up:: [[Futures Thinking]] tags:: #on/future #on/design #on/innovation # Future Artifacts ## Designing a Future Artifact *Future artifacts are important in **provoking conversations** around a particular future, a well-designed future artifact captures the details and interactions of a possibly very different world.* Create a features list, start by gathering all the information about this future world. - Positive and negative aspect of the object. - Horizon, which technologies would be needed to make the artifact. - User profile, can be leveraged to design a particular user experience. - Location, in which the object can relate to in terms of culture and materials. - Journey, which describe the pain points and struggles that the characters experienced with the object. - The place, space and interactions that the object has with its environment and user. These details should have been established as part of [[Future Simulation]] or [[Future Scenarios]]. ### Assess technical feasibility 1. What and why (the purpose of the artifact). 2. Research. 3. Product, software and technical architecture, features, roadmap. 4. Vision: design tech, business Give the artifact a name and a tagline to make it more real. i.e., It is something we are familiar with that does something with something else. Build a mood board for the product. Gather a range of images that represent some aspect of the artifact, and then note down why and what each image brings (e.g., form, material, colour). ### Build a prototype A prototype is an early model to prove a specific concept and to communicate the functionality of the artifact. * *An **experiential prototype** is when a particular experience is recreated such that users can provide feedback on that experience.* * *A **functional prototype** is a sample or model of a product built to test a concept or process, this can include 3d renders or concept drawings.* ### Backcasting Backcasting is a technique used to compliment trend analysis and probable futures. Note that this is rarely a linear process. * ***Features-centric** backcasting is when the artifact is broken into functional components, and plot a timeline in which each feature would have been developed.* * ***Purpose-driven** backcasting is when the purpose of the artifact is extracted, and that all iterations of this artifact over its timeline should resonate with that purpose.* In the entrepreneurial world, an initial purpose-driven prototype is of called a Minimal Viable Product (MVP). Resources: - [Designing Products of the Future](https://www.domestika.org/en/courses/1880-designing-products-of-the-future) - [Futures Thinking Specialization](https://www.coursera.org/specializations/futures-thinking)