Design Fiction

Design seems to be a notice that says there is some purposeful reflection and consideration going on expressed as the thoughtful, imaginative, and material craftwork activities of a designer. Science fiction can be understood as a kind of writing that creates prototypes of other worlds, other experiences, other contexts for life based on the creative insights of the author. Designed objects – or designed fictions – can be understood similarly. Design fiction is about creative provocation, raising questions, innovation, and exploration. The chapter reveals how the facts of ubicomp become entangled with science fiction. Ubicomp is a kind of fiction, working with and through science to project possible near-future worlds. In fact, it is a future that can only be effectively represented as science fiction. The design fiction role is crucial to achieving the goals and meeting the aspirations of the emerging ideas as much as any other first-class participant in the design process.