Design from the future - Critical, speculative and fictional design - Tampere Summer School 2021

With recent rapid developments in the computing systems, we are now facing emerging technologies which will have major impacts on humanity, potentially dramatically altering our ways of living. Technologies that once were the domain of science fiction, such as brain-machine interfaces, body augmentations, mind upload and robotic companions, are now here, or on the immediate horizon. These emerging technologies promise exciting opportunities for humankind, but they come with many challenges and might lead to massive societal, cultural and individual paradigm shifts. 

At the same time, unforeseen social and cultural dynamics are reshaping the World around us. The life-style changes brought by the Covid pandemic, the increasingly volatile political scenarios, the growing malleability of concepts such as self, gender and race make our future as unpredictable as ever.

Dealing with those subjects is impossible without expanding the boundaries of our understanding of the current paradigms of technology and society. But, how can we do that? What methods can we employ to look beyond the horizon? What would be the best mindset to do so, and how could we acquire it? In this course, students will learn about fictional, speculative and critical design methods, and how they can help  answering these questions. In particular, students will gain knowledge and practice about designing for the future, by engaging with activities such as creating fictional worlds, brainstorming, bodystorming, making fictional prototypes and video sketching.

On completion of the course, the students are expected to have applicable knowledge about several fictional design methods, including their theoretical background. In particular, students will be able to:

• Identify a design issue and framing under critical design paradigm
• Make use of collaborative critical design tools (e.g. Brainstorming, Body Storming, Fictional Personas) to devise different possible solutions
• Create low-fi prototypes of their ideas (experience, paper, diegetic and fictional prototypes).
• Create Video Sketches of their design solutions
• Present, pitch and defend their solutions in front of evaluators

The Teaching Timetable 2021 can be found here.

Please remember to check the course specific timetable within your time zone. 

An online course using the Moodle platform for distributing the course material and for written communication. 

To be able to participate in the remote learning environment, you will need a fully functional device (laptop, PC, tablet) with the following functions:

• stable internet connection
• camera and microphone
• installation rights & compatibility with our learning softwares (Zoom, Moodle, etc.)

The course is suitable for bachelors students, but MA and PhD students are also encouraged to participate. The course is open to everyone, regardless of the background. The students will be asked to send a motivational meme or image to creatively support their application. Students will be selected also paying attention to have an overall multidisciplinary expertise among the participants to the course.

• Abba-dabba-ooga-booga-hoojee-goojee-yabba-dabba-doo: stupidity, ignorance & nonsense as tools for nurturing creative thinking (D. Grammenos)
• Exploring mischief and mayhem in social computing or: how we learned to stop worrying and love the trolls (B. Kirman, C. Lineham, S. Lawson)
• The Future Is Now: Diegetic Prototypes and the Role of Popular Films in Generating Real-World Technological Development (D. A. Kirby)
• Transurbanism: Smart Cities for Transhumans (M. Thibault, O. Buruk, S. Suman Buruk, J. Hamari)
• Children in 2077: Designing Children's Technologies in the Age of Transhumanism (O. Buruk, O. Özcan, G. E. Baykal, T. Göksun, S. Acar, G. Akduman, M. A. Baytaş, C. Beşevli, J. Best, A. Coşkun, H. U. Genç, A.B Kocaballi, S. Laato, C. Mota, K. Papangelis, M. Raftopoulos, R. Ramchurn, J. Sádaba, M. Thibault, A. Wolff, M. Yildiz.
• Evaluating Design Fiction: The Right Tool for the Job ( E. P. S. Baumer, M. Blythe, T. J. Tanenbaum)
• HawkEye-Deploying a Design Fiction Probe (R. Noortman, B. F. Schulte, P. Marshall, S. Bakker, A. L. Cox).

Videos:
- “Smart Dumb Things” by Argodesing (https://vimeo.com/102135732)
- Belief Systems by Bernd Hopfengaertner(https://vimeo.com/158377035)
- "Sight" by Sight Systems (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK_cdkpazjI)

Most of the course will be based on workshops in which students will learn and test their design skills collaboratively. Digital prototyping solutions will be provided by the teachers.

Final Prototype + VideoSketch + Final presentation (NB missing more than 2 lectures equals a fail).

Evaluation scale: pass/fail.

In questions concerning course content, please contact teacher Oguz Buruk or Mattia Thibault: oguz.buruk [at] tuni.fi, mattia.thibault [at] tuni.fi