Springboard: Designing Image Schema Based Embodied Interaction for an Abstract Domain

In this paper, we describe the theoretical framing, design, and user study of a whole body interactive environment called Springboard. Springboard supports users to explore the concept of balance in the abstract domain of social justice through embodied interaction. We present the foundational theory of embodied conceptual metaphor, focusing on the twin-pan balance schema, which can be enacted spatially or physically. We describe how these enactments of the balance schema and the conceptual metaphor of balance in social justice can be used to design the interaction model for a whole body interactive environment. We present the results of our qualitative interview style user study with 45 participants. The study was conceived to explore how participants enact, perceive, and understand spatial, physical, and conceptual balance through whole body interaction with an abstract domain such as social justice. We conclude with a discussion of implications for whole body interaction design.domain such as social justice. We conclude with a discussion of implications for whole body interaction design.