Becoming One with Kuddi: Touching Data through an Intimate Data Physicalisation

Kuddi is a haptic data physicalisation in the form of a soft pillow which combines 12 inflatable pockets to dynamically touch and be touched in relation to the changing menstruating body. This paper presents the soma design process that led to Kuddi’s design, as well as Kuddi’s evaluation through an auto-ethnographic approach, where the first author lived with Kuddi for two menstrual cycles. The resulting dataset was analysed by the research team using a narrative-led approach. Based on this analysis, we present five thick descriptions that capture how the experience of living with Kuddi led to a changing relation with menstrual pain. We contribute a design case of a haptic data physicalisation intended to touch the body and discuss how the material and interaction design choices embodied in Kuddi led to data visceralisation - a way of feeling data in ways which promote new somatic knowledge and experience.