Speculative
Design
This project involved creating a speculative design scenario themed around the current situation and issues with personal data collection, mining and sharing.
The goal with this project was to open up debate and explore possible/potential futures of data collection through the technique of speculative/critical design.
Visiting Designer: Elvia Concelos - Design Researcher and Sketchernoter
This session we created maps exploring the ways in which data is collected, stored and used. We then created near, mid future and extended future scenarios of what may happen to Facebook and how its approach to data collection and use could potentially change.
From these potential futures we selected one which we felt was the most interesting, contained the most depth and exploratory potentially
Suggestion Society
This scenario was a comment on the evolution around the rapid development of suggestion algorithms used to suggest, predict and encourage human behaviour.
We envisioned a future in which these algorithms have become so advanced nearly all decision making is taken out of everyday human life.
A centralised ‘social profile’ is required by law which is continuously updated and used in all forms of life to make ‘accurate’ suggestions and predictions.
For example, restaurants no longer use menu’s and clothing stores will provide you with what their algorithm has determined the user would prefer.
The image on the right above shows our suggested timeline as to how society would reach the point of our ‘Suggestion Society’
To support our thinking and envisioned scenario we created several ‘future’ artefacts that would hypothetically be in use in our chosen timeline.
Creating a Prototype:
Marvelapp.com
Below is the interface for our imagined users visit to a suggestion based restaurant. The flow of the app below shows the issues the user would encounter if he wanted something outside of his suggested selection of food. Although a little mundane, we wanted to capture an ordinary or everyday issues that could occur if suggestion algorithms became to advanced and too much trust was given to them.
Interactive mock up of our suggestion restaurant app: https://marvelapp.com/7d00gag
Story Boarding:
Winona created the below storyboard to visually represent one of the issues that could arise in our speculative scenario
Artefact 1: Fake News Headline
Potentially a little too ‘blade-runner’ esc, I created a potential future front page news spread from a hypothetical news paper called ‘Your News’.
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Final Expo Style Presentation including, User journey Story Board, Speculative News Headline and working Speculative Interface Prototype.
Video References:
Why We Need to Imagine Different Futures
Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYjWLqE_cfE
Data and Electronics
Refernce: https://vimeo.com/244022922
Data and the Home
Reference:https://vimeo.com/244022031
Data and Dating
Reference: https://vimeo.com/244021959
Website References:
Ivica Mitrovic - Introudction to Speculative Design
Reference: http://speculative.hr/en/introduction-to-speculative-design-practice/
notes:
- “ (speculative design) also deals with the future we fear might come true if we fail to critically consider the role of new technologies in the society “ as apposed to the future we think we want, given to us often by companies wanting to sell products
- “ Speculative practice opens space for discussing and considering alternative possibilities and options, and imagining
-” publicist and activist Naomi Klein warns that the present domination of dystopian scenarios in literature and films leads to a view where catastrophic scenarios are unavoidable, which results in making us passive rather than proactive “
- speculative design fictions should not be utopian or dystopian science fiction visions of the future, but dialogue on what the future can be
Naomi Klein - Dystopian Ficction’s popularity is a Warning Sign for the Future
Reference: https://www.wired.com/2014/12/geeks-guide-naomi-klein/
Brave New Now Foreword
Reference: https://issuu.com/aaschool/docs/brave-new-now-foreword
Sarah Hucal - The Radical Renaissance
Reference: https://www.curbed.com/2016/12/21/14009200/florence-italy-radical-design-history
The Politics of Technology - Fiction
Reference: http://lab.cccb.org/en/the-policies-of-technological-fiction/
- https://www.gdpreu.org/the-regulation/key-concepts/personal-data/
- https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612282/need-medical-help-sorry-not-until-you-sign-away-your-privacy/amp/
- https://muse.jhu.edu/article/643893/pdf
- https://smex.org/a-brief-history-of-personal-data-collection-in-lebanon/
Reading References:
A Corner Convenience: From Observation to Design Fiction
Notes: - Think of Design Fiction/Spculative Design as a way to spark conversations about a feasible design future
- Glossy 3D rendered mock ups of the perfect future tech have their uses, but are not that helpful when designing for the future. “The present is more weird than glossy, despite the visions of itself in the past”- “Everyday context provides fruitful for wondering about what could be” - projecting present day, everyday, context into the future and potential design.- Quotidian defintion: Everyday, common place