After about a year into my educational initiative, IRRATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, I set off to incorporate a solutions focused mindset into my educational work. My educational content was gaining traction, and I wanted to be able to aid imagination of a better future - not just an understanding of the present. Implementing this effectively involved using Design Fictions as a strategy to illustrate the concepts I discuss in my work.
Design Fiction uses creative design methodologies, storytelling, and the creation of prototypes to explore and critique possible future scenarios. It aims to create discussions and collective thinking about theimplications of new technologies helping people envision different future possibilities. The UI artifact is a tool for critical inquiry, making the user aware of the constructed nature of their experience.
This prototype was created as part of my project investigating the future of persuasive technology, and the limits of “serendipitous” design as an antidote to the doomscroll, and the merits of “digital desire paths.” The main artifact from this project was my Substack piece “against the paved web,” and I also discussed this project in my Youtube video on the same topic, as well as in an Instagram post.
The screen above displays the prototype I created. I have deliberately left the examples blank - it’s important to note just how personalised this would be, and I’ve chosen a design theme that would draw me in, but the themes would be equally customisable (whatever creates serendipity for you would be different, on a visual level). If you’re a productivity bro, for example, it might look a bit more like Mercury OS , but the function would be the same on a back-end level. The design for this was drawn from some other projects on serendipitous design, which you can see below..
This project has been one of my most succesful to date, being featured by popular cultural thinker Miriam Tinberg, the thinktank New Public, and video essayist pagemelt.
