Design from the Future: Critical, Speculative and Fictional Design

About

With recent rapid developments in the computing systems, we are now facing emerging technologies which will have major impacts on humanity, potentially dramatically altering our ways of living. Technologies that once were the domain of science fiction, such as brain-machine interfaces, body augmentations, mind upload and robotic companions, are now here, or on the immediate horizon. These emerging technologies promise exciting opportunities for humankind, but they come with many challenges and might lead to massive societal, cultural and individual paradigm shifts.

At the same time, unforeseen social and cultural dynamics are reshaping the World around us. The life-style changes brought by the Covid pandemic, the increasingly volatile political scenarios, the growing malleability of concepts such as self, gender and race make our future as unpredictable as ever.

Dealing with those subjects is impossible without expanding the boundaries of our understanding of the current paradigms of technology and society. But, how can we do that? What methods can we employ to look beyond the horizon? What would be the best mindset to do so, and how could we acquire it? In this course, students will learn about fictional, speculative and critical design methods, and how they can help answering these questions. In particular, students will gain knowledge and practice about designing for the future, by engaging with activities such as creating fictional worlds, brainstorming, bodystorming, making fictional prototypes and video sketching.

Target group

University students and graduates from around the world.

Course aim

On completion of the course, the students are expected to have applicable knowledge about several fictional design methods, including their theoretical background. In particular, students will be able to:

Identify a design issue and framing under critical design paradigm
Make use of collaborative critical design tools (e.g. Brainstorming, Body Storming, Fictional Personas) to devise different possible solutions
Create low-fi prototypes of their ideas (experience, paper, diegetic and fictional prototypes).
Create Video Sketches of their design solutions
Present, pitch and defend their solutions in front of evaluators

Fee info