Tarika Kumar
Research

Bodies in Motion

How unspoken rules shape posture, habit, and gesture on Tokyo's trains.

Where
Tokyo
Program
Global Innovation Design
Methods
Observation, autoethnography, interviews
Bodies in Motion

A study of how people communicate with their bodies on Tokyo's trains. I used observation, autoethnography, and informal interviews, then coded my notes into four themes.

Rules
Screens
Surroundings
Expression

Explicit rules shape posture.

It led to a concept for nonverbal communication on trains, which I'm keeping private for now. Happy to talk about it.