Where Kinesthetic Empathy meets Kinetic Design

This paper for Doctoral Consortium presents my ongoing PhD research into the potential use of kinesthetic empathy in the context of design. While physical movements of designed objects are often associated with their function, the quality of such movements, or how the movements 'feel' like, is also important with regards to the design. The concept of kinesthetic empathy--our innate capacity to feel the kinetic sensation of observed entities--has been primarily researched in the context of the arts, especially in the studies of human movement in dance and theatre. I would like to apply kinesthetic empathy to the perception of kinetic objects, with the aim of revealing the relationship between object movements and our embodied and empathic reactions. Kinesthetic empathy is often neglected in the discussion around the potential of kinetic objects in design as well as in technology-based domains like human-computer interaction, but it is expected to open a new perspective on our embodied and visceral response to dynamic objects and environments. The paper begins by reviewing the related theories and concepts from aesthetics, neuroscience, embodied cognition and psychology then presents the first stage of my ongoing research project. It is concluded with the outlook as well as the expected contribution.