FUBImethod: Strategies to engage children in the co-design of Full-Body interactive experiences

• Published in: International journal of human-computer studies 2019-12, Vol.132, p.52-69
• Main Authors: Schaper, Marie-Monique, Iversen, Ole Sejer, Malinverni, Laura, Pares, Narcis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Children; Co-design; Design methods; Embodiment; Full-Body Interaction
• ISSN: 1071-5819; 1095-9300
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2019.07.008

•Introduction of a genuine user-driven design approach engaging children in the process of co-designing interactive experiences based on Full-Body Interaction.•Presentation and discussion of design techniques that benefit from children's natural playfulness and expertise in movement.•Critical reflection upon child experience using research methods employed during the six design stages of the FUBImethod. In this paper, we present the FUBImethod, a method based on six stages to co-design interactive experiences based on Full-Body Interaction. The FUBImethod aims specifically to engage children in co-design processes and to benefit from their natural playfulness and expertise in movement. This approach allows designers to go beyond the surface level of content-driven ideas by raising awareness of the body and space, and by proposing techniques that help the design team to understand and incorporate the specific qualities that constitute Full-Body Interaction. We also propose strategies to strengthen the children's perspective in the design process in reaching a common agreement in the design goals and the selection of adequate design choices within the design team. We ground our theoretical discussions on the outcomes of the research project “Evaluation-Driven Design”, the goal of which was the exploration and definition of adequate research and design methods in Full-Body Interaction.