Abstract
Prototyping offers ways to anticipate futures by supporting people to inhabit futures through hands-on experiences. Prototypes offer “invitations” to suspend disbelief and make believe. A canonical distinction is made between levels of fidelity in prototyping. Here, we critically re-examine “fidelity” by asking: How may fidelity inform prototyping practices and pedagogies? How may prototyping practices be more responsive, generative and ethical? How can fidelity in prototyping contribute to engagements with futures? Building on foundational ideas in prototyping and futuring, we put forward the FIRE (Fidelity/Resolution) map, a framework for distinguishing between fidelity and resolution and for navigating their spread and interplay for more effective and more ethical prototyping practices. Illustrated through sample cases, the map demonstrates how facilitators and educators can anticipate, respond to and reflect upon changes in prototype resolution and experiential fidelity. We conclude by connecting these insights to theory and proposing actionable prototyping strategies for response-able futuring engagements.
Keywords
futuring, make believe, ethics, facilitation
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.282
Citation
Sosa, R., and Cooper, C.M. (2026) Forking Futures: Fidelity and Resolution in Responsive Prototyping, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.282
Creative Commons License
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Included in
Forking Futures: Fidelity and Resolution in Responsive Prototyping
Prototyping offers ways to anticipate futures by supporting people to inhabit futures through hands-on experiences. Prototypes offer “invitations” to suspend disbelief and make believe. A canonical distinction is made between levels of fidelity in prototyping. Here, we critically re-examine “fidelity” by asking: How may fidelity inform prototyping practices and pedagogies? How may prototyping practices be more responsive, generative and ethical? How can fidelity in prototyping contribute to engagements with futures? Building on foundational ideas in prototyping and futuring, we put forward the FIRE (Fidelity/Resolution) map, a framework for distinguishing between fidelity and resolution and for navigating their spread and interplay for more effective and more ethical prototyping practices. Illustrated through sample cases, the map demonstrates how facilitators and educators can anticipate, respond to and reflect upon changes in prototype resolution and experiential fidelity. We conclude by connecting these insights to theory and proposing actionable prototyping strategies for response-able futuring engagements.