3.5

following on from my previous post, here is my take on next weeks readings (I’ll do this week’s reading next week)

most of what I engaged with relates to this quote-

“Design as a practice never exists in the here and now.”

the idea in the readings that design fiction relates to the basic rule of fiction or ‘what if’ is an interesting and valid point. the discussion of movies that have been formed around the basis of ‘what if’ opened my eyes to the possibilities this question poses. the concept of taking ideas that are present currently and forming a story around subverting this idea (ie. if reality was different) is something that has worked time and time again-

rob schneider is a carrot! loosely relevant…

then there was the concept of constructing ideas through the two opposite notions of ‘utopia’ and ‘dystopia’ – Orwell’s “1984” or “V for Vendetta” are examples which spring to mind for the latter… taking an aspect of reality or life as we know it and subverting it to a point where everything is ‘perfect’ and ‘harmonious’, or on the other end of the spectrum, if everything was to go to shit. the examples in one of the readings of design fiction reflecting ‘utopia’ were the Christina commune (Copenhagen) and The Anarchistic Experiment.

the readings also discussed how experimenting creates opportunities for future realities – there were examples given about how the design student might pitch or create prospective designs that may or may never come into existence… it makes me consider what might happen if the idea of the smartphone was never pitched (if you wish this would happen then maybe you should read my previous post on phubbing) how different life could be if even a couple of the million disregarded ideas every day actually came into existence…