Tentative Program
09:00 - 09:10 Welcome to workshop
09:10 - 10:00 Warm-up exercise and Body Map
10:00 - 10:15 Coffee break
10:15 - 12: 00 Introduction of participants and organizers by presenting objects
12:00 - 13:00 Lunch break
13:00 - 14:45 Prototyping session
14:45 - 15:00 Break
15:00 - 15:45 Presentation of prototypes
15:45 - 16:30 Discussion
16:30 - 16:45 Dissemination plans; closing words
Workshop Activities
Part 1 - Introduction
We will begin the workshop with a short welcome and then engage in a warm-up exercise. The intention is prepare participants and facilitate subsequent physical, emotional, and social engagement. Then, we will we will use body maps. Each participant and organizer will draw onto an outline of a human body, first, how they are feeling in that moment; and, second, how their experience of bodily security feels. The body maps will then be placed in a shared space for all participants and organizers to see, which will enable a collective understanding of bodily security. After a short coffee break, each participant and organizer will present themselves, their object, and their interest in the workshop. These activities will allow us to get to know each other and create a shared understanding of the various experiences of bodily security that are present among diverse participants. Last, we will resort to Miro and ask participants to contextualize their objects by presenting additional photos, drawings and videos of the objects in particular situations. Thereby, we aim to "go beyond the object" and explore potential real-life situations where the objects could be useful.
Part 2 - Embodied Awareness and Prototyping
Based on the first part, we will conduct a hands-on prototyping session focused on the positive experience of feeling secure rather than on feelings of fear or insecurity to avoid the risk of triggering negative memories. We will guide participants to manifest their feelings of bodily security in a physical wearable form. We will begin by exploring the potential of the physical materials brought by participants and organizers to reflect and support feelings of security. This exploration will focus both on material properties as well as bodily sensations and feelings supported by these materials when used and worn in close contact to the body. The participants can decide to either work individually or in groups when starting to place the materials on the body, paving the way to creating a wearable representation of bodily security.
In a next step, the participants will be divided into small groups and will use the Body Shadows Technique, i.e. enacting a specific situation and felt experience using their wearable prototype through body shadows created with a white projection wall made of a blanket and a spotlight. We will document their performance through photographs and videos.
Part 3 -Discussion and Design Implications
The final part begins with another body map, in which participants capture their bodily experience while wearing their own prototype. By repeating this method, we will get a sense of how bodily sensations evolved throughout the workshop and how proposed designs might support certain bodily sensations. After that, the participants will present their prototypes. Based on the presented insights, we will discuss emerging themes and similarities to understand common concerns, shared material properties, and ideas that can potential inform design practices. Finally, we will present our envisioned post-workshop plans and offer participants to contribute.