Towards a Methodology of Phenomenological Research through Design

This draft offers a preliminary suggestion for Phenomenological Research through Design (PRtD), a methodological framework that integrates phenomenological principles into Research through Design (RtD) practice. Based on Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology, the framework outlines five interrelated methodological aspects: #1 Prototyping through the Lived Body, #2 Exploring the Reciprocity of Touch and Touchback, #3 Cultivating Social Interrelation, #4 Embracing Drifting as a Method, and #5 Attuning to Intercorporeality– as tools for engaging with and reflecting on design processes that are bodily, social and material. PRtD offers a grounded, yet flexible approach to designing with and through the body. The framework is proposed as a practical contribution to Soma Design, embodied interaction design, and reflective methodologies in HCI, particularly for those seeking to centre lived experience in interaction design.