It's Time To Imagine Harder
It's Time To Imagine Harder

The Reader's Guide to The Manual of Design Fiction, Part One — The Artifact

978-0-9905-6332-7
2023
Image of its time to imagine harder
Julian Bleecker _ Author, Creative Direction, Design, Production
Along with 1 additional contributor below
theorycreative practiceprofessional developmentdesign fiction
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Description

The book is about the concept of Design Fiction and its role in protecting and fostering creativity in the face of extractive industrial processes. It delves into the interconnectedness of design, science, fact, and fiction, with a focus on the existential capacity of the human mind to imagine, dream, feel, and actualize possibility. The author discusses how Design Fiction can be used to challenge traditional structures and create new possibilities by teasing and pranking the concept of Structure. The book explores the idea of translating Imagination into a form that is legible to Structure, in order to challenge and expand traditional modes of thinking. It questions the use of conventional data formats like Excel tables and PowerPoint presentations in favor of more creative and evocative storytelling methods. Ultimately, the book aims to provoke thought and spark creativity by presenting a fictional world that challenges existing norms and invites readers to imagine the world otherwise.

Design Fiction can be used as a tool to rescue creativity from extractive industrial processes and protect the existential capacity of our minds to imagine, dream, feel, and actualize possibilities. By translating imagination into the language of structure, Design Fiction allows us to play harmless, evocative, and ultimately useful pranks on the rigid systems that seek to confine our creativity. This approach creates implications rather than representations, challenging traditional ways of thinking and sparking new ideas and innovations. Through Design Fiction, we can explore alternative worlds, challenge existing norms, and push the boundaries of what is possible. It is a way to disrupt the status quo, provoke thought, and inspire change in how we perceive and interact with the world around us.

Design Fiction can be used as a creative approach to explore and communicate possible futures or alternative realities. Based on the ideas presented in the book, Design Fiction serves as a way to rescue creativity from industrial processes that might stifle imagination.

To use Design Fiction, one would create artifacts, products, or media from an imagined world or scenario. These creations would be presented as if they were real, existing things - like the example of a fictional magazine mentioned in the book. The goal is to make these fictional designs seem plausible and familiar enough that they provoke thought and discussion about potential futures or alternate realities.

Rather than presenting ideas as dry data or analysis, Design Fiction allows for a more evocative and engaging way to explore concepts. It's described as pulling a "harmless, evocative, effective, and ultimately useful prank on Structure." This means taking imaginative ideas and presenting them in a format that feels structured and legitimate, like a brand book for something entirely fictional.

The purpose is to translate imagination into a form that is legible and comprehensible to more structured ways of thinking. It bridges the gap between pure creativity and the constraints of reality. By doing so, Design Fiction can potentially spark new ideas, raise important questions, or highlight implications of emerging technologies or societal changes in a tangible way.

Importantly, Design Fiction is not just about creating fantastical visions, but about exploring plausible futures or alternatives in a way that feels grounded enough to provoke meaningful consideration. It's a tool for actualizing possibilities and imagining "what else" or how the world could be otherwise.

Design Fiction can be used as a powerful tool to challenge and disrupt existing structures and paradigms. By creating compelling, tangible artifacts from imagined futures or alternative realities, Design Fiction allows us to step outside the confines of our current thinking and envision radically different possibilities.

One way to use Design Fiction would be to create a fictional product, service, or experience that embodies a provocative idea or social commentary. For example, you could design a mock advertisement for a device that allows people to selectively erase memories, raising questions about the nature of identity, privacy, and the human experience. Or you could create a series of fictional news articles describing a world where artificial intelligence has taken over most jobs, sparking discussions about the future of work, income inequality, and the role of technology in society.

Another approach would be to use Design Fiction as a means of exploring and communicating complex or abstract concepts in a more accessible and engaging way. You could create a fictional user manual for a device that enables telepathic communication, using the familiar format of a technical document to delve into ideas around language, empathy, and the nature of human connection. Or you could design a series of fictional product packaging and labels for genetically modified foods, using the visual language of branding and marketing to examine issues of bioethics, sustainability, and consumer choice.

Design Fiction can also be used as a tool for strategic foresight and innovation. By creating tangible artifacts from possible futures, organizations can better anticipate and prepare for a range of scenarios, identify potential opportunities and challenges, and inspire new ideas and approaches. For instance, a company could create a fictional annual report from ten years in the future, describing the successes and failures of various initiatives and strategies, as a way to stimulate long-term thinking and encourage bold, visionary planning.

Ultimately, the power of Design Fiction lies in its ability to make the imaginary feel real and to provoke critical reflection and dialogue about the world we live in and the world we want to create. By crafting compelling, thought-provoking artifacts that blur the lines between reality and fiction, Design Fiction can help us to challenge assumptions, explore new possibilities, and inspire transformative change. Whether used as a tool for social commentary, education, strategic planning, or simply creative expression, Design Fiction has the potential to unlock our collective imagination and help us to envision and shape a better future.

A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
A photo from the book It's Time To Imagine Harder by Julian Bleecker
An additional image its time to imagine harder
An additional image of ‘Its Time to Imagine Harder’

Contributors

Julian Bleecker, PhD
_ Author, Creative Direction, Design, Production
Patrick Pittman
_ Proofreader

Publisher

Near Future Laboratory

Specifications

Size 5” x 7-5/8” (upright)
Pages 128pp text + Cover
Text 128pp (4+4)col on 92gsm Kasadaka 1.4 Natural
Ends (4+0)col + 1/s matte film lamination on 250gsm 1/s artboard
Binding Limpbound, section sewn, with cover drawn on and trim 3 sides to flush.
Cover Open flat (4+0)col + 1/s matte film lamination on 128gsm glossy art
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Notes

  1. Dedicated to Mike Kruzeniski
  2. Literally finished writing it in a cabin up a mountain and was stranded for a day by a heavy snow. Notes of ‘Misery’ in here.
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