Ideas
WE believe in paradigm altering ideas.
Learn how to think like a futurist, design like a a strategic worldbuilder, and blend research + creativity + practice like a pro on this page.
The Change Matrix
Afraid of change? This simple tool will help you quickly understand the impact of any given change on your life.
The Future is a Garden
There are many types.
They serve many different purposes.
They are varied, even when they contain the same elements; no two are the same.
They have complex systems, many of which cannot be seen on the surface.
The most beautiful, useful, and purposeful ones require active work, day in and day out, to come about.
You need to cultivate the right conditions to allow them to flourish.
Anyone can cultivate them.
Different people might experience the same one differently.
Brave New Worlds, Stanford University
This keynote + workshop for Stanford University’s famed d. School gives you a glimpse into STRATEGIC WORLDBUILDING™. Learn how to think about the future, construct a complex strategic world, and work through an example of a solarpunk world with 200 participants.
Articles + Papers
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Brave New Worlds: Science Fiction and Transition Design
This paper contains the Seven Foundations worldbuilding model, a key tool in the Strategic Worldbuilding™ process. Read more >
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Anti-Archetypes: Patterns of Hope
Powerful stories change the world. This paper introduces systemic patterns of hope that allow us to move beyond what is to what is possible. Read more >
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The Only Three Trends That Matter: a Min Spec For Future-Proofing
This essay introduces the min spec, the rationale behind it, and the value of taking this approach by using the future of work as an example. Read More >
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Worldbuilding in Science Fiction, Foresight, and Design
How worldbuilding is currently leveraged, how it relates to design and foresight, and how it might further enrich both disciplines. Read More >
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The Dangers of Dismissing Dystopias
It’s tempting to forget dark futures and focus on the bright ones, but dystopias play an important role in society. Here’s why we need dystopias to build a better world. Read more >
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How to Use the Hero’s Journey as a Design-Thinking + Foresight Tool
Whether we are creating a new product, public service, or a memorable experience, this model is a useful first step towards understanding user experience. Read more >
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Experiencing the Future to Build Empathy and Create Change
Rather than talk about critical issues like climate change and AI as abstract possibilities, we can live them here and now. Read more >
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Polytopias
We can break the binary of utopias and dystopias with a spectrum. Humanity needs stories of change now more than ever. Use Strategic Worldbuilding™ to create these pathways. Read more >
Design Fiction
Sometimes, living the future is better than imagining it. Experience future worlds and how they might change your perspective of the present. The following design fiction artefacts were used creating our Strategic Worldbuilding™ process. Watch The Collective Conscience and Eros Labs: A Future of Love.
Job Ads From the future
The future of work is about more than AI and automation; it is also about climate change and the battle for an equal, just, and democratic society. Here are eight job ads from the future.