Tag: design

Unlecture No. 4

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I was glad to see the kind of evolution that this subject had turned out, with the symposium being successful this week. We had moved on and are now tackling the content provided in last week’s readings, ultimately with the tutors reiterating what we had opened up in the tutorials and allowing the students to make comments…as some people had done already.

Upon committing to last week’s readings, I had assumed that design fiction was a design process that allowed scientists and inventors to break the bonds of constraints today. However, it has been clarified in the unlecture that it is in fact, incorporated to most professions in the known community; medical, architectural only amongst those given examples.

“What do you think your job will look like in 2020?” was one of the questions posed by Adrian, in explaining the concept of the topic. Except design fiction is not about forecasting the future, but assessing the present and creating possibilities with tools like “How will I make money?” and “Who will pay me?” The example of the dwindling business in wedding photo/videography was provided and perfectly encapsulated the concept that was being spelled out to us. As the random guy in the crowd said, one could not look too far into the future without looking at the problems of today. So a part of the process is to absorb the constituents and to create an abstract interpretation of solutions to these socialist ‘problems’.

I don’t know what kind of future is laid ahead, but I am learning  how to take advantage of anything thrown at me. Ultimately, it is a game of “imagined futures” (Elliot) that requires speculative thinking to take on new approaches.

To infinity and beyond

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This week’s readings on Design Fiction illuminates us with the “deliberate use of diegetic prototypes to suspend disbelief about change.” Although that may initially come across as a mouthful, it really is less complicated than it sounds.

The idea behind this is for design students to use fiction in breaking the limitations of current technology. The readings explicitly oppose concepts of “metal bracelet[s] that could cure cancer,” as delirious, deliberate attempts at lying to take someone’s money. They do not, however, discourage students from going beyond the social norm and to use their imagination to propel future technology.

An obvious familiar medium for which technological advancement would permeate from is science-fiction literature, such as Star Trek and 2001: A Space Odyssey. By taking away the constraints of an insufficient knowledge towards the unknown future tech, the designer is then free to explore the possibilities of the futuristic trends and lay the framework for their invention. Most importantly, the fictitious aspect allows for the testing of the idea, without having real implications on the designer and their colleagues.

Image by Daniel Zeevi.