used this assumption as a problem to create an unfocused interaction situation that allows them to use their body-movement more freely in terms of social interaction.

1.3. Research Focus

This thesis will try to explore the new opportunity for design by emerging body movements and social interaction. Evaluate whether the concept of “unfocussed interaction” can contribute to designing for movement in social situations, and in so doing, be a contribution to the interaction design sub-field of Embodied Interaction. The focus of exploration is on increasing the personal awareness of our body and its movement.

“Soma Design program,” within Research Through Design, will be utilized as my design approach.

Research Question:

How can body movement become a basis for interaction among people?

Sub Research Questions:

Assess whether there is a role for movement in the construction of interactive visual relationships between users, or between a user and herself.

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2. THEORY

This section will cover the related research area of embodied interaction, movement-based interaction, social interaction.

2.1. Embodied interaction

Recently within the field of interaction design, the physical body has become a fundamental feature of interaction. Embodiment does not just involve the physical body; it shapes by creating the experience of embodiment (Farr, 2012, pp. 11-13). In this thesis I will attempt to transfer the domain of embodiment to the realm of everyday experience by using participants' engagement in the physical and social world in a normal daily activity.

The notions of embodiment and embodied interaction are often viewed as core aspects of design projects. Since this thesis project contends embodiment as social presence and participatory, the term 'embodied interaction' will be used in accordance with Dourish's definition of it "interaction is about how we understand the world, and ourselves; interaction comes from our location in a physical and social world of embodied factors" (Dourish, 2004, p. 190). Because first, it focuses on the bodily, physical, and social aspects of the interaction between us and digital technology (Dourish, 2004, p. 15); secondly, the close relation of it with "Soma" as our mental and emotional experiences influence physical outcomes.

To understand the interaction and ways of structuring and physically manipulating it to support meaning construction and to increase the potential of embodied user experience, I will focus on the users as a "living body1_{" (PeMerleau-Ponty, 1962, p. 121). Here, body} movement is used to help users experiment with the embodiment and interaction more.

2.2. Movement-based interaction

Movement is the first thing that we learn and is one of the most natural parts of our lives. Even though body movement ought to be the source of our primal sense of aliveness and

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5 our primal capacity for sensemaking, we do not pay enough attention to it. More

specifically, the body is more than just an object; it is condition and context through which we are in the world (Mentis, 2014, p. 22).

We engage with the world through our bodies; it allows us to experience. Our experiences cannot be separated from the reality of our bodily presence in the world or social

interaction (Dourish, 2004, p. 18). Mentis believes that experience is embodied in a social context, which depends on one's bodily abilities as well as the environment in which that body resides (Mentis, 2014). By using humans' ability to move in meaningful actions in the physical and social world, it is possible to help them share and express their experiences with others, not only lingual but also physical.

Movement-based interaction helps us to have more information about ourselves and the world around us. In this chapter, first body movement will be explained, then aspects of movement-based design will be outlined.

Human movement can be described from a different perspective, from the mechanic of body movement to expressive quality of movement. Movement is foundational of the human condition. Body movements as it can be seen in Error! Reference source not found. include abduction, adduction, extension, flexion, rotation, and circumduction (Rad BSc, 2020).

Figur 1 Different types of human body movements include abduction, adduction, extension, flexion, rotation, and circumduction.

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6 In movement-based interaction, movement is no longer just a source of interaction; it has become the core element of interaction. In design for body movement, the concern is beyond just rotating or bending joints; it is an input of interaction; it includes sensory integration, motor planning, or decision making. Because our bodies are constituted in a "particular manner," it is essential to consider our moving bodies' physical reality in reaction to our surroundings, experiences, practices, learning, habits, and culture (Höök, 2018, p. 44).

In this theis, movement, is a subject that is not only used as an element of design but also as a means of understanding human behavior in the field of cognitive psychology; it is

furthermore a means of expression in the way that it used in (Lee, 2007). When we talk about human full-body movement and designing for movement-based interaction, it is vital to know which communicative aspects and properties we are speaking of.

2.3. What is social interaction

Everybody, except people who choose to live in solitude, tends to interact with other individuals. In this part first, the meaning of social interaction and its various ways of taking place will be discussed. Furthermore, Goffman's theory about different types of interaction with ourselves and the people around us will be outlined. Finally, the way in which

interaction design can foster social interaction will be investigated.

In different fields of knowledge, the concept of interaction has become one of the fundamental ideas. Within sociology, social interaction is defined as a social exchange between individuals or groups of two, three, or larger (Matthew A, 2018). By using the meaning of Social interaction as communication and sequence of social actions between people in which people act and react to other people's acts (Campos-Castillo, 2013) is possible to motivate a social interaction situation by motivating people to interact with other people's body movement.

This body movement should occur during the physical co-presence of both actors because, in such a situation, "the reciprocal influence of individuals upon one another's actions" arises (Goffman, 1978, p. 26) In this project, focusing on Goffman's definition and explanation about social interaction, the importance of gathering people physically in a place, and helping them interact with each other will be considered. Moreover, individuals' experience and the situation can influence their way of interaction.

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2.4. Different ways to interact with others

According to Goffman, the variety of people’s characteristics include age, culture, gender, etc. affects their social context (Goffman, 2008). Providing different ways of interacting among people may help more groups to increase their social interaction. To transfer the right message and to make meaningful interaction among individuals through body movement, the way of body movement is also should be noted as well as peoples’ characteristics.

Humans are good at interacting and collaborating. They gained this ability based on mutual understanding and exchanging information. This exchange happens from language to eye contact or body movement. Social interaction happens in verbal and nonverbal forms. When we talk with someone, something more than verbal communication happens, which lets others know how we feel about the conversation or situation. In verbal communication, language plays a crucial role; however, nonverbal communication includes gestures Figur 2, facial expression, Figur 3 body language Figur 4, emotions, posture, and eye contact (Hans, 2015). The focus of this study is on social interaction with the form of physical interaction. Sometimes interacting partners consciously choose to transfer their messages just by their body movement. In other words, it means body movement often occurs unconsciously in the interaction between people.

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8 Figur 3 facial expression.

Figur 4 Body Language.

From all the mentioned forms of body movement, I chose to work on body gestures because first, it is not involuntary as facial expression. Secondly, it is not culture-based as body language. Body gesture is a form of nonverbal communication. It means visible bodily actions, which is one of the other abilities of human beings for communicating besides language. It delivers particular messages and a variety of feelings and thoughts (Xu, 2009, p. 49). A body gesture can be expressed by using hands, face, or another part of the body to transform messages (Abner, 2015).

There are two types of gestures, namely informative and communicative. Informative gestures are the one which provides information about speakers. It can occur during a speech or independently (Krauss, 1996). Communicative or active gesture refers to gestures that produced intentionally and meaningfully by a person to modify speech (Abner, 2015).

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9 In my project, I will attempt to encourage people to physical activity and make social

interaction a result of it. Giving users feedback on their movement can be motivational, not only for users to engage more in action, but also to encourage others to join. Also, adding some factors of playfulness can be helpful.

An example of engaging people in social interaction, indirectly and through body movement can be the Wiethoff project, which is illustrated in Figur 5, It is an interactive installation for the concert hall in Aarhus, Denmark, which was installed on the glass façade of the concert hall building. Its goal is "to engage local citizens into new kinds of public behavior to explore the potential of digital media in urban life" (Wiethoff, 2012). In this installation, users' movements were mapped to playful creatures on the media façade to encourage a playful investigation of the users' expression. The movement of the virtual characters further served as visual feedback on the users' movements (Wiethoff, 2012).

Figur 5 The design intervention Aarhus by Light at the Concert Hall Aarhus.

In another example, "Multiple shadow house," shown in Figur 6, Olafur Eliasson explains: "when you encounter your own shadow on the wall, it is undeniable evidence of your presence in that space. It is a consequence of your being there. If, however, you find yourself following the shadow. Instead, unexpected things begin to happen. The shadow asks you to move differently. You become activated, so to speak, by your own shadow, so that it is no longer a consequence of your presence, but rather you are the consequence of the shadow's presence. In a reversal of perspective and a loosening of the social structures we have become accustomed to moving and navigating within, your shadow suggests actions and movements outside of the conventional ways of moving within an exhibition space. If you follow it closely to where it might lead you, you might even start to dance" (Eliasson, 2017)

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10 Figur 6 Olafur Eliasson interactive exhibition.

Multiple shadow house project defines an example of putting our body as a central part of an interaction. Instead of focusing on the way of creating social interaction and controlling ourselves, we can just follow our initiative and be uniting with the movement itself. In this case, the interaction starts with the users' movement, but after a while, it is the

participants' feeling that leads the interaction.

In the context of focusing on body movement as a core section of interaction, there might be a risk of transforming full attention from creating to social interaction to individual movement, which is not the purpose of this project. However, since creating social interaction is the core of this project – the connection between the sender and receiver – the message should not only be focused on self-expression but also on creating a

connection between them.

To tackle the point mentioned above, I will try to use the potential of space in favor of context it means. In an interaction, it is possible to set the context not only by a location point but also by activity (Wiethoff, 2012). To make it clear, I Borrow the final point from Fischer and Hornecker's concept. They mention the concept of Space types for interactive media façade installations (Fischer, 2012, p. 311). They analyze the spatial aspects in the design of shared encounters for interactive media façades and introduce the term Urban HCI. Urban HCI is utilized to emphasize situations composed of the built environment, the interfaces, and the social context. They also introduce seven spaces, namely: Display space,

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11 interaction space, potential interaction space, gap space, social interaction space, comfort space, and activation space (Fischer, 2012, p. 311).

Figur 7 Space types for interactive media façade installations according to Fischer and Hornecker.

Several factors can be extracted from the above analysis for my project. Firstly, however, it is essential to note that this project will take place in a library and that the total space is not as big as a media façade installation. But still, the seven spaces can be applied to it. For instance, the social space: in other words, "spaces where people gather and where they can have shared encounters without necessarily interacting with the façade are denoted as Social Interaction Spaces" (Fischer, 2012, p. 312) can be used as a place that helps users to interact with others. Furthermore, since unfocused interaction and mutual monitoring play a role in this project, considering Gap space and Comfort space can be wise in order to encourage more people to interact socially. And finally, potential interaction space is a perfect opportunity to invite others who are working on their own tasks to engage a role in the interaction.

2.5. Whom we design for

Start a conversation or interaction between individuals or groups requires different motivations, and it shapes in different ways. In our daily lives, we meet different people, familiar people, or perhaps complete strangers that we might encounter just once and never see again. Furthermore, there are people whom we regularly meet but do not interact with. There is an opportunity to produce a specific form of relationship among strangers (Paulos, 2004). But it is crucial to consider different factors, which affect human interaction

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12 While designing for social interaction. One of these factors is interaction partners and the context of interaction.

The group which is chosen for this project are users of the library of Malmo University. They more or less are familiar with each other, so it is more natural to invite them to

communicate in comparison to total strangers. Starting a social activity among a group of people encourage others to the continuum of social participation. As a matter of fact, the benefit of acting in a group is inviting individuals, even total strangers, to attend to a social activity with minimum encouragement. In this thesis project, I used this fact to help the focus group to make social interaction more accessible and with fewer obstacles.

Consequently, extend their social interaction in a more welcoming way and atmosphere.

2.6. The way to catch their attention

Not talking with others does not mean a lack of social interaction. Our body is the site of experience. Through our bodies, we can sense the environment, form understandings, and actuate responses. Movement is an integral part of our body experience. A gesture is a linguistic form of movement that communicates without the use of vocal articulation or written language (Webb, 2006).

This thesis project aims to develop a better understanding of using body movement in social interaction context; investigate the user experience and social aspects of embodied

interaction in body movement. Every social situation involves "mutual monitoring

possibilities" (Goffman, 2008) ; however, if people try to distribute their attention and not engage with others' activities, they will be monitored, they will also monitor their

surroundings. It does not matter if we talk or engage directly with other people around us. We are all aware of each other's presence, and in this awareness, body idiom plays a more critical role than spoken language (Goffman, 2008).

Here mutual monitoring will be utilized to catch people's attention while they are focusing on their tacks. Design can use other ways than verbal communication to make social interaction (Webb, 2006). This project uses body movement as an indirect and nonverbal way of stimulating interaction among people. Since the here body movement act as a core part of social interaction, and it is easier to notice someone gestures without directly looking at it, making a face-to-face interaction might not be required.

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13 There are two types of interaction with surrounding people; 'focused interaction' and

'unfocused interaction.' In the situation of focused interaction, people do things together and exude information through their body idiom, which means non-verbal communication through bodily appearance and personal acts between individuals (Goffman, 1967).

Unfocused interaction occurs between people who are physically co-present but engaged and focused on separate (Paulos, 2004). In unfocused interaction, people are conscious of co-present others with whom they are not themselves directly involved.

3. METHODOLOGY

Methodologies and theories may well produce respectable research, but the danger is that this will come at the expense of design (Gaver, 2012, p. 942). To be able to design for people, designers need to be in the field with people who are designing for. Or how Gavers states that designers need to use their personal experiences for the systems they create. It means designers need to engage with the people they are developing . On the other hand, since this thesis project, I will explore body movement, which is directly connected to human presence; it is necessary to ideat with humans, not just use theories from collected data. All in all, this thesis project's most important factor is the body and increasing

awareness of body movement for creating a social interaction. This importance of body awareness leads me to "Somaesthetic ."

The methodological approach of this thesis is intended to follow Research through Design (RtD) approach and establishing the design process to explore the subject. Here RtD creates knowledge through design processes, embodies it in design artifacts ,or as Gavar defines RtD as "design practice" (Gaver, 2012). He suggests that theory should emerge from

situated design practice. While the main approach of this thesis is intended to follow RTD, in this thesis's context, Somaesthetics's philosophical concept highly influences the

experiential and qualitative side of the RtD approach. Hence, a variety of exploratory workshops based on somaesthetic techniques are utilized to investigate the experience of using body movement in social interaction. The workshops will investigate the participants' experiences, from first- and second-person perspective (Höök K. C., 2018).

Finally, to evaluate the result, a prototype based on Houde's and Hill's definition (Houde, 1997) will be conducted.

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3.1. Somaesthetics

Somaesthetics is grounded in pragmatist philosophy and initially proposed by philosopher Richard Shusterman (Shusterman, 2008). In Kristina Höök book name Designing with the Body Somaesthetic Interaction Design, she outlines soma design theory, methods, and tools by describing examples of soma design and her own design process. She invites interaction designers to shift their attention and focus on bodies and perception rather than reasoning and intellect (Höök, 2018).

Somaesthetics suggests that our experiences and interactions with the world happen through our bodies. This technique draws our attention to the importance of our living body(soma) as a part of our being and thinking. The awareness of our bodies about our bodily experiences can increase by knowing how to use our bodies.

This thesis project is framed by locating within the Soma Design research program proposed by Kristina Höök but by emphasizing movement. One of the central aspects of this project is the body and its movement as well as Somaesthics, which body is a crucial part of it. Here Somaesthetics is used to provide useful insight to help a design process explore the critical features of our embodied ways of engaging the world. It also aims to improve the meaning of body movements and the environments in which our actions occur.

To sum up, in this project, Kristina Höök's somaesthetics theory is used to explore the experience of moving body and feedback through first and second-person experiences. This project's attention is on bodily movement rather than bodily senses in general, and the final design aims to provide social interaction with paying attention to the individual experience of body movement. For this purpose, different workshops will be conducted, which will be explained in the workshops section. In the workshops, Practical Somaesthetics (Shusterman, 2012), based on Shusterman's definition, is used to put soma (which basically means body) as a center of the interaction and focus on bodily movement. Making one's awareness of somatic reactions clearer makes it possible to improve one's behavior toward others in broader social and political contexts (Shusterman, 2012). Practical Somaesthetics can be used in workshops to convey practical dimension in a more embodied way than verbal insistence.

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4. DESIGN PROCESS

4.1. GDPR & Ethical Considerations

The data collected in this thesis project does not contain personal information in the sense of the “General Data Protection Regulation” (GDPR), or the European Union was conducted.

To guarantee GDPR compliance, specific measures were defined before conducting the study. Moreover, the research consciously has been conducted to avoid any form of

discrimination or bias towards any kind of heritage, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, confession, economic status, or other privacy concerns. No aspects of this thesis have been taken into consideration that let assume any negative effects on human and non-human lives, nature.

The participants of this thesis project were known for me. The data which only were crucial for the process of this thesis project was collected. The token data pictures and captured movies were done only with explicit approval from the participants in order to analyze the workshops and test the final design. The participants have all the right to withdraw consent at a later point in time. Personal data was stored encrypted. The used personal data was archived as raw data. All the rest were deleted. Personal data will never be communicated or given to third parties.

4.2. Why library

Before starting the actual design process, the first step is to understand and discover the opportunity that fits the selected criteria of design. During this exploratory phase and to find a suitable focused group for this project, I investigated a variety of common physical spaces in which social interaction occurs and, in the meantime having a capacity to conduct body movement interaction, such as parks, bus stations, streets, or children's playground Figur 8. I turned my observation and the situations in the different areas in the city to hand sketches to be able to study them more closely and with the glass of design.

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16 Figur 8 DIFFERENT AREAS IN THE CITY (MALMO) WHICH HAS THE POTENTIAL OF SOCIAL INTERACTION. IN ALL THESE

PLACES, BODY MOVEMENT IS ALSO POSSIBLE.

Figur 9 How much we are involved with others in our mundane activities

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17 Figur 11 I want to be alone, so I isolate my self with sunglasses and a headphone.

By drawing the situations, I studied the opportunity of creating social interaction in each situation/environment. How and how much people use their body movement in each situation, and so on. Moreover, it is also important to note that the selected context should cover different terms such as Unfocused interaction (Paulos, 2004), nonverbal

communication (McIntosh., 2019), and body movement (Webb, 2006). After observing and analyzing different areas in the city, I realized that the library of Malmö University is a suitable place for my study since it includes all the factors mentioned above.

Design for me starts from the first step of working on a subject; it means every collected data and every second of the process from the moment in which the subject is issued to the point that solution will appear can be inspiring. RTD, for me also means data collection in the field, because it that since I am constantly involved with the focus group and observe them directly and not only through the lens of books and previous studies.

The library of Malmo university contains a varied group of people in a small or large number. Apart from students, other visitors include non-student, teachers, and staff.

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18 Figur 12 students are studying at the library of Malmo university

As a first step of the process, I start collecting as much data as possible about the library users, their behavior, , and the unwritten rules in the library.

To identify design opportunities and uncover the movements and gestures of users, I will use “focused observation” (Kawulich, 2005) in the library of Malmö University. Essential concerns in this observation include people, their position, and their movement individually and in relation to others. The different ways in which people move, stand, read, or talk with others are investigated. Taking pictures and drawing hand sketches are used to collect data from the observation. To focus on people's gestures, movements, and interactions with one another, I will analyze the taken photo of users of the library, during observation, through the silhouette and contour of them instead of original pictures.

Every space in the library can turn to a design opportunity, but they also have different capacities to use, which are important to be considered. The library contains different places for visitors, such as group study rooms, group study tables, and individual chairs are seen in Figur 14, the chilling area, computers, exhibitions, and a cafeteria. Visitors in these places have different occupations and might interact differently. For example, people who are there to spend their free time might walk around, visit exhibitions, look for different books in the different sections of the library, sit and work with their phones or spend time in the cafeteria.

The reasons for visiting the library are different. People might go there to study, browse for books, read books or journals, or because they have spare time and want to meet their friends, or just look at magazines and books Figur 13. Sometimes, an exhibition takes place

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19 in the library which catches people's attention, and they go there to visit the exhibition. Another group of people in the library are visitors who specifically browse for material to read, either on the computers of the library or by searching through the bookshelves. Finally, the third group of visitors is usually sitting and read something or work with their computers. These two groups are usually very focused on their tasks until their rest time.

However, short interviews with two or three people from each of these groups revealed that even though they are busy with their work, they usually sense and recognize changes or movements around them.

Figur 13 books shelves section at the library of Malmo university

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20 To complete the collected data from the observation, an interview is done. The Interviewees include three people from each group. They are asked: how much they realize sudden or slow changes around them? How much they tend to interact with an interactive object, environment, or other people? Which do they prefer, linguistic interaction of bodily movement?

Based on the users' responses to my inquiry about their desire to contact other visitors, there is a significant opportunity to create social interaction. As discussed in the theory section, in a shared place, people are conscious of co-present others even though they are busy with their individual tasks. If an interaction happens around them, they will most likely notice it and maybe even join in on it.

All the mentioned points above can be used as opportunities for designing for interaction between the library visitors. First, they make different gestures while they are working, which can be used as a starter of interaction for our concept. Further, they have some time to engage in an extra activity because they are in the library to spend their spare time or look for a distraction from their studies. Finally, library users who are busy reading or writing mostly sit and read; they do not have so much conscious physical movement. Giving them a reason to do body movement can make a difference for them and help them rest and become more conscious of their 'soma.' Also, apart from the verbal interaction that they usually can have in the library, movement-based interaction can become a change for them. Nevertheless, respect to the silence in the library is another challenge in designing the final concept.

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21 Figur 16 a quick digital sketch of a student who is browsing for a book in the shelves

Figur 17 quick hand sketch of students are studying next to each other without having any actual interaction

4.3. Workshops

In the process of my project, I have studied somaesthetics, which emphasizes the

connection between mind and body. This concept made me think about to which degree we are aware of our movements, how we control them, and how we experience our body movements? What is the relation between our body and mind? How can we use our body movements to interact with others? Moreover, if we do so, what is the experience of our interaction partners?

After analyzing the interaction which occurs in the library and finding out the opportunities that can turn into a situation to create social interaction, it is time to start involving the focus group into the design process. To get to know the body more profoundly and make close contact with it, three workshops were designed in different steps. It ranges from feeling our body and movement to interacting with others through body movement or with the help of extra tools combined with body movement. The workshops' focus is on

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22 experience of social interaction within body movement, and considering the relation

between gesturing and emotion.

In all three workshops, the participants were asked to pay careful attention to their bodies and their actions and focus on bodily experiences as much as possible. The workshops' general goal was to explore the participants' experience with their body states and share those states with others.

Since this project is about investigating individual and group experience of body movement related to social interaction, it is essential to get individuals' feedback about participants' personal experiences and their input about others' movement. So, the workshops are explored from a first and second-person perspective (Brandt, 2006) in the field of soma-based design. By collecting data from each participant's points of view in relation to their own experience and their experience in relation to others, it is easier to get a more comprehensive idea about how we are using body movement for social interaction, considering both starters of interaction and responder to the interaction. It means investigating both sides of the interactive experience.

First-person inquiries are inquiries into the specific person's way of being and acting in the world that focuses on the subjective experience of the individual (Heen, 2005). In the first-person inquiry, the essential basis of one's engagement with the value-laden and political nature of action research provides (Hynes, 2013).

Second person inquiry focuses on inquiry with others. Second-person queries, which include action research, invite people to come together to make a cooperative inquiry into themes of shared interest as well as different types of dialogue and search conferences, to have group feedback and share? Their experience in a group (Heen, 2005).

All the workshops ran witg five participants, including myself, because as Gaver status designers need to engage with the people, they are developing (Gaver, 2012). In order to be able to analyze the participants' movement and reactions afterward with getting permission from participants, the process of the workshop was recorded by phone, and immediately after the workshop, each person was asked to talk about their personal experience.

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4.4. Individual experimenting of body movement

I started the workshop exercise with a warmup section to make participants ready for other workshops and increase their awareness of their body and movements. Since this project relies on the connection between mind and body, in the first workshop, somatic and experiential sensibility through first-person experiences of the participants' bodies is studied.

One of the most important points that I would like to gather from this workshop was the participant's pure experience about the level of awareness of their body movements. So I asked them to stand in an imaginary circle with closed eyes to omit their attention from the surrounding. During the workshop, I tried to lead the participants step by step from just moving their body to conscious body movement. The participants were told to move their bodies slowly with minimum attention to the surroundings or the movement itself. After a couple of minutes, they were asked to continue their movements by focusing on each part of their body. Then after a while, they were told to call out each part of their body, which they move, loudly to increase their attention to the specific body part and its movement.

In the first part of the workshop, most of the participants' movements were based on their personal performance, and they tried to make themselves relax. For example, one of the participants had to pack her stuff during the day, so she felt tired, and her movement was a result of this; she wanted to release her body pain and release herself from her body stress. She said: I just followed my body's needs. Because different parts of my body were

exhausted. For instance, my neck needed some stretching. Then, at one point, I wanted to change my balance position, but due to closed eyes, I could not do so; instead, I had to open my eyes and do some stretching.

In the section that the participants had to call their moving body part out loud, they were more aware of their body than the previous section. Their focus shifted from the movement to the body itself and the way that they can move it. Participant B said: I was more focused on my feet because I was standing. I was trying to find a relaxed position for my feet when I got bored, and I said okay, let's do some movement to make it more interesting. The

movement was on purpose. However, when I stand at a bus stop, for instance, I often have some unconscious movements. Calling out the body parts shifted my focus from my feet to other parts, but I wanted to go back to the part that was more relaxing for me.

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24 In the next part of the workshop, participants are asked to turn around and open their eyes. In this position, they can see each other and be aware of other people's presence. They repeat the same exercise, but this time they were told to pay attention to others and their movements. After finishing the exercises, participants are asked to articulate their

experiences and share their insights and discoveries.

In this part, awareness of the fact that others were watching influenced the experience. For example, participant C said: I noticed that I liked the first part more. I was also feeling a bit of pressure because I knew that someone was watching, so it made me a bit stressed. In the first part, I was more focused on my body, because I was standing and doing nothing, even though my eyes were closed I felt more relaxed because I was thinking about my body I was trying to find a position that could relax my body.

But, when participants were asked about other people's movements, they could not remember; they could not pay careful attention to others.

The first workshop shares individual and somatic group experience of pure movement. It starts from unconscious movement to heightened awareness. The participant's feedback is articulated in the following points.

• Body movement is either based on personal preference, needs of the body, or unconscious body reflection.

• Participants are more focused on their bodies when they do exercise alone. • Moving the body while being watched by others shifted their attention from the

movement itself to others' presence.

• In conclusion, the final concept should help individuals be more aware of their own bodies and have more focus on their body parts to connect to others.

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25 Figur 18 The first workshop, participants feel their soma individually

Figur 19 Studying participants' gestures in detail during the first workshop.

Figur 20 Studying participants' body gestures in detail when they try to feel more comfortable and focus on each part of their body.

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26 In the first workshop, I also paid particular attention to how participants move or hold their bodies when they focus on their movement or when they don't pay any attention to their body and just following their feeling at the moment. In that way, I learned they might start a movement by paying attention to their action, but after a while, when they feel free and comfortable, it is their body that leads them, not their minds. And they follow what feels natural.

4.5. How individuals understand each other body movement and how we deliver a message with our body

Another aim of this thesis project is about the experience of using body movement as a social interaction modality and increase awareness of the body. The second workshop is embarked on exploring what is called "aesthetics in soma-based design" (Höök K. J., 2016). Here aesthetics work as a connection between body (movement) and the participant's emotion. It is foregrounded on the concept of recognizing the movement as a primary way of interaction that comes before language (Sheets-Johnstone, 1999). The exercise aims to discover how people who want to interact with others by using body movements and gestures (creating and using body gestures on purpose) can do it. Also, it aims to find out how much participants are aware of their body gestures while interacting with others and how well others can understand them.

In this workshop, participants are asked to stay in the same imaginary circle as they did in the first workshop and try to interact with others just by using their body movement. They do not have any limitation on the number of partners they want to interact with. The workshop had no predefined scenario to avoid making a not real interaction or make participants think about their body movement beforehand. In this sense, it was easier to focus on instant movement and interaction.

The workshop started calmly: participants stayed in their place and avoided looking at each other at first. After a while, one of the participants decided to say hi to the others. This action gave the feeling that even simple movement is acceptable to involve in the

experiment, and there is no need to do a complicated movement. After a couple of minutes, and after some random movements to start an interaction, the participants held each

other's hands and began to do a rhythmic flow movement. One of the participants' feedback is written below:

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27 "Doing movement just by myself made me more relaxed. I was more comfortable with the first workshop in comparison to this one. I could not understand what others were trying to tell me, but I liked interacting with others in a new way and enjoyed the concept of doing something together. When she (one of the participants who started dancing) began to move, I assumed that we all should follow her, so we did".

In the beginning, the participants were more focused on why they should move their bodies, but not on the body itself. Following other's movements seems easier than inventing an interaction; being part of group activity is more fun and exciting. Also, they assume that following others is safer and more natural and less socially awkward. To start body movement, interaction, or following others' movements does not seem to happen spontaneously, giving time to catch the vibes and feel the interaction is needed.

From the feedback of participants and watching the captured movies from two workshops over and over again, I concluded that an interaction that takes place in a group is more natural and easier to engage in for the people involved than a one-to-one interaction. Furthermore, context plays an essential role in making an interaction. Without any specific context, participants are not sure about the purpose of their interaction. Having a reason for moving the body and receiving a reaction from others certainly seems to motivate people to interact.

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28 Figur 22 Study the participants' body position when they interact with each other, but in the meantime, they are focusing on

their own movement.

In the second workshop, participants were interacting with each other without exchanging verbal conversation. Participants selected two ways to create the group interaction activity, first become closer and move together and second, be part of a group activity without directly involve or force themselves to pay attention to other people's movement. In the second way, I observed that they move more freely and have more attention to their body and their movement. They are aware that they are part of a group activity, but this fact does not force them to instead of following their instinct make themselves to fit in the group.

4.6. How tools help us to move

In the first workshop, the connection of individuals' body and mind when the focus is on their own was investigated. In the second workshop, the same factor when the aim is that social interaction was studied. Additionally, in the second workshop, we tried to understand how much our body movement is understandable for others and how successful we are to deliver our emotions to others through our body movement.

Now the third workshop investigates the effect of additional tools to help with interaction. Same as two previous workshops, the focus of this one is also on movement more than the linguistic ability. It aims to show the way of self-expression through body movement. Are additional tools helpful in this self-expression? Are they grow or reduce our Soma

awareness?

Furthermore, aim to answer whether it increases or decreases the level of comprehension and interaction between the participants.

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29 For this workshop, Different objects in various shapes, materials, and functions are provided to give the participants a variety of choices with different visual, haptic, and audio feedback. The workshop takes place in the same place as the other workshops.

The instructions that participants follow is similar to the ones in the second workshop. But this time, they are free to choose one object (tool) that they think it can help them interact. They are free to keep the selected object until the end of the exercise or pass it on to others if they think it helps them to make a better interaction.

At the end of the workshop, the participants share their experiences of their movement and their observations of the other participants' movements.

The workshop showed that the additional tools do not help start an interaction, send or receive a message, as expected. Also, by using the extra tool, the focus shifted from the body to the gadgets.

Hence, the participants forced themselves to use the tools and did not see it as an

additional object, but it rather made them lose their focus on their body movements. As one of the participants said: "I did not notice my body at all, all of my attention was on the object."

Instead of focusing on body movement, they looked for a way to benefit from the tools and focused on finding out the best way to use them. As one of the participants said: "I was not paying attention to my body. My focus was on taking the full advantage of the tool", "I felt like the tools limited my options."

Even though different tools and objects can become part of embodied interaction, using them does not seem helpful for this project. If a tool is used, it should help individuals and groups to increase their attention to their body, not distract their attention away from it. Furthermore, it should follow body movement, or use body movement as a starting point to work; in other words, the tool should be secondary to the body.

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30 Figur 23 participants try to create interaction through body movement and external objects

4.7. Workshops conclusion:

We might get involved in different conversations or interactions in our daily lives, but we are usually unaware of our body movements during those conversations or interactions. Recognizing our movements through nonhabitual moves makes us more aware of each part of our body. The focus of three workshops was on the body experience in movement and how we can use those movements for interaction. The workshops aimed to find a way to increase the participants’ attention to their bodies and their movement. Their experience was also analyzed to be used in the designing process for the concept of this project.

In conclusion, Focusing on different parts of the body and body movement is more feasible through individual activity. When two participants have to use their body movement to interact with one another and, at the same time, focus on their body movement, they usually lose focus on one of them.

A designed concept which aims to increase awareness of the body and its movement, and which furthermore aims to increase the interaction between people, should use people’s unplanned or unconscious body movements not to distract them. Moreover, the

movements should not seem like the central part of the interaction, but rather increase their attention to their body.

4.8. Ideation

The Ideation process aims to find the best concept for covering research goals and employ the results of the previous sections. Three different sorts of sources were utilized

throughout the ideation process: firstly, data was gathered from the t library research and related works that helped to reveal patterns, connections, and to give a more profound

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31 understanding of the essentials of designing a concept for stimulating social interaction and encouraging body movement interaction.

The second part is observing people in the library, analyzing their movement, talking with them. This helped me understand how much they tend to interact with others, how much they are aware of their surroundings, and what type of body movements, gestures, or pose they have that can be used in designing the final concept.

The third part was running workshops. In the workshops, the collected data were examined. In the meantime, the first-hand experience was gathered that applies specifically to this thesis project, while different ideas to make social interaction through body moment were investigated.

In the process of RTD in this thesis project, all experiences and activities can be part of the ideation to reach the final concept or as bill Buxton call it they are all part of sketching (Buxton, 2010). In this stage, As a follow up of the workshops, the ideation process started with different design experiments. Hand sketching and body storming were used as a fundamental step to explore the context and develop new ideas. Furthermore, mind mapping was used as a way to analyze and outline ideas.

I divided the ideations into two distinct groups to be able to investigate the parameters of each category by itself and in relation to the other.

The first group of sketches is related to body movements, body positions, body gestures. Each body part has a specific ability of rotation, movement, and pressure. The first part of ideation started with studying different body positions and gestures of people spending time in the library. During this phase, the mentioned abilities were used for creating an interaction. For example, people were making different gestures with their hands or holding various positions with their feet. All these positions and gestures can be used as a source of inspiration for ideating and making an interaction. To be able to study its movements and the way they can be used for the project more in detail, as illustrated in Figur 24, the whole body was divided into smaller parts.

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32 Figur 24 studying different body position and gestures of people

Figur 25 studying different part of participants body (foot in this picture) when they have attention on their body gestures The second group of sketches are related to different ways of connecting people and

making the interaction between them. In this phase, I used bodystorming (Schleicher, 2010) to simulate experience and drive new ideas in the library's context. Body storming took place in a small section of the library with a couple of objects – which can be found in any library – and two participants. The participants were asked to act as they usually do when they are in the library, but to pay special attention to their body gestures. Furthermore, they

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33 were free to use all objects around them, which they think can help them interact, as shown in Figur 27. Photos were taken to submit the gestures for use at hand sketching.

Figur 26 walking alone but aware of others around us

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34 Figur 28 Studying participants body gesture while they are not interacting with each other, but they are noticing another

person presence in the library

Figur 29 Studying participants body gesture while they are not interacting with each other, but they are noticing another person presence in the library

Figur 30 Studying participants body gesture while they are alone in the library

In both groups of ideation mentioned above, hand sketching, focusing on fostering the interaction, was the way I visualized my ideas. Different ideas, with the help of objects in the library or the library context, were shaped. For example, in one of the ideas, the

bookshelves act as a medium to connect library users. When someone is looking in a row for a book, she moves her hand or stands on her toes or moves her hand to find the book, the

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35 bookshelves record her body movement. At the same time, someone else might look for a book with almost the same body movement. In that case, the random colors appear in the bookshelves, which lead two person with the same body movement one to another—using bookshelves as a way of making interaction or forcing library users to move their bodies to find books. Another idea was about the combination of puzzle-solving and body movement to send a message to another part of the library.

Figur 31 An example of ideation with a focus on the library staffs and the library itself

Figur 32 Examples of ideation with a focus on the library users

This project attempts to first investigate the experience of body movement as the basis of social interaction. It also aims to increase individuals’ awareness of their body movements, and finally, it should propose a concept that contains body movement and social interaction elements. In the previous sections, I found out that giving an extra tool to users shifts their focus from the body movement to the device. Also, for designing a successful concept, both

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36 starters of interaction and responder alongside the context and way of interaction should be considered. In the end, I narrowed the ideas down into the two concepts aligned with the points extracted from theoretical research, related works, and workshops.

Figur 33 Idea 1, big puzzle on the ground and on te all that users should solve with moving their feet and hands based on the guidance of the puzzle.

Figur 34 Idea2. The interactive wall reacts to the users' body movement, and users are leading the shapes on the wall.

Figur 35 Comparing ideas 1 and 2. from a different perspective, such as level and type of body movement, the meaning of Soma, type of social interaction, level of unfocused interaction, and mutual monitoring.

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37 The first idea is a puzzle on the wall and the ground. Different colors appear in the tiles of the puzzle simultaneously on the floor and the wall. Users should move their body (hand or foot) to keep the colors going until a full shape appears on the puzzle. It is an interactive puzzle that leads to the participant's body movement. They have to follow the leads that appear on the puzzle tiles; however, in the second idea, which is an interactive wall without any significant sign that users have to take any action. But when the first sign appears, it is the user to decide if he/she wants to continue and lead the shapes on the wall or leave it to disappear. Shapes will change based on the user movement and number of participants. Despite the first idea in the second one user is more aware of his/her Soma; there is more social interaction because the shapes on the wall will react to the number of participants differently. Based on all the factors mentioned in the previous sections, idea number two will be the final selection for making the prototype. Generally, the selected idea for prototyping is a camera-based interactive system (from here on I call it LET’S NOT TALK) in the library of Malmö University. It will be activated by body gestures and will react to body movements. Moreover, utilizing the advantage of unfocused interaction and mutual monitoring will invite others, who are around to come and interact. In this way, it will stimulate social interaction. In the next section, I will initially describe the concept and then outline how the results of the previous sections shaped the design

4.9. LET’S NOT TALK:

LET'S NOT TALK is set in the library of Malmö University. Some walls in the library will be

chosen to turn into interactive walls. However, those walls will not have any action until someone passes close enough to the wall to activate it. At that moment, the wall will turn into an interactive interface. Some colorless shapes will appear on the wall Figur 36.

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38 Figur 36 The process of noticing LET'S NOT TALK concept

If the person notices the change and continues to interact, he/she will probably try to discover why and how the forms will appear or will change based on his/her body movement. The interactive interface will mirror the participants' act.

Figur 37 The process of start interacting with LET'S NOT TALK concept

The movement of the person and the shapes on the wall will catch others' attention. They might join the activity. By involving others and their movement, new shapes will add to the wall, but the first shapes also start changing.

In some parts, overlaps may happen because of the position in which people stay or based on their movements. In the areas of overlapping, shapes will change more noticeably. If participants stop moving, the shapes will disappear gently.

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39 Figur 38 Involving others in the interaction and ho wall reacts to multi-body movement.

This project is using body gestures as a core component of social interaction. However, the gestures are linguistic forms of movements that communicate without the use of vocal articulation or written language (Webb, 2006). So, the interaction of the user and the interactive interface (the wall of the library) starts with recognizing users' gestures as interaction input.

The concept may raise a question, why it ended to the interactive screen instead of making interaction among individuals directly.

To transfer the right message and to make meaningful interactions among individuals through body movement, not only peoples' characteristics should be considered as I mentioned earlier, individuals' experience and the situations should also be studied. Workshops showed in one hand being in a group encourages attendees to be more active and participate in the activity, on the other hand however participants' movement is instinctive, the awareness of the fact that others were watching influenced the experience by shifting the attention from the movement itself to others' presence. Moreover, based on participants' feedback, they were not able to pay careful attention to others' movements as well. This result is good from incresing awarness of participants concering their body

movement but is not aligned with the other aim of this theissi proect, which is creating social interaction. Last but not least, we have seen that using tools as an aid for creating social interaction is not helpful because it transfers the attention from body movement to find a usage for that tool.

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40 To help individuals be more aware of their bodies and to provide social interaction with particular emphasis on the individual experience of body movement, I used a screen to work as a medium between individuals instead of making direct interaction among users. In that sense, the participant does not need to look at each other and interact directly, so they do not need to worry about being watched by others; however, based on mutual monitoring fact, they will be aware of each other presence so the interaction among them will occur.. Also, they will have a connection throughout an external tool (the wall as a screen), and since each person's actions mirrors on the walls and the visual figures on the wall react differently to multi actions, awareness of being part of a group is evident.

Figur 39 Interaction library users with LET’S NOT TALK and cation others' attention without talking with them. As the results of workshops, the process of interacting with LET'S NOT TALK does not include any other extra tools but the human body. This is because it helps the participants to

increase their awareness of their bodies rather than focusing on how to use additional tools. Also, all the participants can act as a sender or receiver of massages at the same time to make a connection or express themselves. Based on the workshops' results, interaction in a group is more natural and easier to get started than one-to-one interaction. Engaging in LET'S NOT TALK will create group experience and make social reactions instead of focusing on the personal activity.

4.10. Prototype

The final prototype takes advantage of The Wizard of Oz (Dow, 2005) to simulate the camera-based interactive system set in the library of Malmö University Figur 40.

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41 Figur 40 picture of the Malmö University library entrance

Four participants were invited to play a role in the test, and other users of the library also were free to engage in the test. After explaining the project to the participants (without mentioning what will happen during the test in order to capture their normal activity), they were asked to start doing their regular activity in the library, in the selected area and pass at least twice in front of the wall from different distances. They were also requested to

interreact with each other. During that time, a couple of students were also studying at our selected place in the library. After the workshop, participants were asked about their experience during the interaction and the level of their awareness of their bodies.

When the first participant passed close enough to the wall, I project animated pictures on the wall, which were provided beforehand to simulate the simultaneously animated shape which supposes to appear on the wall. Based on the participants’ acts and reactions, different pictures were chosen to project on the wall. After a while, when one of the participants stayed in front of the wall for a long time, the first shape remains on the wall; otherwise, it will be disappeared gently.

Finally, after a couple of minutes, the first participant passed close enough to the wall, a small circle appeared and blinked. She went closer, but nothing changed. She shook her hand, and the circle changed its position. After testing it several times, the user noticed that the circle appeared based on her movements. Another participant noticed the shapes on the wall and the first girl's body movement in front of the wall. She came and started to move in front of the wall, but a bit further away from the first actor. When more people

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42 participated, the pictures became more vivid; in cases of overlaps, different shapes

appeared. The participants began to make shadow-theater on the wall and short performances to create different shapes and animate the shapes more creatively.

This playful activity took almost 30 minutes, some participants left the activity, and some others joined. Almost all of the participants moved freely. They not only engaged in discovering new shapes and animations by collaborating without making any discussion. It was like one action that causes another one, and there is no need to agree or talk about them. In the pictures below, the steps are illustrated.

Figur 41 Different steps of interacting with LET'S NOT TALK and engaging others Step 1. A library user is passing through the interactive wall. She is busy with her mobile phone, but since she is close enough to the wall, a shape blinks, and it catche s

her attention

Figur 42 Different steps of interacting with LET'S NOT TALK and engaging others Step 2. She tries different acts to see how the shape appeared and how it reacts to her movements. In the meantime, another student who is passing through is

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43 Figur 43 Different steps of interacting with LET'S NOT TALK and engaging others Step 3 While two students are trying a variety of moves and make different shapes on the wall, someone who is sitting far from them but still can see them notice

their movement and t

Figur 44 Different steps of interacting with LET'S NOT TALK and engaging others Step 4. The third student finally joined them. How ever, the first two students were moving playing with the shape on the wall at the same time, but their

movement was individual. Bu

As the test shows, the concept itself is successful. Users may not notice the logic behind the idea in the beginning, but they will get it after a couple of times of testing and trying out different activities.

Asking participants about their experiences during the test gave some more detailed information about their perspective of it. According to their feedback, body movement is one of the first things that they tried because they considered it to be the most natural and comfortable way to interact and to see some result; it comes without thinking of using the body. But as soon as they understood that each movement and position shaped the

photos/animation differently, they began to be more in control over their movements, and in order to reach the expected result, they began to think before each body movement. Moreover, their general focus was more on the whole-body movement and the movement itself, rather than single parts of their bodies.