02 Reading – Design Fiction

I’ve always been interested in the world of Science Fiction. Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Blade Runner, Alien, The Matrix, and so on and so forth. A large part of that appreciation are the worlds that these films and TV series are set in. Great sci-fi takes place in fleshed-out universes that make sense. I’d never really thought about the idea of “design fiction” before, and yet, it’s such an important part of our lives. We’re drawn towards those fanciful objects in film and television, but also in our own lives – when we see an incredible prototype vehicle at a show, or a mock-up of the next iPhone.

Bruce Sterling emphasises the use of “diegetic” prototypes in his interview because, as I mentioned, successful design fiction needs to make sense. There needs to be an understanding that the technology can exist in the real world, that it can function as a part of our lives. Rather than having it explained to us, we can experience it. I enjoyed the short video, the “Day Made of Glass” – it does an exceptional job of making the viewer desire the technology, by demonstrating how it slots into the lives of its characters.

Something interesting that Adrian brought up in an Unlecture, which I believe relates to this particular topic, is the idea that as media students, we stand on the precipice of wide-sweeping and intense change. When we graduate, the world of media and communication could be a vastly different proposition, and in ten years it certainly will be. We’re learning skills and techniques to utilise in an unknown world, which is a confronting thought. As Ward points out, we should use fiction “as a way to think through a full range of possible consequences”. I suppose that the most successful figures in the industry will be the ones who used that concept of ‘design fiction’- who speculated and imagined what their skills might accomplish in the world of tomorrow.