ABSTRACT
This chapter develops a new perspective on the role of anthropology and ethnographic fieldwork in design processes. It explores how ethnographic fieldwork combined with a critical holistic approach has the potential to shape design processes towards greater sensibility for the crafting potential of users in the context of social and material relations. The chapter presents an extended analysis of a case study: the body games project which focused on designing interactive playgrounds with and for children. It focuses on the material interventions that were carried out as part of the fieldwork and design in this project. The body games project aimed at decreasing obesity among children through the development of digital playgrounds that would encourage children and young people to be more physically active. Design anthropological fieldwork is a collaborative effort between designers and anthropologists studying, conceptualizing, and experimenting with potential relations between people, practices, and things, which involves constant reflective re-conceptualizations.
