Session Details

Date: 29 October 2024

Time: 15:30 – 17:00pm

Format: Workshop

Venue:Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct

Host: University of Johannesburg (UJ), Department of Multimedia

Facilitators: Hadassah Myers; Anneke Botes; and Yolan Govindarajulu

Session Overview

In this session, we will discuss an experiential learning approach to worldbuilding in design futures. This approach emerged from a design project undertaken by third-year digital media design students at the University of Johannesburg.

We will share techniques and tools found to be effective in encouraging students to imagine future scenarios. These are not predictions, but rather speculative models that help designers consider a range of possibilities and imagine different futures. The project explored the future of current South African issues through various worldbuilding models in which the themes of community, technology and self were highlighted. We will discuss the final project outcomes and examine which tools best foster creativity in envisioning futures. Our observations will address the question: #UnderTheHood of Culture & Creative Industries: Where does creativity in tech intersect with social activism?