Designing a posthuman through science fiction stories

Abstract

Posthumanism as a concept is more relevant day by day as we try to understand humanity’s future. As designers, the challenge lies in how to do posthuman design. There is little research and knowledge in the field of design about the possible processes through which to make posthuman design. This thesis investigates the possibility, process and details of using scifi prototyping as a method for posthuman design.

Using artistic research as the main research method, the process of scifi prototyping was explored through an autoethnographic analysis. Focus groups were conducted as a design validation tool outside of artistic research, creating a mixed methodology approach.

The thesis shows that a modified scifi prototyping method can be used to do posthuman design. Additionally, basic requirements for a functional scifi prototype in the field of design were compiled with data from the focus group analysis. These requirements include the need for exposition, immersive qualities, sufficient detail and understanding of inherent bias of the researcher.

Limitations of this research are related to the subjective nature of a creative process and the product of a scifi prototype being a story, which is a highly subjective form of media. Further research should further iterate on the modified scifi prototype method by using it and aim to create more robust guidelines for successful scifi prototypes for posthuman design.