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.