My presentation on design fiction, initially developed for SXSW Ignite 2015 and recently presented at Augmented World Expo, 2015 in Santa Clara.

1. Design
Fiction: The responsible education
of muggles, Luddites,
and skeptics

2. How Design Changes Us
Image: Wright Bros Plane/Da Vinci
Design/Modern Aircraft Design
Topic: Art informs science. What inspires us as
children determines the problems we solve and
the technological hurdles we tackle as adults.

3. Concept Art
Image: Dubai Building Concept
Topic: Concept art respects current available
technology and known solutions. It doesn't try to
present technology that is unavailable to the
market or doesn't yet exist.
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/store/prod
uct/404/#.VQJIL4FAy5I

4. Design Fiction
Image: Hologram Examples
Topic: Unlike science fiction, design fiction takes
what is known and combines it with what could be
possible to paint a picture of what the future could
look like.
Black Mesa
http://www.moddb.com/members/phaota/image
s/black-mesa-rocket-command-hologram1
Design
Fiction vs.
Science
Fiction

5. This Vision Doesn't Exist Yet, But It Will
(Maybe)
Image: 3D Printer
Topic: Design fiction allows us to discover
interest, demand, collaborators and resources,
naysayers, and supporters without solving the
technical problems (which may or may not be
solvable yet).
http://www.core77.com/posts/22762/voxeljet-
Concept-The-First-Continuous-3D-Printer
Share future ideas

6. This Vision Exists, But We Can't Show You
Image: Metamaterials
Topic: Some kinds of technology have use cases
that are specific to a POV that isn't easily
communicated in a 3rd
person narrative. In these
cases the story is more important than the
technology.
Discuss
concerns

7. It's All About Behavior
Image: Drone delivering package
Topic: Good design fiction demonstrates
upcoming technological advances by telling a
story about how new tech will change the way
individuals or society will behave in a relateable,
convincing way.
Develop
narratives

8. Design a Narrative
Image: Jibo screenshots
Jibo's recent kickstarter video tells the story of a
family engaging with Jibo, a personal assistant
robot. Instead of listing features, the family's day-
to-day activities, from communicating with each
other to taking photos to playing games all involve
Jibo in one way or another.

9. How Will It Change Your Audience
Image: Jibo screenshots
Topic: There is no mention of Jibo as a better
replacement for the family's mobile devices and
cameras. It is implied through the narrative that
Jibo will replace mobile devices, through
sophisticated AI, intuitive interaction, and user
recognition technology.

10. Bad Design Fiction Case Study
Image: Circet funding page
Topic: Circet raised funds based on a design
fiction video that was badly produced and showed
a product that is ultimately impossible to produce.
This kind of thing is dangerous – turning a non-
technical audience into skeptics makes it harder
for good ideas to get support.

11. The Laws of Physics Should Be Respected
Image: Projector on arm projecting black
Topic: All the wrong things (throw angle,
projecting black, waterproof projector, thermal
issues, detection angle and occlusion, lumens
and tracking in high ambient IR) might not be
apparent to the audience, but
improbable/impossible things should not be
presented as possible for the purposes of raising
money.

12. The Problem Should Be Obvious
Image: Guy Using Thing in Bathtub
Topic: Circet is solving a problem for light skinned
people who want to use a touch surface
awkwardly with only one hand, on their hairless
arms while taking a bath in the dark. Is this a real
problem?

13. The Solution Should Make Sense
Image: Side to side Leela Armband vs. Circet
Topic: If the problem is that current display
interfaces are not lightweight, portable, and
waterproof enough, is a bracelet really a sensible
option? Sure, but only if it is lighter, more
portable, more waterproof and actually works.
Wearables are extra things to carry and
remember. The processor in your phone/rasberry
pi etc..., waterproofing? Try typing on your arm for
a bit... wristlojockimator

14. Doing it right - The POV Should Be Considered
Image: VR example with multiple people
Topic: Dealing with POV in VR videos can be a
challenge – combine immersive with 3rd
person.
Focus on the feeling, not the actual 'here's what
you see, exactly.' Do not show shared
experiences where none are possible.
Three rules:

15. Doing it Right - Don't Assume Imagination
Image: Pencil sketch of idea
Topic: Leave as little as possible to the audience's
imagination as far as the experience is
concerned. The best way to communicate the
vision, short of putting them in it, is to show
someone else experiencing and reacting to it with
as much realism as possible.
Focus on the experience

16. The Tech Is Not The Story
Image: Guy holding miscellaneous device
Or focus on what's inside your gadget, or how it
works except in the simplest terms. It doesn’t
matter how it works. It matters THAT it works and
WHAT HAPPENS when it works.
Stick to what is possible soon

17. Selling the Sizzle
Image: Bad Laser Tag Ad
Don't sell an impossible vision

18. Selling the Steak
Image: Good Laser Tag Ad

19. How to Know You Did It Right
Image: Guy throwing flip phone in garbage

20. Good design fiction conveys a vision, but
doesn't try to convince you the product exists.
If it does, it’s snake oil.

21. meg@lumoplay.com
@meghanrabbit