DEPLOYING THE FUTURE DESIGN FRAMEWORK
Overview
Future design work begins with asking the question: “What do we want to focus on?” The answer may be more difficult than it sounds. For example, a team of people may decide they want to focus on designing the future for education. This focus may be general: the generic future of education. It may be specific: the future for a specific age group or market (such as higher education or executive education). It may be geographically targeted: the future of education in Brazil. The direction may (and probably will) shift at any time in the organic implementation of the future design process.
The designer begins by exploring the context of the actual situation. From here, a definition of the key elements, key statements, and key issues of the emerging future and remote future emerges. The deeper and more intense the exploration of the actual situation, the deeper and more intense will be the definition of emerging future and remote future. In order to understand and imagine the fullest expression of the remote future, the designer(s) will need to cluster and mesh all the gathered and imagined insights, information, knowledge, and wisdom from both the actual reality and the emerging future. The latter will include employing tools to reach out to the future, beckon the future, and listen to the future, pulling its insights and wisdom back into the design process moment. A variety of visual models can be created to draw a wide range of insights from multiple intelligence sources (e.g., mind, body, heart, and spiritual) into the wisdomseeking design process.
As designing moves forward to address the future, the level of confirmed information and knowledge will decrease in proportion to unknown information. The designers’ perceptions will need to be developed so that each member of a team itself will be capable of clearly seeing the future with sincere empathy. Activating heart intelligence will support these processes as well as guide the designers to the most appropriate source of knowledge. These sources may include historical information, international experiences, other people's views (especially controversial ones), interdisciplinary knowledge, and multimedia medium. Contradictory insights should be especially noted. Key factors to observe, discuss, and creatively address in this process include:
As designing moves forward to address the future, the level of confirmed information and knowledge will decrease in proportion to unknown information.
• Do you see linear progression (i.e. more of the same)?
• Do you see natural ageing or decay of current elements?
• How do you measure the probability that actions will occur?
• What level of hype is affecting the situation (tech hype, tech progress, acceptance, applications, etc.)?
• What trends and mega-trends may be converging?
• What black swans and / or jokers may be present?
• What unexpected discoveries and breakthroughs may occur?
• What changes are already occurring today that may lead to future outcomes?
• What is the market drive or demand for the element?
• What are possible points of no return?
The Future View
It will be of the utmost through a range of possible futures including the expected and anticipated future (forecast), the unexpected and unknown future (black swans), the wishful and ideal future (utopia), and the feared and undesired future (dystopia). This model will be used repetitively, with each use allowing for deeper dives and higher flights of possibility.
