Handbook

Today's world is highly complex, deeply interconnected, and hyperdynamic. Industry 4.0, Web 3.0, Internet-of-Things, smart autonomous systems, augmented and virtual realities, and other digital and biotechnology developments are transforming our world at a pace never seen before. In such a multi-faceted setting, Industrial Design plays an important role in imagining future possibilities. This course aims to go beyond the ‘standard’ conceptual design process, by using Industrial Design to critically explore emergent developments in science, technology, and society. You will engage with the past, present and future contexts of Industrial Design, as a basis for ideating visionary product designs that act as catalysts for ‘social dreaming’, traversing cultural practices, social behaviours, nature, and interspecies relationships. You will participate in a range of in-class exercises in which you will analyse and evaluate socio-technical issues, contemplate novel perspectives, and synthesise your findings into new design fictions. You will use visual imagery and physical mock-ups to pitch speculative product design propositions to your class.