Generate design insights by physically acting out user scenarios to discover ergonomic, spatial, and interaction issues.
Bodystorming is a physical ideation technique where teams act out user scenarios in real or simulated environments to uncover design insights.
Bodystorming is a physical ideation technique where team members act out user scenarios in real or simulated environments rather than discussing ideas around a table. By moving through spaces, handling props, and role-playing interactions, participants discover ergonomic constraints, workflow problems, and interaction nuances that sketches and wireframes cannot reveal. UX designers, service designers, and product teams use Bodystorming when designing spatial interactions, physical products, retail environments, kiosk interfaces, or any experience where body movement and environmental context significantly shape the user experience. The method builds deep empathy because participants literally step into the user's physical situation, experiencing frustrations and opportunities firsthand. It is especially powerful for breaking creative blocks, as physical engagement activates different thinking modes than verbal discussion alone. A typical session involves setting up a simulated environment, assigning roles, running through scenarios, and immediately debriefing while physical observations are fresh. Bodystorming produces insights that feed directly into prototyping and service blueprinting, making it a valuable bridge between research and design.
Identify the problem, situation, or experience you want to explore using bodystorming. Clearly define the goals that you aim to achieve through the exploration process.
Gather a multidisciplinary team with diverse perspectives to participate in the bodystorming session. This team should ideally include representatives from design, development, and the actual end-users.
Create a life-like or simulated environment that mimics the context in which the users will interact with the product or service. Effort should be taken to make it as realistic as possible, to promote empathy and understanding of the user experience.
Define the roles and scenarios that the team will enact during the bodystorming session. Allocate roles for each participant, including possible facilitators or observers. Create a narrative that explains the context, actions, and goals for the users in the given scenario.
Before beginning the actual bodystorming session, conduct a brief warm-up exercise with the participants to familiarize them with the roles, environment, and guidelines. Ensure everyone feels comfortable and is prepared for the session.
Conduct the bodystorming session by enacting the roles and scenarios defined earlier. Encourage participants to think and act as real users, verbalizing their thoughts and emotions while experiencing the interaction with the product or service.
Throughout the session, the facilitator or observers should document key observations, insights, and feedback generated during the bodystorming process. This information is crucial to improve the design based on user's real-life experiences.
After the session, conduct a group discussion and reflection on the insights gathered. Encourage participants to share their thoughts, emotions, and ideas openly. Identify areas of improvement, potential solutions, and novel ideas for enhancing the user experience.
Incorporate the feedback and insights from the bodystorming session into the design process. Revisit the scenarios, create new iterations of the design, and evaluate the improvements by conducting additional bodystorming sessions as needed.
After a Bodystorming session, the team will have a rich set of insights about physical interactions, spatial constraints, and service flow problems that would be invisible in traditional brainstorming. The outputs include documented observations about ergonomic issues, workflow bottlenecks, missing touchpoints, and unexpected user behaviors. These insights translate directly into design recommendations for spatial layouts, service blueprints, and physical or digital prototypes. Teams typically leave the session with increased empathy for the user's physical experience and a shared understanding of design challenges that accelerates subsequent decision-making.
Use warm-up activities like improv games to help participants feel comfortable with physical expression before diving into scenarios.
Create environmental props even if simple (cardboard, foam, tape) to make the simulation tangible and trigger realistic responses.
Consider using speech bubble props so participants can distinguish between their character's spoken words and internal thoughts.
Assign dedicated observers to capture insights that participants may miss while physically engaged in the scenario.
Iterate quickly through multiple scenarios rather than perfecting a single one to explore a wider solution space.
Debrief immediately after each round while physical sensations and spatial insights are fresh in participants' minds.
Respect physical boundaries and ensure all participants feel comfortable with the level of physical engagement expected.
Video record sessions from multiple angles to capture spatial details that notes alone cannot preserve.
Jumping directly into scenarios without warm-up activities makes participants self-conscious and stiff. Spend 10-15 minutes on improv or movement exercises to lower inhibitions and establish a playful mindset.
Scripting every detail removes the spontaneity that makes bodystorming valuable. Provide a scenario framework and goals, but allow participants to improvise and discover unexpected interactions naturally.
When everyone is acting, no one is documenting. Always assign at least one person to observe, take notes, and capture video so that insights are not lost in the energy of the moment.
Running just one scenario limits the range of insights. Plan three to five short scenarios rather than one long one to explore different user types, edge cases, and alternative flows.
Physical and spatial observations fade quickly from memory. Debrief immediately after each scenario while embodied insights are still vivid, rather than waiting until the end of the entire session.
Document describing scenarios, context, tasks, and goals for the session.
List of participants with assigned roles and clear responsibility definitions.
Detailed schedule with timeline, activities, and time allocation for each phase.
List of required props, furniture, and environment-specific elements needed.
Audio and video recordings of the session for later review and analysis.
Questionnaires capturing experiences, opinions, and insights from participants.
Compiled key observations, ideas, and design opportunities from the session.
Summary report with objectives, process, findings, and recommended next steps.