Short answer

Designers should consider how to integrate experiences of discomfort, rather than solely aiming for immediate comfort, to create more meaningful and supportive intimate care technologies.

Field: User-Centred Design
Source: Designing Interactive Systems Conference (2024)
Method: Feminist crip technoscience, feminist theories on materiality of bodies, qualitative research, design exploration.
Evidence: Moderate effect

Designing intimate care technologies that acknowledge and leverage periods of discomfort, ambivalence, and disruption can foster deeper, long-term embodied relationships with users. This user-centred design research insight is drawn from a 2024 study published in Designing Interactive Systems Conference. Using Feminist crip technoscience, feminist theories on materiality of bodies, qualitative research, design exploration., researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Designers should consider how to integrate experiences of discomfort, rather than solely aiming for immediate comfort, to create more meaningful and supportive intimate care technologies.

Study

User-Centred DesignRecentModerate effect

Embracing Discomfort in Intimate Care Technology Design

Designing intimate care technologies that acknowledge and leverage periods of discomfort, ambivalence, and disruption can foster deeper, long-term embodied relationships with users.

Designing Interactive Systems Conference · 2024

Key Findings

01Discomfort, ambivalence, and disruption are inherent aspects of intimate relationships and can be valuable design resources.
02Designing for long-term, embodied relationships requires acknowledging and integrating these challenging aspects of human experience.

Application

Design takeaway

Designers should consider how to integrate experiences of discomfort, rather than solely aiming for immediate comfort, to create more meaningful and supportive intimate care technologies.

How to apply

When designing for personal care, consider periods of discomfort (e.g., menstrual pain, emotional distress) as opportunities for design intervention rather than problems to be solved.

Project actions

01Consider the emotional and physical discomforts associated with the product's use or context.
02Explore how a design can support users through challenging or ambivalent experiences.

Method & Evidence

AimHow can discomfort be utilized as a design resource to create long-term and embodied intimate care technologies?

MethodFeminist crip technoscience, feminist theories on materiality of bodies, qualitative research, design exploration.

ProcedureThe research explores three prior projects that incorporated affective discomfort, menstrual discomfort, and unhabitual movements into intimate technologies. Future work aims to investigate shape-changing touch for menstrual pain self-care.

ContextDesign of intimate care technologies, particularly those related to menstruation and embodied self-care.

Variables

IVInclusion of discomfort as a design element.

DVDepth of embodied relationship with technology, user's self-care practices, user's knowledge of their body.

CVType of intimate care technology, specific discomfort being addressed, user demographics.

Strengths & Limitations

Strengths

+Challenges conventional design paradigms by reframing discomfort.
+Integrates feminist theory to inform design practice for intimate technologies.

Limitations

It can be challenging to design for discomfort without making a product unusable or off-putting. Ethical considerations are paramount.

Reliability & validity

Reliability would be assessed by consistent user responses to similar discomfort scenarios. Validity would be challenged by the subjective nature of 'discomfort' and 'embodied relationship', requiring careful qualitative analysis and triangulation of data.

Think critically

To what extent can designing *with* discomfort be ethically implemented without causing undue distress or harm to users?

Design Principles

"Design for embodied resilience by acknowledging and integrating discomfort into the user experience."

Traditional design often aims to eliminate discomfort. However, for intimate care technologies, embracing and understanding discomfort can lead to more nuanced, resilient, and personally relevant user experiences. This approach moves beyond superficial comfort to support ongoing, embodied self-care.

What This Means for Your Design

Sometimes, things that feel uncomfortable can teach us a lot about ourselves. When designing things for personal care, it's useful to think about how they can help us deal with these uncomfortable feelings, not just make us feel good all the time.

How to use in your project

1.Reference this research when exploring user needs that involve discomfort, pain, or emotional complexity.
2.Use the concept of designing *with* discomfort to justify design choices that might not be immediately 'pleasant'.

Add to My Project

Quick Cite

Paragraph starter

This design project draws inspiration from research that advocates for designing intimate care technologies not solely around comfort, but by embracing and utilizing discomfort as a resource. By acknowledging the inherent ambivalences and disruptions within intimate relationships and bodily experiences, such as menstrual discomfort, designers can foster deeper, long-term, and embodied connections with users. This approach moves beyond superficial ease to support proactive self-care and a more nuanced understanding of personal well-being.

Source

Designing Interactive Systems Conference

Designing with Discomfort: A Feminist Approach towards Intimate Care Technologies

journal · 2024

View source

Questions About This Research

What does the research say about embracing discomfort in intimate care technology design?: Designers should consider how to integrate experiences of discomfort, rather than solely aiming for immediate comfort, to create more meaningful and supportive intimate care technologies. Evidence: Designing Interactive Systems Conference (2024).
Why does "Embracing Discomfort in Intimate Care Technology Design" matter for design?: Traditional design often aims to eliminate discomfort. However, for intimate care technologies, embracing and understanding discomfort can lead to more nuanced, resilient, and personally relevant user experiences. This approach moves beyond superficial comfort to support ongoing, embodied self-care.
How can designers apply this research?: Designers should consider how to integrate experiences of discomfort, rather than solely aiming for immediate comfort, to create more meaningful and supportive intimate care technologies.
What were the main findings?: Discomfort, ambivalence, and disruption are inherent aspects of intimate relationships and can be valuable design resources.. Designing for long-term, embodied relationships requires acknowledging and integrating these challenging aspects of human experience.
What research method was used?: Feminist crip technoscience, feminist theories on materiality of bodies, qualitative research, design exploration..
How strong is the evidence?: Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2024 journal from Designing Interactive Systems Conference.
What should I do differently in my next project?: When designing for personal care, consider periods of discomfort (e.g., menstrual pain, emotional distress) as opportunities for design intervention rather than problems to be solved.
What are the limitations?: The research is largely conceptual and based on prior projects; direct user testing of new discomfort-focused technologies is still planned.