FUTURES x DESIGN —
FUTURES x DESIGN —
A space to imagine the future, investigate the past, and speculate about what’s to come.
Thought catalysts
THE latest from my brain to yours.
How to Analyze Trends
Curious as to how best to analyze trends for more effective foresight-driven innovation? We’ve create this short guide to get you started with the foundations of trend analysis. From context setting to speculation, it’s all in here (with bonus one-pager to download and use).
Strategic Foresight Books
A list of some of our favourite strategic foresight, futures, and speculative books that we have sitting on our shelves.
Immortal Cities
Have you ever wish you could travel to the London or Paris of 1810? Or maybe to Alexandria of old? Or maybe to Singapore of 2075? Well, the good news is… you may soon sort of be able to.
Oast Houses
Oast houses, cute vernacular structures to dry your hops. What type of future structures could be imagined from this?
Design Futures Terminology
A glossary of ~20 widely used terms in the fields of futures and design.
A Victorian Vision of 2000
In 1899, French artist Jean-Marc Côté produced the following visions of the year 2000. These illustrations were included in cigar and cigarette boxes and depict a future that’s definitely informed by Victorian technology (propellors anyone?).
Kicking Those Hooves
Did you know that modern dressage originated as specialized warfare movements? In this blog post, we take a quick look at jelly-beaned horses and extravagant equestrian movements. What future sport could emerge from present day activities?
ISSUE 05: Housing the Wild Ones
In the past, beautifully ornate bird houses were built right into our own homes for our feathery friends. What if this was to make a comeback? What might a future where animal homes are required to be built in all new human construction?
The Transformer Next Door
Ever think something was a little off about the house down the street? Well, if you live in Toronto you might just be living next to a fake house. One that’s home to an electrical substation.
Wine Windows: Get Your Booze On
Super trendy right now: a revival of 17th-century solutions for selling booze in a pandemic stricken community. What if facades were more permeable?
Rivers as Backyards
What if we reclaimed our bridges as spaces for living, working, shopping, and relaxing?
From Amasunzu to Queues
Not that long ago, specific hairstyles were used to communicate with others much more than the latest fashion trends.
How to Disappear (as a Building)
Now you see it, now you don’t: mirrored architecture, digitally rendered buildings/interiors, and camouflaged structures.
The Bathing Machines
Ever wanted a horse-drawn room to be driven into the sea for you to jump out of for your swimcapades? No? Well, the Victorians sure wanted some!
ISSUE 04: Beauty’s Augmented Eye
In the past, small black pieces of fabric were used to “augment” the face through a layer of symbolic meaning and unspoken desires. How might this past trend inspire future outlooks when it comes to augmented reality beauty and personal expression?
ISSUE 03: It’s Alive!
Exploring the use of organisms in the design of future products and structures. Imagining futures for biodesign and its implications on society, industry, and consumer expectations.
ISSUE 02: Evicted by Nature
What will happen to our cities when we are forced to admit defeat and abandon them due to rising climate volatility? What kind of future opportunities and ripple effects may this create? Take a short dive into the repercussions of climate migration.
ISSUE 01: Mobile Structures
What if buildings could move around more easily and our cities became entirely nomadic? Here we explore how this might change the definition of community while offering avenues to live a more inspired life. We also take a look at the downside of hyper-mobile settlements.
The Great Escape (Story)
In this short story we explore a hyper-competitive world where your efforts are rewarded via ever more exclusive and elitist workplaces. AI assistants schedule your contract work and help you grow your skills.
The Great Escape (Macro)
This is a view of a world where technology is fully embraced, leading to high automation, augmentation, and digitization. A hyper-competitive society compliments this tech-driven space.
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November 2023
- Nov. 19, 2023 How to Analyze Trends Nov. 19, 2023
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November 2021
- Nov. 21, 2021 Strategic Foresight Books Nov. 21, 2021
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August 2021
- Aug. 20, 2021 Immortal Cities Aug. 20, 2021
- Aug. 12, 2021 Oast Houses Aug. 12, 2021
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June 2021
- Jun. 16, 2021 Design Futures Terminology Jun. 16, 2021
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December 2020
- Dec. 28, 2020 A Victorian Vision of 2000 Dec. 28, 2020
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November 2020
- Nov. 22, 2020 Kicking Those Hooves Nov. 22, 2020
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September 2020
- Sep. 8, 2020 ISSUE 05: Housing the Wild Ones Sep. 8, 2020
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August 2020
- Aug. 17, 2020 The Transformer Next Door Aug. 17, 2020
- Aug. 14, 2020 Wine Windows: Get Your Booze On Aug. 14, 2020
- Aug. 4, 2020 Rivers as Backyards Aug. 4, 2020
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July 2020
- Jul. 29, 2020 From Amasunzu to Queues Jul. 29, 2020
- Jul. 21, 2020 How to Disappear (as a Building) Jul. 21, 2020
- Jul. 8, 2020 The Bathing Machines Jul. 8, 2020
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June 2020
- Jun. 29, 2020 ISSUE 04: Beauty’s Augmented Eye Jun. 29, 2020
- Jun. 25, 2020 ISSUE 03: It’s Alive! Jun. 25, 2020
- Jun. 20, 2020 ISSUE 02: Evicted by Nature Jun. 20, 2020
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May 2020
- May 18, 2020 ISSUE 01: Mobile Structures May 18, 2020
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January 2019
- Jan. 10, 2019 The Great Escape (Story) Jan. 10, 2019
- Jan. 10, 2019 The Great Escape (Macro) Jan. 10, 2019
- Jan. 10, 2019 ReCoCo (Macro) Jan. 10, 2019
- Jan. 10, 2019 ReCoCo (Story) Jan. 10, 2019
- Jan. 10, 2019 Technicorp of ‘45 (Macro) Jan. 10, 2019
- Jan. 10, 2019 Oui, Bonjour, At Your Service (Story) Jan. 10, 2019
- Jan. 10, 2019 Technicorp of ‘45 (Story) Jan. 10, 2019
- Jan. 10, 2019 Oui, Bonjour, At Your Service (Macro) Jan. 10, 2019