During the Information Age we have seen many things, such as writing a body text, turn into two-dimensional, digital abstractions. Employees, as virtualized users, are extracted from the physical realities. The screens that surround them, such as computers and mobile phones, are an extension of their brain and replace their bodies. The body, which still served as a tool in the 19th century, is now being neglected. We live in a disembodied society.
Technology is currently being innovated into a more portable and collaborative tool. Modern technologies, such as augmented reality (AR), merge the physical and digital world and make it possible to reintroduce the human body into the digital. Frames, such as a sheet or screen, are absent in this environment. The body text always exists around a body and is driven by it. The reader is therefore the new carrier of the body text.
The interface becomes experience-oriented and turns the passive user into an active participant. These new digital experiences do not only require a new reader but also require a new designer. Designing for the embodied user calls for a shift in perspective, one that differs from traditional design thinking. The research project ‘The Body Text Body’ takes this shift as a starting point and explores, with the use of modern technology, the possibilities to embody the body text.
