Once upon a future

Hands-on Workshop

Using fictional narratives and foresight in design

Once upon a future…anything was possible, even combining two seemingly contradictory and incompatible design approaches. One is based on reality and tangibility; the other on imagination and fantasy. Most would say they represent a design paradox, but we feel that they actually complement each other quite well.

The problem with design thinking methods is that emerging ideas are often adapted and selected according to their perceived realizability and feasibility. On the other hand, speculative methods, such as design fiction are often more geared toward exaggeration and provoking discourse than finding real solutions. However, together these methods open a whole new world of possibilities.

For us, it’s all about convention-breaking and future-making so we’re combining elements from both methodologies to make us reflect on things about the present or future we would otherwise ignore or deem insignificant and then transform these insights into actual products and services that both users and business will use now and in the near future.

In our workshop at EuroIA, we’ll time travel with participants to explore how products and brands could look in years to come and learn valuable lessons about developing for both today and tomorrow – but more importantly to help us realize these ideas to positively shape our future. Using gamification and experimental methods, we’ll demonstrate how to take what we’ve learned from design fiction to develop structures and later transform them into concrete solutions and prototypes. Join us on the journey back to the future and help (re)write our story.