Case Studys
Coordenation: Ana Rainha
Team Work: Bárbara Torres
this project aims to define a possible personal context regarding communication design, understanding design as a critical practice. Constituted by the identification of a particularity of the communication design evidenced in a set of pre-determined reflections, by selecting seven texts and five images that communicate it and by presenting these arguments in the space and, finally, for the delivery of a graphic object that materializes the options taken.
A Vision Through Fiction
Key Words: Fiction, Speculation, Illustration,
In the same way that Design Thinking became popular as an efficient creative resolution methodology, Design Fiction has grown as a method of exploring future scenarios from the logic of Science Fiction, the reading of objects, environments and messages affirms the narrative as the main function of Design. Through fiction, objects, systems and behaviors are created to build a story and a context to be analyzed as a future possibility. Science Fiction can be understood as a kind of writing in which, in its novels, prototypes of other worlds, other experiences and other contexts of life are created, based on the creative ideas of the author. Fiction is a way of inspiration, stories and methods but also a guide. With so many utopias and dystopias presented by countless authors, it is evident that in creating stories, the responsibility they carry also exists in the role of a designer. Design Fiction materializes ideas and speculates without the pragmatic constraint that generally informs Design procedures. We believe that you can approach some creative procedures of Design Thinking, as this allows designers to understand the effectiveness of their projects and discuss their possible flaws. By overcoming today’s sociological and economic trends and imagining other possibilities, they can examine the potential uses of their skills, giving them tools for the development of artifacts.
Articles
The first essay contextualizes the history of Science Fiction, pointing out and commenting on the importance that is given in Great Britain, for example through the publication of magazines. Magazine publishing in the early 1880s began delivering stories to a mass audience. The stories distributed in these publications boasted elements of Science Fiction that appealed to the younger reader’s sense of admiration and adventure.
Design Fiction – Julian Beecker https://drbfw5wfjlxon.cloudfront.net/writing/DesignFiction_WebEdition.pdf
“Design Fiction – a short essay on design, science, fact and fiction” by Julian Bleecker March, an essay carried out in 2009, addresses the meaning of Design Fiction as a way to transform the imagination and reflect it into something material. He questions how Design is considered fact or fiction, in the creation of something that seems real and doable but that can also be speculative.
Critical Everything – Francisco Laranjo
https://www.grafik.net/category/feature/critical-everything
The editor of Modes of Criticism, Francisco Laranjo, questions the terms “Critical”, “Speculative Design” and “Design Fiction”, while proposing some critical challenges for Graphic Design. This article discusses the trends that control the use of terminology and discusses the interest and the need for a critical practice of Graphic Design.
Elements of Design in Science Fiction – Rick Liebling
https://medium.com/adjacent-possible/elements-of-design-in-science-fiction-8396a0c04dd8
Moving from the idea of imagining a utopian and ideal world for the imagination of something that is dystopian, “Elements of Design in Science Fiction” by Rick Liebling refers to the presence of this dystopia over the years in literature. Following this idea, it is suggested to read the interview with Chris Noessel and Dave Addey who, as chroniclers of science fiction design in cinema and TV, emphasize the power and influence of Design in Science Fiction, especially the Interaction Design and Typography used in Science Fiction films.
Science-Fiction Magazine Illustration: A Semiotic Analysis https://www.jstor.org/stable/4239566?seq=1
Jan Baetens and Hugo Frey. The Graphic Novel: An Introduction. https://www.academia.edu/13152015/Jan_Baetens_and_Hugo_Frey._The_Graphic_Novel_An_Introduction
The last two articles presented in this reader, “Science-Fiction Magazines Illustration: a semiotic analysis” and “Jan Baetens and Hugo Frey. The Graphic Novel: An Introduction”, pay special attention to the connection between Design Fiction, Graphic Design and Illustration.
Editorial
Visual Research