Work

Towards understanding the design of playful bodily extensions via body schema and body image

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: • Presents a two-dimensional design space around body schema and body image for playful bodily extensions. • Details designers’ experiences creating playful bodily extensions. • Articulates practical strategies for the design of future playful bodily extensions. Interaction designers are increasingly interested in physically extending people's bodies and emerging work shows the potential of such bodily extensions for play, one example being interactive fantasy ears for the Cosplay community. We interviewed five designers of four playful bodily extensions to better understand how to design them. Based on their insights and our examination of prior work, we argue that such extensions can be characterized by the extent to which they alter the wearer's body schema and body image. We illustrate this characterization using a two-dimensional design space. We use this design space to articulate practical strategies for the design of future playful bodily extensions. Ultimately, we hope to bring more playful experiences to people's lives.

Source: International Journal of Human-Computer Studies

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2025.103457

Authors: Florian ‘Floyd’ Mueller, Oğuz ‘Oz’ Buruk, Louise Petersen Matjeka, Aryan Saini

Institutions: Monash University, Tampere University, University of Tampere, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Language: English

Topic: Innovative Human-Technology Interaction

Subfield: Human-Computer Interaction

Field: Computer Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,510

Funders: Academy of Finland, Australian Research Council