Date of Award
Spring 6-2-2018
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Industrial Design
Department
Industrial Design
First Advisor
Thomas Thwaites
Second Advisor
Anne Verploegh
Third Advisor
Chris Woebken
Abstract
Dispatches From Planet Nowhere explores how using the tools of fiction can aid and expand User Research and Product Design in the field of Industrial Design. The thesis asks the fundamental question of how imagining other worlds can teach us about our own. Aaron’s belief is that using the lens of fiction, and especially science fiction and fantasy, can give us novel and unique insights into what people hope, fear, and dream about the future. Drawing on the fields of Speculative Design and Future Studies Aaron proposes a new method for gathering user data, and a participatory model for understanding the future we want to build. The thesis book is a collection of writings on key aspects of the process including personal narrative, collaborative writing, and group world building. Finally, the book includes an archive of the stories created in the world building workshops.
Recommended Citation
Simmons, Aaron Field, "Dispatches from planet nowhere" (2018). Masters Theses. 249.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/249
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