Design Fiction
Futuring
Definition
I really enjoy design fiction, because it often includes bits of SciFi and I love writing and reading SciFi. The purpose is to create fictional future scenarios to provoke thought about how we can create real designs. This can take the form or writing or creating items that you wish were real or might fit into your design fiction.
“Design fiction works in the space between the arrogance of science fact, and the seriously playful imaginary of science fiction, making things that are both real and fake, but aware of the irony of the muddle — even claiming it as an advantage.”
— Julian Bleecker Design Fiction: A Short Essay on Design, Science, Fact, and Fiction. Pg 8
Procedure
Preparation
Writing
Prepare however you would prepare to write a paper or short story. For me its tea and a comfy chair.
Make sure that you have a focused area you want to explore.
Making
If you are taking the prototyping route, prepare with whatever supplies you would use for prototyping.
In person
Writing
For me I like to just sit with the items and in areas I want to incorporate for a bit and just daydream.
Then when my environment starts turning into something, I start writing. Let your imagination take its course and try to work in your real life, but modified artifacts in where it makes sense.
I’m sure there are many better sources for how to write fiction, but I would just say let it out. Whatever that is.
Making
When making things for the future it is easy to start with an object that you already own and start adding things to it that you think might make it more useful.
None of this has to be functional, just think of it more like you had to create a costume for a character in your future world with the items in your house. The light saber doesn’t actually have to cut through steel doors, it just has to light up and be able to hit things (ideally with sound effects).
Analysis
Writing
Have someone read your about the future civilization that you built and see what their reactions are.
Making
Have people play with your prototype and gather their thoughts about it.
Use Case
While researching waste management for the city of Bloomington I wrote a dystopian future short story about how people use sewers to deliver packages for amazon and avoid patches of missing ozone. Quality stuff.
Strengths
Design fiction is just fun and fun things have a tendency to draw people in. It can help people run wild and pursue ideas that they might otherwise dismiss offhand, which can lead to great breakthroughs!
Weaknesses
Just because it is fun doesn’t mean it is productive, and it can often be hard to explain why you are writing short stories at work.
