Conversations with the body of the other: A three-step dialogical process

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Abstract
Embodied design ideation methods rely on subjective —first-person— experiences of the designer to bring new ways of designing into being. Shifting the embodied design ideation method to the body of the other, we propose a three-step process that makes the experiences of a dancer accessible to a designer for the ideation of remote intimacies. To support the access to the dancer’s experiences, we facilitate embodied, dialogical exchange over three phases: i) observation of embodied explorations between the dancer and a set of tangibles, ii) analysis of phase (i) visual documentation, and iii) a semi-structured interview with the dancer, using phase (ii) outcomes, incorporating drawing as a form of reflection. This reflexive process reveals the ways how incorporating tangibility, ambiguity, and care into a conversation with the body of the other allows us to open a space of possibilities.