Design fiction
Uses prototypes that work inside a fictional world, such as ads, catalogs or manuals, so a future change seems believable and can be discussed.
What problem it addresses
A future shown as a concept or a render feels distant, which makes it hard to debate its consequences before it arrives.
Principles
Inside a world
The prototype is shown in the context that would make it real.
The ordinary convinces
Details like a price or instructions make the future believable.
To discuss, not to sell
It seeks to open a conversation about the consequences of the change.
An example
Two ways to present a product that doesn’t exist yet.
The same product, placed in its world, invites questions about what would change. That is how Near Future Laboratory’s TBD Catalog (2014) works.
How it works
The object appears in its world, with the details of daily life.
The ordinary makes believable what doesn’t exist yet.
Once we believe it, we can discuss what would change.
Applications in design
Use it like this
Present an idea of the future as something everyday (an ad, a bill, a news story) and see what questions it raises.
Avoid
Making it so realistic that it deceives: always say it is fiction.
Don’t fall for it
Don’t use it to justify a decision already made: it is for exploring.
Connections
Builds on
Authors and works
- 2005
Bruce Sterling
Coined the term in Shaping Things.
- 2009
Julian Bleecker
Linked it to diegetic prototypes and turned it into a design practice.
Near Future Laboratory
Created the TBD Catalog, a catalog of products from a near future.
Sources
Original sources
- Sterling, B. (2005). Shaping things. MIT Press.
- Bleecker, J. (2009). Design fiction: A short essay on design, science, fact and fiction. Near Future Laboratory. View source: Bleecker, J. (2009)
- Near Future Laboratory (2014). TBD Catalog. Near Future Laboratory. View source: Near Future Laboratory (2014)
Secondary sources
- Bosch, T. (2012, March 2). Sci-fi writer Bruce Sterling explains the intriguing new concept of design fiction. Slate. View source: Bosch, T. (2012, March 2)
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