Diegetic prototype
A technology that doesn't exist yet, shown working normally inside a film or a story, as if it were already real.
What problem it addresses
Explains why seeing a technology work in fiction makes us believe it is possible and desirable.
An example
An interface controlled with hand gestures.
Kirby presents it as the clearest example: the film's appeal helped its designer win support for a real prototype.
Why it happens
The technology appears working, without glitches or doubts.
The characters use it as something ordinary.
The audience sees it as possible, useful and desirable.
Applications in design
Use it like this
Show your concept working in an everyday scene, with people who use it without explaining it.
Avoid
Using a dazzling scene to hide what the technology can't do.
Don’t fall for it
When a technology seems inevitable to you because you've seen it on screen, ask who designed it that way and why.
2010
What the research says
David Kirby analyzed how film shows technologies that don't exist yet and how that can drive their real development, by making them desirable before they are real (Kirby, 2010).
Single study. It is based on case analysis, not experiments: it shows that this can happen, not how often.
Connections
Authors and works
- 2010
David Kirby
Coined the term while studying film and technological development.
- 2009
Julian Bleecker
Took Kirby’s idea, which was already circulating before his 2010 article, and brought it to design fiction.
- 2012
Bruce Sterling
Defined design fiction in terms of diegetic prototypes.
Sources
Original sources
- Kirby, D. (2010). The future is now: Diegetic prototypes and the role of popular films in generating real-world technological development. Social Studies of Science, 40(1), 41–70. View source: Kirby, D. (2010)
- Bleecker, J. (2009). Design fiction: A short essay on design, science, fact and fiction. Near Future Laboratory. View source: Bleecker, J. (2009)
Secondary sources
- Byrne, E. (2020, October 23). Too much truth: David Kirby. Walker Reader, Walker Art Center. View source: Byrne, E. (2020, October 23)
- 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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