Title: Exploring the Future: My Journey with Design Fiction at Princeton

I recently had the opportunity to give an online lecture and AMA session at Princeton University’s Keller Center, sharing my insights on humanistic design and the unique approach of Design Fiction. This was a captivating session where I engaged with both the students and academics, diving into a realm that bridges imagination with tangible innovation.

As I prepared for the session, I couldn’t help but reflect on my journey from a film school professor at USC to founding the Near Future Laboratory. This evolution is a testament to the persistent interplay between structure and creativity, and it’s this dynamic that fuels Design Fiction. At USC, my role was to explore the future of visual storytelling, contemplating not just technical advances like VR or 3D, but questioning how these might genuinely reshape filmmaking as we know it.

One of the core elements I discussed in the lecture was the concept of Design Fiction as a method to conjure rich, immersive futures. For instance, I shared an experience where I collaborated on a project with a large autonomous vehicle company. We developed a magazine, not just any magazine, but one that could exist in the future they were working towards. This artifact served as a bridge between their current trajectory and the imaginative possibilities of their innovations.

Our conversation also touched on the intersection of storytelling and product design. I reminisced about a time when a Paul Smith designed bicycle computer prototype caught their attention not because it was a finished product, but because it illustrated a compelling future. It was an exercise in taking an idea beyond a PowerPoint deck and manifesting it as a tangible story, capable of sparking genuine interest and engagement.

A significant part of the dialogue centered on the challenge of balancing structure and imagination. Whether in filmmaking, tech innovation, or design research, this balance is a pivotal factor in realizing transformative ideas. We explored how Design Fiction gives breath to the imagination, providing a platform that can successfully communicate expansive visions in formats that traditional methodologies might struggle to express.

Students at Princeton posed intriguing questions about this method. They wondered about the role of prototypes in Design Fiction and how we might handle visions divergent from our own. The complexities of positionality and identity in design came to the fore. I emphasized that engaging various voices through narratives, like letters to an editor set in a fictional future, can effectively convey diverse perspectives that structured, analytic methods might overlook.

There’s an emerging recognition of its potential to revitalize the symbiosis between creativity and structure. Particularly in today’s landscape, which often feels stifled by rigid frameworks, fostering imagination is crucial.