Squeaky/Pain: Articulating the Felt Experience of Pain for Somaesthetic Interactions
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
This pictorial illustrates the methodological tools for articulating the felt experience of chronic pain used for designing somaesthetic interactions. To do this, it presents the design process of a case study named Squeaky/Pain, a soma extension aiming to augment somaesthetic awareness of the pain involved in the appreciation of both pleasant and disturbing feelings and sensations. The soma extension is an interactive wearable that facilitates a sound-motion interaction to mimic the wearer’s pain experience, from agony to relief. The case study focuses on a less explored aspect of somaesthetic interactions which is the mediation of disturbing experiences for sensory awareness. Through the soma extension that mediates disturbing experiences, the study aims to improve people’s somatic knowledge and their lives as a result. The design process of Squeaky/Pain requires detailed accounts of lived bodily experiences to create somaesthetic interactions. To access a detailed articulation of felt experiences, various tools are employed to articulate the first- and second-person pain experience for design use. These are different types of body maps, video analysis, material and form explorations, journals, in-depth interviews and self-interviews. The ideation and the testing phases have proven that such tools complement one another to access the versatile aspects of felt experiences. In this pictorial, we demonstrate ways in which visual, verbal and written tools can be applied to reveal implicit bodily experiences to inform somaesthetic interaction design.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
(c) Arife Dila Demir, Kristi Kuusk, Nithikul Nimkulrat, 2022
Arife Dila Demir, Estonian Academy of Arts
Arife Dila Demir is a doctoral student at the Estonian Academy of Arts where she obtained her master’s degree in Textile Design. Her research interests are soma design, somaesthetics, aesthetics of bodily engagements, movement-based interactions, interactive textiles and critical and speculative design. Demir worked as an adjunct lecturer at the Estonian Academy of Arts (autumn 2019). She worked as an e-textile costume designer for the project executed between an artist and Tallinn University, funded by Vertigo STARTS Residency (2019-2020). Additionally, she was an artist and researcher in residency in the STARTS.EE Residency programme which was executed by the HCI group at the Tallinn University in collaboration with elektron.art. Her recent publications include “AURA: Altering Self-Perception Through Interactive Light Emitting Textiles” in Proceedings of the 11th NordiCHI: Shaping Experiences, Shaping Society (2020) and “‘Squeaky/Pain’: Cultivating Disturbing Experiences and Perspective Transition for Somaesthetic Interactions” in Diseña Journal (2022).
Kristi Kuusk, Estonian Academy of Arts
Kristi Kuusk is an associate professor and senior researcher at the Design Research Group at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Her interest is in finding alternative futures for clothing and textile design via the implementation of technology. She combines practice (of collaborating as a selected laureate in EU projects such as STARTS Residencies, WORTH Partnership Project) with presenting and publishing research in international venues. Her recent publications include: “A transdisciplinary collaborative journey leading to sensorial clothing” in CoDesign - International Journal of CoCreation in Design and the Arts (2020); “Altering One’s Body-perception Through E-Textiles and Haptic Metaphors” in Frontiers in Robotics and AI (2020).
Nithikul Nimkulrat, OCAD University
Nithikul Nimkulrat is an associate professor and acting chair of the Material Art & Design programme at OCAD University, Canada. Prior to this appointment, she worked at the Estonian Academy of Arts (2013–2018), Loughborough University (UK, 2011–2013) and Aalto University (Finland, 2004–2010), where she earned a doctorate in design in 2009. Her recent publications include: “Experiential Craft: Knowing through Analogue and Digital Materials Experience” in the book Materials Experience 2 (Elsevier, 2021); “Decoloniality of Knowing and Being: Artistic Research Through Collaborative Craft Practice” in the book Arts-Based Methods for Decolonising Participatory Research (Routledge, 2021); and “Translational Craft: Handmade and Gestural Knowledge in Analogue-Digital Material Practice” in Craft Research (Volume 11 Issue 2, 2020). She is the lead editor of the special CoDesign issue “Knowing Together – Experiential Knowledge and Collaboration” (Volume 16 Issue 4, 2020).
Demir, Arife Dila, Nithikul Nimkulrat, and Kristi Kuusk. 2022. “‘Squeaky/Pain’: Cultivating Disturbing Experiences and Perspective Transition for Somaesthetic Interactions.” Diseña 20: 1-19. https://doi.org/10.7764/disena.20.Article.2
Gastaldo, Denise, Natalia Rivas-Quarneti, and Lilian Magalhães. 2018. “Body-Map Storytelling as a Health Research Methodology: Blurred Lines Creating Clear Pictures.” Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 19(2). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-19.2.2858
Given, Lisa M., ed. 2008. The Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Gubrium, Jaber, and James Holstein. 2001. Handbook of Interview Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412973588
Höök, Kristina. 2018. Designing with the Body: Somaesthetic Interaction Design. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Höök, Kristina, Baptiste Caramiaux, Cumhur Erkut, Jodi Forlizzi, Nassrin Hajinejad, Michael Haller, Caroline Hummels, Katherine Isbister, Martin Jonsson, George Khut, Lian Loke, Danielle Lottridge, Patrizia Marti, Edward Melcer, Florian F. Müller, Marianne G. Petersen, Thecla Schiphorst, Elena M. Segura, Anna Ståhl, Dag Svanæs, Jakob Tholander, and Helena Tobiasson. 2018. “Embracing First-Person Perspectives in Soma-Based Design.” Informatics 5 (1): 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/informatics5010008
Ladores, Sigrid. 2020. “Applying Petitmengin’s Explicitation Interview Method to Elicit the Lived Experience of Breathing Upon Waking by an Individual With Cystic Fibrosis.” Journal of Patient Experience 7 (6): 856–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/2374373520956740
Loke, Lian, and Toni Robertson. 2013. “Moving and Making Strange: An Embodied Approach to Movement-Based Interaction Design.” ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction 20 (1): 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1145/2442106.2442113
McSwite, O.C. 2000. “On the Discourse Movement—A Self Interview.” Administrative Theory & Praxis 22 (1): 49–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2000.11643426
Núñez-Pacheco, Claudia, and Lian Loke. 2016. “Felt-Sensing Archetypes: Analysing Patterns of Accessing Tacit Meaning in Design.” In Proceedings of the 28th Australian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction - OzCHI ’16, 462–71. Launceston: ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3010915.3010932
Núñez-Pacheco, Claudia, and Lian Loke. 2017. “Tacit Narratives: Surfacing Aesthetic Meaning by Using Wearable Props and Focusing.” In Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, 233–42. Yokohama: ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3024969.3024979
Núñez-Pacheco, Claudia, and Lian Loke. 2020. “Getting into Someone Else’s Soul : Communicating Embodied Experience.” Digital Creativity 31 (4): 245–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/14626268.2020.1835987
Pauwels, Luc, and Dawn Mannay. 2020. The SAGE Handbook of Visual Research Methods. London: Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526417015
Scarry, Elaine. 1985. The Body in Pain: The Making and Unmaking of the World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Shusterman, Richard. 2006. “Thinking through the Body, Educating for the Humanities: A Plea for Somaesthetics.” Journal of Aesthetic Education 40 (1): 1–21. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4140215
Smeenk, Wina, Oscar Tomico, and Koen van Turnhout. 2016. “A Systematic Analysis of Mixed Perspectives in Empathic Design: Not One Perspective Encompasses All.” International Journal of Design 10 (2): 19.
Stanton, Tasha R., and Charles Spence. 2020. “The Influence of Auditory Cues on Bodily and Movement Perception.” Frontiers in Psychology, 17 January 2020. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03001
Tennent, Paul, Kristina Höök, Steve Benford, Vasiliki Tsaknaki, Anna Ståhl, Claudia Dauden Roquet, Charles Windlin, Pedro Sanches, Joe Marshall, Christine Li, Juan Pablo Martinez Avila, Miquel Alfaras, Muhammad Umair, and Feng Zhou. 2021. “Articulating Soma Experiences Using Trajectories.” In Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–16. Yokohama: ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445482
Valle-Noronha, Julia. 2019. Becoming with Clothes. Activating Wearer-Worn Engagements through Design. Espoo: Aalto School of Art and Design.
Wilde, Danielle, Thecla Schiphorst, and Sietske Klooster. 2011. “Move to Design/Design to Move: A Conversation about Designing for the Body.” Interactions 18 (4): 22–27. https://doi.org/10.1145/1978822.1978828
Demir, Arife Dila, Nithikul Nimkulrat, and Kristi Kuusk. 2022. “‘Squeaky/Pain’: Cultivating Disturbing Experiences and Perspective Transition for Somaesthetic Interactions.” Diseña 20: 1-19. https://doi.org/10.7764/disena.20.Article.2
Gastaldo, Denise, Natalia Rivas-Quarneti, and Lilian Magalhães. 2018. “Body-Map Storytelling as a Health Research Methodology: Blurred Lines Creating Clear Pictures.” Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 19(2). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-19.2.2858
Given, Lisa M., ed. 2008. The Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Gubrium, Jaber, and James Holstein. 2001. Handbook of Interview Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412973588
Höök, Kristina. 2018. Designing with the Body: Somaesthetic Interaction Design. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Höök, Kristina, Baptiste Caramiaux, Cumhur Erkut, Jodi Forlizzi, Nassrin Hajinejad, Michael Haller, Caroline Hummels, Katherine Isbister, Martin Jonsson, George Khut, Lian Loke, Danielle Lottridge, Patrizia Marti, Edward Melcer, Florian F. Müller, Marianne G. Petersen, Thecla Schiphorst, Elena M. Segura, Anna Ståhl, Dag Svanæs, Jakob Tholander, and Helena Tobiasson. 2018. “Embracing First-Person Perspectives in Soma-Based Design.” Informatics 5 (1): 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/informatics5010008
Ladores, Sigrid. 2020. “Applying Petitmengin’s Explicitation Interview Method to Elicit the Lived Experience of Breathing Upon Waking by an Individual With Cystic Fibrosis.” Journal of Patient Experience 7 (6): 856–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/2374373520956740
Loke, Lian, and Toni Robertson. 2013. “Moving and Making Strange: An Embodied Approach to Movement-Based Interaction Design.” ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction 20 (1): 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1145/2442106.2442113
McSwite, O.C. 2000. “On the Discourse Movement—A Self Interview.” Administrative Theory & Praxis 22 (1): 49–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2000.11643426
Núñez-Pacheco, Claudia, and Lian Loke. 2016. “Felt-Sensing Archetypes: Analysing Patterns of Accessing Tacit Meaning in Design.” In Proceedings of the 28th Australian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction - OzCHI ’16, 462–71. Launceston: ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3010915.3010932
Núñez-Pacheco, Claudia, and Lian Loke. 2017. “Tacit Narratives: Surfacing Aesthetic Meaning by Using Wearable Props and Focusing.” In Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, 233–42. Yokohama: ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3024969.3024979
Núñez-Pacheco, Claudia, and Lian Loke. 2020. “Getting into Someone Else’s Soul : Communicating Embodied Experience.” Digital Creativity 31 (4): 245–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/14626268.2020.1835987
Pauwels, Luc, and Dawn Mannay. 2020. The SAGE Handbook of Visual Research Methods. London: Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526417015
Scarry, Elaine. 1985. The Body in Pain: The Making and Unmaking of the World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Shusterman, Richard. 2006. “Thinking through the Body, Educating for the Humanities: A Plea for Somaesthetics.” Journal of Aesthetic Education 40 (1): 1–21. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4140215
Smeenk, Wina, Oscar Tomico, and Koen van Turnhout. 2016. “A Systematic Analysis of Mixed Perspectives in Empathic Design: Not One Perspective Encompasses All.” International Journal of Design 10 (2): 19.
Stanton, Tasha R., and Charles Spence. 2020. “The Influence of Auditory Cues on Bodily and Movement Perception.” Frontiers in Psychology, 17 January 2020. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03001
Tennent, Paul, Kristina Höök, Steve Benford, Vasiliki Tsaknaki, Anna Ståhl, Claudia Dauden Roquet, Charles Windlin, Pedro Sanches, Joe Marshall, Christine Li, Juan Pablo Martinez Avila, Miquel Alfaras, Muhammad Umair, and Feng Zhou. 2021. “Articulating Soma Experiences Using Trajectories.” In Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–16. Yokohama: ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445482
Valle-Noronha, Julia. 2019. Becoming with Clothes. Activating Wearer-Worn Engagements through Design. Espoo: Aalto School of Art and Design.
Wilde, Danielle, Thecla Schiphorst, and Sietske Klooster. 2011. “Move to Design/Design to Move: A Conversation about Designing for the Body.” Interactions 18 (4): 22–27. https://doi.org/10.1145/1978822.1978828
Demir, Arife Dila, Nithikul Nimkulrat, and Kristi Kuusk. 2022. “‘Squeaky/Pain’: Cultivating Disturbing Experiences and Perspective Transition for Somaesthetic Interactions.” Diseña 20: 1-19. https://doi.org/10.7764/disena.20.Article.2
Gastaldo, Denise, Natalia Rivas-Quarneti, and Lilian Magalhães. 2018. “Body-Map Storytelling as a Health Research Methodology: Blurred Lines Creating Clear Pictures.” Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 19(2). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-19.2.2858
Given, Lisa M., ed. 2008. The Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Gubrium, Jaber, and James Holstein. 2001. Handbook of Interview Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412973588
Höök, Kristina. 2018. Designing with the Body: Somaesthetic Interaction Design. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Höök, Kristina, Baptiste Caramiaux, Cumhur Erkut, Jodi Forlizzi, Nassrin Hajinejad, Michael Haller, Caroline Hummels, Katherine Isbister, Martin Jonsson, George Khut, Lian Loke, Danielle Lottridge, Patrizia Marti, Edward Melcer, Florian F. Müller, Marianne G. Petersen, Thecla Schiphorst, Elena M. Segura, Anna Ståhl, Dag Svanæs, Jakob Tholander, and Helena Tobiasson. 2018. “Embracing First-Person Perspectives in Soma-Based Design.” Informatics 5 (1): 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/informatics5010008
Ladores, Sigrid. 2020. “Applying Petitmengin’s Explicitation Interview Method to Elicit the Lived Experience of Breathing Upon Waking by an Individual With Cystic Fibrosis.” Journal of Patient Experience 7 (6): 856–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/2374373520956740
Loke, Lian, and Toni Robertson. 2013. “Moving and Making Strange: An Embodied Approach to Movement-Based Interaction Design.” ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction 20 (1): 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1145/2442106.2442113
McSwite, O.C. 2000. “On the Discourse Movement—A Self Interview.” Administrative Theory & Praxis 22 (1): 49–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2000.11643426
Núñez-Pacheco, Claudia, and Lian Loke. 2016. “Felt-Sensing Archetypes: Analysing Patterns of Accessing Tacit Meaning in Design.” In Proceedings of the 28th Australian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction - OzCHI ’16, 462–71. Launceston: ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3010915.3010932
Núñez-Pacheco, Claudia, and Lian Loke. 2017. “Tacit Narratives: Surfacing Aesthetic Meaning by Using Wearable Props and Focusing.” In Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, 233–42. Yokohama: ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3024969.3024979
Núñez-Pacheco, Claudia, and Lian Loke. 2020. “Getting into Someone Else’s Soul : Communicating Embodied Experience.” Digital Creativity 31 (4): 245–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/14626268.2020.1835987
Pauwels, Luc, and Dawn Mannay. 2020. The SAGE Handbook of Visual Research Methods. London: Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526417015
Scarry, Elaine. 1985. The Body in Pain: The Making and Unmaking of the World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Shusterman, Richard. 2006. “Thinking through the Body, Educating for the Humanities: A Plea for Somaesthetics.” Journal of Aesthetic Education 40 (1): 1–21. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4140215
Smeenk, Wina, Oscar Tomico, and Koen van Turnhout. 2016. “A Systematic Analysis of Mixed Perspectives in Empathic Design: Not One Perspective Encompasses All.” International Journal of Design 10 (2): 19.
Stanton, Tasha R., and Charles Spence. 2020. “The Influence of Auditory Cues on Bodily and Movement Perception.” Frontiers in Psychology, 17 January 2020. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03001
Tennent, Paul, Kristina Höök, Steve Benford, Vasiliki Tsaknaki, Anna Ståhl, Claudia Dauden Roquet, Charles Windlin, Pedro Sanches, Joe Marshall, Christine Li, Juan Pablo Martinez Avila, Miquel Alfaras, Muhammad Umair, and Feng Zhou. 2021. “Articulating Soma Experiences Using Trajectories.” In Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–16. Yokohama: ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445482
Valle-Noronha, Julia. 2019. Becoming with Clothes. Activating Wearer-Worn Engagements through Design. Espoo: Aalto School of Art and Design.
Wilde, Danielle, Thecla Schiphorst, and Sietske Klooster. 2011. “Move to Design/Design to Move: A Conversation about Designing for the Body.” Interactions 18 (4): 22–27. https://doi.org/10.1145/1978822.1978828