The Phenomenology of Tactile Perception for Design

Abstract

For design, tactile perception is a crucial dimension of the user experience. Design disciplines can find an essential body of knowledge in the tradition of the psychology of perception. This article first introduces the physiological aspects, starting from receptor differences and leading to the tactile representation in the brain. Consistent with the phenomenological perspective, it is argued, however, that the reductionist approach provides an understanding of physiological mediation, useful for knowing the functioning of the organism, but not sufficient to make the user's perceptual-tactile experience immediate. The perceptual-tactile experience extends to the dimension of the self and demonstrates that the bodily self extends beyond the boundaries of the physical body. For the designer, therefore, scientific knowledge of the tactile experience derived from experimental phenomenology, developed from Gestalt psychology, is a priority.