Title:
Designing for Transformative Experiences in Mixed Reality

Abstract:
In the field of interaction design there is a growing interest in the aesthetics of interaction, but also a two-way challenge in (a) integrating the complex concept of aesthetics into the design process (b) providing means for creation and expression in both design and use situation.

Rooted in pragmatism my PhD project focuses on how engaging in aesthetic experiences in mixed reality environments can transform participants’ creative and expressive abilities.

By engaging and interacting in open-ended environments, the participant is free to explore and reshape the situation through creative back talk with the material at hand. This way the participants may transform into practitioners and the machine into an instrument for expression.

From a design perspective this aesthetic ideal shifts the focus away from understanding the domain towards questioning it, challenging the designers to prepare for the unexpected. This way the designers’ task is to frame the situation and enable the practitioners to question, reshape and transform it through creative inquiry.

With a holistic view on self and a pragmatic understanding of the body-mind relationship as inseparable, I am especially interested in how mixed reality multi sensory environments can facilitate interaction, where the body’s full repertoire of motion for expression is being challenged.

The goal is to apply my research in the domain of cultural heritage communication, providing a holistic pedagogy, where knowledge is not just intellectually constructed but constantly re-experienced and reshaped through creative and expressive engagement with the domain.