Case Study: How to Engage & Educate with Design Fiction.
Summary.
A complex human services industry is constantly facing change, including ageing population demands, escalating service expectations, and the emergence of new technologies.
To address these changes and understand the implications of technology, an industry association asked “How can we positively engage & educate our stakeholders in futures where technology enhances our work?”
Design fiction was used to create a narrative story from ranked emerging changes and trends phenomena, with AI-generated artworks, and presented to stakeholders at an industry forum.
Immediate outcomes included a comprehensive ranking and visualisation of change phenomena, design fiction narrative story, and accompanying AI-generated art.
Stakeholders began to question their assumptions and engage in more futures-oriented thinking by actively exploring possible futures — fostering deeper understanding of potential scenarios.
Situation.
In a complex human services industry with high reliance on government revenue, change is constant. The challenges faced encompass an ageing population and growing service demands, escalating service expectations, research and innovation costs and effective utilisation of emerging technologies and data.
The emergence of new technologies has a growingly significant impact on services, spanning from digital advancements, and robotics, to automated solutions. While these technologies undoubtedly enhance system efficacy, they may also have implications for both customers and staff.
Funding challenges remain a significant barrier to meaningful change throughout the industry, and in many cases, can be an obstacle to innovation. Investment in technology and transformation initiatives is costly in an industry with tight budgets.
As a result, sector stakeholders were becoming increasingly overwhelmed by the potential of technology and its implications. The focal question was defined as;
"How can we positively engage & educate our stakeholders in futures where technology enhances our work?"
Solution.
Design fiction is a captivating genre of speculative design that harnesses the power of design thinking to shape futures. It manifests itself through captivating narratives, films, comics, or any other medium that ignites our imagination to envision potential scenarios.
To develop the design fiction narrative the project completed the following deliverables:
Used the Futures Platform™ database to identify a list of emerging change and trend phenomena and to review and answer two questions relating to probability and impact of each phenomena.
The results of the survey were then used to create a ranking and a visualisation of phenomena.
Using the phenomena rankings to determine relevance and importance a design fiction story was created. AI artworks were created to support and enhance the storyline.
The design fiction narrative story was presented to a group of stakeholders at an industry forum and made available online as an artefact for ongoing use.
Outcomes.
The outcomes of this project were both immediate and ongoing. The immediate outcomes included a comprehensive ranking and visualisation of emerging change and trend phenomena, a captivating design fiction narrative, and accompanying AI-generated art. The narrative and art together fostered a deeper understanding of potential scenarios.
Ongoing outcomes were seen in the form of a shift in perspectives among stakeholders. The design fiction narrative not only illuminated the potential pathway of emerging change but also prompted robust discussions about the implications. The stakeholders began to question their assumptions and engage in more futures-oriented thinking. This shift in mindset set the stage for ongoing conversations about how to navigate and shape their futures.
At a function after the presentation, a highly experienced executive leader from the sector remarked:
"I found elements of the presentation very confronting and challenging. But I liked it!"
Well-created design fiction has the power to engage and educate an audience to think positively about futures. It encourages us to explore what could be in a safe space and opens our minds to new possibilities.
Futures don't happen to us, they happen with us and by openly exploring futures we start playing an active role in shaping what might happen next.
Ps: If you’ve read this far check out the full project here. It was a pro-bono project so we can share it. :)
Case studies are not intended to represent or guarantee that current or future customers or clients can achieve the same or similar results; rather, they represent what is possible for illustrative purposes only.
