Bodystroming
Bodystorming is a hands-on method used as a creativity technique in interaction design. It helps the user to empathize with the end-user. The designer subjects him/herself to the experience in order to feel and understand it from the perspective of the customer. In doing so it instills a feeling of empathy for the designer. It could include role-play, drama, and simulation. The process also involves brainstorming using the body which helps in bringing the simulation closer to reality and thus generating better ideas.
Advantages
Some of the advantages of bodystorming are it helps with empathy, reflection in the participants, connects the researcher and users, gives a first-hand experience and greater awareness to the designer/researcher
Disadvantages.
At times bodystorming may make some users uncomfortable, and when used in a sensitive context can trigger some bad reactions. In this fast-paced world, some designers find body storming to be time-consuming, when similar results can be achieved using machine learning, artificial intelligence, and simulation models. One of the disadvantages of concern is that bodystorming requires experienced and well-trained designers. In case it is done in a non-professional manner, wrong conclusions can be arrived at.
Use Cases.
Bodystorming is generally used in the design of physical spaces such as the layout of a store or a clinic. It can also be used in the design of software and physical products. Interestingly, it is also used in scientific research. It has been successfully used to teach, learn, and discover new intradisciplinary boundaries.
Example from Scientific Research
In 2009 the dance director, Carl Flink of the American dance company Black Label Movement and a Biomedical engineer of the University of Minnesota got together and created a bodystorming system as a part of the Moving Cell Project. Dance artists and scientists were brought together to rapidly prototype research hypotheses in biomedical engineering using choreographic rules for dancers to follow. Interestingly, bodystorming has proven to increase the speed of scientific research by giving the scientist a psychological sense of empathizing with a molecule.
In 2018, bodystorming was used at the Neuro-Oncological Symposium to model the recent research.
In 2019, bodystorming was used in the PSON Annual Investigators Meeting.
References
https://study.com/academy/lesson/bodystorming-in-design-thinking-definition-purpose-example.html
https://think.design/user-design-research/bodystorming/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodystorming