Wearable design
Designs devices worn on the body, such as watches, bands, glasses or garments with sensors, so they are comfortable and useful while the person moves.
What problem it addresses
A worn device touches the skin, has weight, gives off heat and moves with the body all day. If it is uncomfortable, it ends up in a drawer.
Principles
Where it gets in the way least
Some areas of the body move little and are similar in size in almost all adults, such as the forearm or the waist.
For a body in motion
The form follows the body’s curves and doesn’t restrict its movements.
At a glance
What it shows can be read in an instant, because it is looked at while doing something else.
Applications in design
Use it like this
Test prototypes worn for hours during everyday life, not just on a table.
Avoid
Designing only the screen and forgetting weight, the clasp or sweat.
Don’t fall for it
What you wear is also seen: people choose what they put on by how it looks on them.
Connections
Builds on
Authors and works
- 1998
Francine Gemperle, Chris Kasabach, John Stivoric, Malcolm Bauer and Richard Martin
Studied how a worn object relates to the body in motion and proposed 13 guidelines, such as placement, weight or heat, along with the areas of the body where it is least intrusive.
Sources
Original sources
- Gemperle, F., Kasabach, C., Stivoric, J., Bauer, M., & Martin, R. (1998). Design for wearability. In Digest of Papers, Second International Symposium on Wearable Computers (ISWC ’98), 116–122. IEEE. View source: Gemperle, F., Kasabach, C., Stivoric, J., Bauer, M., & Martin, R. (1998)
Last reviewed: