Far beyond very fine-grained, accurate data, movement-based interaction design often benefits from working with higher-level features to create engaging interactions. Yet, movement-based frameworks most often focus on the detection strategy without providing clarity on how to use such data for the design of user interactions. This purely technical approach makes it challenging for practitioners to explore feature extraction technology as a design material. This paper presents an approach that considers designers’ perspectives and attitudes about using movement-based features to propose a set of designer-interpretable descriptors and enhance their ability to use human motion in interaction design. In addition, a computational prototype is utilized to visually present the features and help designers better understand movement content. The investigation into the effects of designer-interpretable features on the concept ideation and design of motion-based interactions followed a user-centered approach, and its validity was established through a qualitative study conducted with interaction designers. Semi-structured interviews following a creative practice exercise were employed to evaluate how the computational prototype influenced interaction designers’ processes, allowing them to reflect on their experience and compare it to previous approaches when designing movement-based interactions. The study determined that interaction designers were able to leverage features to identify detection capabilities and enrich the ideation process. Moreover, feature visualization provided further insights into the characteristics of movement, which helped practitioners understand the interaction opportunities that come with it. • Designer-interpretable features enable non-technical practitioners to use motion analysis. • Spatial visualizations make group detection accessible without algorithmic expertise. • Five themes reveal how accessible features transform installation design practice. • Designers prioritize spatial patterns over biomechanical precision for public spaces. • Evidence-based iteration replaces technology-constrained design in motion systems.

Movement-based full-body interactions are increasingly being used in the design of interactive spaces, computer-mediated environments, and virtual user experiences due to the development and availability of diverse sensing technologies. In this context, the role of interaction designers is to find systematic and predictable relationships between bodily actions and the corresponding responses from technology. Sensor-based interaction design relies on sensor data analysis and higher-level feature extraction to improve detection capabilities. However, understanding human movement to inform the design of motion-based interactions is not straightforward if the detection capabilities of interaction technologies are unknown. We aim at understanding the problems and opportunities that practitioners—regardless of their technical background—perceive in using different motion-based full-body features. To achieve this, we conducted four separate focus groups with experienced practitioners, with and without technical backgrounds. We used a framework for the analysis of focus group data in information systems research to identify content areas and draw conclusions. Our findings suggest that most interaction designers, regardless of their technical background, consider motion-based feature extraction to be challenging and time-consuming. However, participants acknowledge they might use designer-interpretable features as a potential tool to foster user behavior exploration. Understanding how practitioners link sensor-based interaction design with feature extraction technology is relevant to design computational tools and reduce the technical effort required from designers to characterize the user’s movement.