BSHE:DesignFiction
Design Fiction
- Course name: Design Fiction
- Course number: HSS503
Course characteristics
Key concepts of the class
- Speculative/Critical Design
- Emerging technologies
What is the purpose of this course?
Today people are surrounded by technologies that have changed our lives. Science is constantly advancing to introduce new solutions into daily routines. But how can we tell what a particular technology would look like in the future? How will our lives be different because of it?
By taking the best practice from science fiction, designers created an approach to explore the future called Design Fiction. Design Fiction is the process of building a fictional world to explore the impact of emerging technologies on society. Therefore, the purpose of the course is to provide students with mindset and practical knowledge of design methods to critically assess technology development trajectories and their impact on the society.
Course Objectives Based on Bloom’s Taxonomy
What should a student remember at the end of the course?
By the end of the course, the students should be able to
- recognize and define design methods and design fiction, in particular;
- understand various phases of the design process in a collaborative multi-disciplined environment;
- describe user-oriented, iterative and systematic approach to problem solving;
- explain with examples of how technology accelerates exponentially;
- understand the necessity of logical succession in creating believable future scenarios;
- explain the ethical, moral, behavioral, cultural and social ramifications of design
What should a student be able to understand at the end of the course?
By the end of the course, the students should be able to
- apply primary and secondary research to understand the trajectory of emerging technologies;
- apply design methods for building empathy with the users (interviews, ethnography, day-in-a-life);
- use creativity toolbox to create ideas and prototypes;
- use design fiction toolbox (sketching, models, mock-ups and mood boards, video and narrative);
- apply design-thinking strategies to evaluate, conceptualize and synthesize “integrated” design concepts.
What should a student be able to apply at the end of the course?
By the end of the course, the students should be able to apply:
- analyse scientific literature showing development trajectory of emerging technologies;
- research human behavior in using emerging technologies, holistic human-machine interaction and overall experience;
- evaluate the impact of emerging technologies on society;
- create a believable, detailed design future;
- create artefacts that embody complex critical ideas and values.
Course evaluation
The course has two major forms of evaluations:
| Component | Points |
|---|---|
| Project Progress | 30 |
| Final project presentation | 30 |
| Project report | 10 |
| Individual participation | 30 |
| Exam | 0 |
If necessary, please indicate freely your course features in terms of students’ performance assessment: None
Grades range
| A. Excellent | 90-100 |
| B. Good | 75-89 |
| C. Satisfactory | 60-74 |
| D. Poor | 0-55 |
If necessary, please indicate freely your course grading features: The semester starts with the default range as proposed in the Table 2, but it may change slightly (usually reduced) depending on how the semester progresses
Resources and reference material
- Textbook: Dunne , A., & Raby, F. (2014). Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming. MIT Press.
- Textbook: Bleecker, J., (2009). Design Fiction: A Short Essay on Design, Science, Fact and Fiction. Near Future Laboratory.
- Textbook: Malpass, M., (2013). Between Wit and Reason: Defining Associative, Speculative, and Critical Design in Practice in Design Culture, Vol. 5, Issue 3, pp 333 – 356.
- Textbook: Tonkinwise, C., (2014). How We Intend to Future: Review of Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby, Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction and Social Dreaming. Design Philosophy Papers, Vol. 12, No 2.
Methodological guidelines
The student is recommended the following scheme of preparation for classes:
- Revise class materials
- Study additional materials
- Do individual tasks
- Do team project work
Late Submission Policy
This policy will be strictly applied in this course. If a personal emergency should arise that affects your ability to turn in an assignment in a timely fashion, you must contact the course instructor BEFORE the deadline to get a “Special Late Submission Approval” from the course instructor. Without the “Special Late Submission Approval” submissions will be still accepted up to 48 hours late, but with a 50% penalty. No “Special Late Submission Approval” will be granted after the deadline. All late submissions should be submitted by email directly to the instructors.
Cooperation Policy and Quotations
We encourage vigorous discussion and cooperation in this class. You should feel free to discuss any aspects of the class with any classmates. However, we insist that any written material that is not specifically designated as a Team Deliverable be done by you alone. This includes answers to reading questions, individual reports associated with assignments, and labs. We also insist that if you include verbatim text from any source, you clearly indicate it using standard conventions of quotation or indentation and a note to indicate the source.
Course Sections
The main sections of the course and approximate hour distribution between them is as follows:
| Section | Section Title | Teaching Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Research Immersion | 12 |
| 2 | User Analysis | 12 |
| 3 | Ideation Prototyping | 12 |
| 4 | Final Presentation | 10 |
Section 1
Section title: Research / Immersion
Topics covered in this section
- Introduction
- Design Methods
- Design Fiction
- Emerging technologies
What forms of evaluation were used to test students’ performance in this section?
| Yes/No | |
|---|---|
| Development of individual parts of software product code | 0 |
| Homework and group projects | 1 |
| Midterm evaluation | 0 |
| Testing (written or computer based) | 0 |
| Reports | 0 |
| Essays | 0 |
| Oral polls | 0 |
| Discussions | 1 |
Typical questions for ongoing performance evaluation within this section
- What are the design fiction properties featured in the book/movie?
- Which diegetic prototypes did you find in the book/movie?
Typical questions for seminar classes (labs) within this section
- What is the current level of development of this technology?
- What are the applications of the technology in the society?
Questions for exam preparation within this section
- Explain, what is meant by exponential development of the technology? Please, provide
an example.
Typical questions for final assessment in this section
- Explain, what is meant by exponential development of the technology? Please, provide
an example.
Section 2
Section title: User Analysis
Topics covered in this section
- World building / Scenarios
- Methods of empathy building
What forms of evaluation were used to test students’ performance in this section?
| Yes/No | |
|---|---|
| Development of individual parts of software product code | 0 |
| Homework and group projects | 1 |
| Midterm evaluation | 0 |
| Testing (written or computer based) | 0 |
| Reports | 0 |
| Essays | 0 |
| Oral polls | 0 |
| Discussions | 1 |
Typical questions for ongoing performance evaluation within this section
- What is the difference between a forecast and a scenario?
- How can you understand a user from the future?
Typical questions for seminar classes (labs) within this section
- Please, describe your persona of the future.
- What does the typical day of your character look like?
- Which ethical and social issues are presented in a certain future scenario?
Test questions for exam preparation within this section
- What are the design methods used for empathy building?
Test questions for final assessment in this section
- What are the design methods used for empathy building?
Section 3
Section title: Ideation/ Prototyping
Topics covered in this section
- Methods of design fiction
- Ideation
- Prototyping
What forms of evaluation were used to test students’ performance in this section?
| Yes/No | |
|---|---|
| Development of individual parts of software product code | 0 |
| Homework and group projects | 1 |
| Midterm evaluation | 0 |
| Testing (written or computer based) | 0 |
| Reports | 0 |
| Essays | 0 |
| Oral polls | 0 |
| Discussions | 0 |
Typical questions for ongoing performance evaluation within this section
- What is the product within your future world?
Typical questions for seminar classes (labs) within this section
- How does the user interact with this product?
Test questions for exam preparation within this section
- Please, explain how you would prototype self-driving vehicle from the future?
- What would you ask your users during the testing phase?
Test questions for final assessment in this section
- Please, explain how you would prototype self-driving vehicle from the future?
- What would you ask your users during the testing phase?
Section 4
Section title: Final Presentation
Topics covered in this section
- Pitching
- Fair of the future products
What forms of evaluation were used to test students’ performance in this section?
| Yes/No | |
|---|---|
| Development of individual parts of software product code | 0 |
| Homework and group projects | 0 |
| Midterm evaluation | 1 |
| Testing (written or computer based) | 0 |
| Reports | 0 |
| Essays | 0 |
| Oral polls | 0 |
| Discussions | 1 |
Typical questions for ongoing performance evaluation within this section
- What are the positive and negative implications of this technology?
- How would you change the development trajectory today to arrive at preferable future?
Typical questions for seminar classes (labs) within this section
- Which pain does your solution solve?
- What is the value of your product?
Test questions for exam preparation within this section
- Please, discuss major provocation and ethical questions that your prototype arises.
- Which risks associated with your prototype could be raised? Please, suggest ways to mitigate them.
Test questions for final assessment in this section
- Please, discuss major provocation and ethical questions that your prototype arises.
- Which risks associated with your prototype could be raised? Please, suggest ways to mitigate them.