Understanding Users through Embodied Cognition

The most powerful way to understand users is by observing their behaviour. How we interpret these observations, however, is deeply rooted in long-standing ideas from cognitive science. But cognitive science is undergoing a revolution known as embodiment and it has enormous implications for design.

The key idea of embodiment is that the mind is more than just the brain. The way we think, reason, solve problems, and make sense of information involves a subtle and complex interplay between brain, body, and the world around us. As our technology has shifted to mobile, our bodies and the environment are becoming a more important part of the story. This shift will only become more pronounced with augmented reality and other emerging technologies. Embodied cognition provides a powerful new lens for observing user behaviour, decoding what people are actually doing, and making design decisions.

You will learn just enough theory to start seeing familiar, everyday user activities through an embodiment lens. This workshop will give you a vocabulary of embodiment concepts, and a structured framework, to analyze user behavior as an embodied experience. This includes practicing with video of people in real situations. You already know how to understand users when they interact with screens. Now learn to understand them when they interact with their whole world.

This workshop includes:

• A reference booklet with concepts,  frameworks, references and recommended reading
• Participants will learn why embodiment matters and how to:
  • use an embodiment perspective for working on real-world design problems and current technologies
  • use a conceptual foundation for near-future design problems that will arise from emerging technologies such as augmented reality, large touchscreens, flexible displays, and much more