Ambiguity as a Resource to Design for a Plurality of Bodies

Historically, paradigms in interaction design have often imposed normative standards, marginalizing diverse bodies and capabilities. As critical works have started to call for acknowledging and catering to a variety of bodies in our designs, we need constructive design knowledge to address body plurality in a productive manner. In this paper, we propose ambiguity as a powerful resource in designing for a plurality of bodies. Drawing on feminist design agendas and on prior work on ambiguity and appropriation, we revisit two design cases in physical activity contexts that accommodated people with varied sensorimotor abilities. We identify four types of ambiguity in those cases (data, information, context, and use) and the interactive qualities they fostered (versatility, adaptability, appropriation) to support a wide range of bodies, capabilities, and needs. We reflect on the benefits of designing with ambiguity and the designer’s role in this approach. Our work contributes design knowledge for addressing body plurality in generative ways, and enriches discussions on the plurality of humanness in interaction design.