blog.plugimi.com ( Sascha Pohflepp )

I’ll be presenting The Golden Institute and have the great pleasure to generally ramble about Design Fictions on a panel at SXSW in Austin, Texas.

Design fiction is an approach to design that speculates about new ideas through prototyping and storytelling. The goal is to move away from the routine of lifeless scenarios-based thinking. We will share design fiction projects and discuss related techniques for design thinking, communication and exploration of near future concepts.

Along with Julian Bleecker (Near Future Laboratory), Jake Dunagan (Institute For The Future), Stuart Candy (Long Now Foundation), Jennifer Leonard (IDEO) and special guest Bruce Sterling.

Saturday, March 13 at 12:30 in room 12AB

I’m very happy to say that Social Collider, the collaboration between Karsten Schmidt and me for Google’s Chrome Experiments is part of Decode: Digital Design Sensations at the V&A in London which opens to the public tomorrow.

Image taken from Karsten’s generative identity for the show

The exhibition explores three themes, Social Collider will be part of the Network section: “This networked world has provided the basis and tools for works of art and design that are multi-sited and global. Networks are saturated with the traces of our lives: messages we send, blog entries we post, borders we cross. Artists and designers are drawing on these traces of human presence, and using the ‘memory’ as the basis of new works. Translating our digital tracks into readable and understandable visualisations, they tease out the threads of our digitised activity.”

For more information about Social Collider please have a look at Karsten’s comprehensive documentation of the project.

Decode at the V&A’s Porter Gallery, 8 December 2009 – 11 April 2010

Along with other experts in shifting perception, I’ll be representing The Golden Institute as a specialist in speculation at tomorrow’s Knowledge Shots performance hosted by Fabulous Agitation and Teachers College, Columbia University, New York.

Knowledge Shots is a platform for instant knowledge sharing, micro lecturing, experimental story telling, ad-hoc consultancy and brainstorming. We’ve gathered a group of experts in various fields to help participants approach research and projects from a new, another angle + cookies. We’ll take over rooms 303 and 304 of the Gottesman Libraries on Wednesday, Nov. 18 between 7.30pm and 9.30pm. All are welcome to walk in and share your current research and projects with our experts. We’ll embark on a collective brainstorm, experiencing new ways of understanding and rejoicing in the wonders of instant association.

Rooms 303 & 304, Gottesman Libraries (Russell Hall)
Wednesday, November 18th
7.30 – 9.30pm

Science Gallery in Dublin have produced a couple of really nice videos about the projects that are part of the exhibition What If… until mid-December.

I felt like crap that day, losing my voice (and was actually hiding from the film crew), but I’m thankful that they managed to grab me after all.

The Golden Institute

Growth Assembly