Ari Elefterin

Touch Starved is a project addressing the innate needs of the human body, derived from design thinking, somatic theory, and improvisational games. It offers a multi-element framework within which designers and technologists can come to understand their neglected physiological needs and become body innovators. While designers are shaping the future of our material world, they are working in a culture of isolated technological communication and a bias toward sight. Touch Starved explores and addresses the relationship between rising reports of touch hunger, the desire for healthy human touch, and the widening mind–body gap found in designers and technologists working today. Being in Touch is a series of workshops that question our understanding of touch and that support innovation in the body. SAT is a seating device that facilitates consensual touch through free play and physical discovery. Each element is designed to help individuals become holistically healthy. As a continually evolving methodology, the project is intended to inform and address extreme instances of touch alienation, as in prison systems and educational infrastructure, both now and in the future.