A theoretical framework on embodiment in digital design

This article presents a theoretical discussion on the need for developing digital design environments that can strengthen our relations with the tangible, tacit, and implicit dimensions of design cognition. It synthesizes relevant concepts and theories in the field of phenomenology, addressing creative design thinking. It suggests that designer's tacit ways of knowing can be accommodated in digital design practices by developing tools that allow intuitive and embodied interactions. To this end, it points out specific concepts, methods, and theories within Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research, arguing that they can enable the development of better digital design tools that can cope with complex human perceptual mechanisms, including touch, as an extension of both body and mind, and that can encompass the implicit areas inherent in design knowledge. Therefore, concerning the creative design disciplines, it highlights the importance of closely following the findings of research within HCI that are relevant to design knowledge and its implementation.