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This thesis aim was to design a new form of playful interaction engaging dreaming and awake players. In the tested concept, “Wakers” were able to influence and interact with the dreams of “Dreamers” (with the help of BCI to detect their brainwaves, emotional states and REM phases) by applying external stimuli on the dreamer (somatosensory stimulation, specifically vibrations). In the concept, the dreamer was wearing “the stimuli pajamas”, which vibrated in different ways every time the waker would poke, stroke, shake “the ball”, a prototype displaying the emotional states, sleep stages and movements of the dreamer. Each time the waker would interact with the ball, feedback would be transmitted to the vibrating pajamas, thus influencing the dream and state of the dreamer, which would then be transmitted back and displayed on the ball. A new playful experience was created using sleep as a necessary component.The research was experiment-driven (with body-storming and lo-fi prototyping), and revealed touch to be a powerful and underexplored way to influence dreams. Furthermore, transmitting the emotional states of the dreamer to “the ball” helped render the abstract notion of someone else’s sleep tangible to the waker. The co-creation session organized revealed that the particular concept developed in the context of sleep was tied to interesting notions, such as bringing forward the relationships between the players, the unbalanced power relations, sensual play, abusive play and more. The concept sketches explored the design space around the main concept and shaped some of these different scenarios. All these contributions are aimed to be inspirational material for further research in the field.

This research is an investigation into the playful aspects of designed products. Defining playfulness in products, besides and beyond utilitarian functions and aesthetics, is at the heart of this thesis. In product design research, playfulness, this indispensable element of our mediated world, is either superficially limited to visual seduction or entangled with new technologies that it seems as if play appears as peripheral. The main objective of this research, therefore, is to understand how play can be embodied within a product at the design stage. The research has been supported by a considerable body of literature on the definition of play, product reviews and qualitative fieldwork studies. The fieldwork and ethnographic research was conducted in three stages. First, a series of semi-structured interviews were carried out with second-year product design students at the Edinburgh College of Art. The aim was to examine their understanding of the playful aspects in their own interactive design. The second stage was a series of focus group discussions held with women over the age of 65 to explore how they understand and interpret playfulness in the context of kitchen appliances, and how the change of functions may affect their attitudes toward the activities of their everyday life. Finally, through using a number of ethnographic research methods, five Edinburgh women, aged between 25 and 35, were observed in their kitchens to assess their style of cooking and the way they interacted with their chosen household products. As a result of these field studies, four main aspects of playfulness in these interactions were discovered: communicative and social aspects, dynamic and bodily engagement, the distractive and immersive quality of play and finally, the ‘self-reflective’ aspects of play. The latter is indebted to the idea of ‘ludification of societies’ proposed by Jos De Mul (2005), who draws attention to the increase of playful activities in Western societies in the 21st century and the emergence of a new state of identity, or ‘ludic identity’. In considering this exploration, I have developed a new framework for the ludo-aesthetics of interaction based on the ‘aesthetics of interaction’ which aims to explain the deeper meanings of playful engagements in product interactions. By defining play and reviewing the possibilities of playfulness in products, I have created a taxonomy of playful products, providing a broad spectrum of play, from visually and functionally playful to more subtle and hidden agendas, which only can be highlighted through the active role of users. The findings to emerge from this study are, firstly, playfulness in product design is not an emotion elicited from using a product but rather is a mode, with a broad range of interactions, from objective to subjective, and from personal to social. Second, to assign any attribute of playfulness to a product without considering the contribution of the user, the socio-cultural environment of use and the reflective and constructive interactions of users with products is reductive and superficial. In order to make these findings more tangible for designers and students in product design, I have visualised four food-related scenarios by imaginative personas based on the observations I made in the course of the fieldwork. In addition, I have drawn upon the term ‘replay’ (normally associated with gaming) to demonstrate that playfulness can occur through recalling the objects of the past, the culture of reusing and recycling, and retro style. In essence, this PhD sets the parameters of what designers should be aware of while dealing with people’s playful interactions with products. It is my belief that such awareness, as a complementary element of aesthetic interactions, will help designers to expand their territory of research and widen their scope for design practices.

In a digital and fast-paced world, museums are constantly updating their practices to support visitors’ experiences and interactive exhibits are increasingly gaining popularity. I collaborated with the Natural History Museum of Denmark to design an interactive room for their upcoming new building, specifically for the exhibit with the working title “Night in the Open Land”. The project adopted a design methodology that focused on playfulness and senses and included experience prototyping with museum visitors. The final prototype was designed to replicate a slow and contemplative experience of being outside at night. A playful interactive flashlight was used to find hidden animals and interact with the exhibition, enhancing exploration. The torchlight and the sounds and movements of visitors served as input for an interactive system, which produced sounds, video and smell as outputs. The flashlight enhanced the playful and explorative aspect of the room and allowed for shared and focused attention by all family members. Furthermore, olfactory stimuli were highly appreciated by visitors. At the intersection between museum studies and Interaction Design, this project is relevant to Interaction-as-Experience and reinforces how multisensory interactive exhibits are effective in catering to diverse audiences. The results of this project suggest that incorporating interaction design into public spaces like museums can enhance visitors’ experiences, fostering engagement, learning, and enjoyment.

This Thesis project investigates the user-centered interaction design approach that support a better communication among students and encourages children to feel empathy between each other. Furthermore, this study explores the topic of playful gamified interaction by avoinding cultural ethnicity disparities and promote an open-minded educational atmosphere. By developing the concept named ClassHood, this strategy aims to facilitate the role of the teachers to educate pupils about cultural ethnicity issues and to help youngsters develop the ability to not discriminate in the classroom. The development of a classroom engaged game, will influence students to have an introspection of themselves, including having not only the knowledge of their cultural heritage but from the others around them.