Future workshop
A Co-Creative technique where researcher along with participants goes through critique, Fantasy and implementation phase. Critique is the phase of criticizing the existing process/product, In fantasy phase people discuss about the ideal future possibilities and implementation is to phase is to brainstorm the ways of implementing ideas i.e., bridge the gap between visions and reality.
“A Future Workshop is typically held in three phases...In the Critique phase the purpose is to give voice to current problems and structure them so that a constructive outcome can be expected. In the Fantasy phase the purpose is to generate visions about an ideal future. The Implementation phase proposes to evaluate the visions and to set up a plan of action.”
Nature & context
Co-Creative, Design Technique
Resources
Materials/toolkit needed like stationery, consent, extra support if vulnerable participants are involved, lab/room to conduct the workshop, facilitator (If required).
Procedure
Future workshop is not just designing with participants out of the blue but engages participants by letting them analyze the current design, critique the same, speculate a solution as well as think about implementing the same.
Before: Understand the context and draft out a clear description of the workshop. Include a note about voluntary participation and consent form. Decide the workshop schedule and arrange prerequisites like location, stationery/tool kits and incentives/rewards (if possible) to be used during the session. Look for facilitator (if needed) to facilitate each of the workshop.
During: While actively participating in the workshop with the rest of the participants, record notes/non-verbal cue through observation. Be available to assist participants and clarify their question. At the end of the session, inform participants if there is going to be a next session. Share incentives with participants.
After: Quickly conduct an analysis, right after, of the notes, pictures as well as design created by the participants and record/annotate your insights. Send out a thank you note to the participant.
Use Case
While designing to reduce food wastage, My team’s design (of a game) to spread awareness about misfits clearly does not directly impact/help Bloomington community farmers. Interviews & photo ethnography with farmers were our prime data sources while the design focuses on teaching users about misfits and allowing them to have fun playing the game. Further, the reward is a discount coupon to purchase misfits online, again not directly from the farmers. If I could revisit, I would conduct a future workshop to understand how farmers provide the critiques as well as speculate on possible design solutions, so that it benefits them.
Sense Making Data
By involving a group of people to critique the existing design, participants discover issues that are different for each of them. Fantasy and implementation allow participants to think beyond reality. By analyzing their design outcomes, designer can ensure that the end design is inclusive.