Abstract
The convergence of design and foresight is emerging as a powerful approach to navigate uncertainties and envision alternative futures. This study investigates how design and foresight are mutually facilitated based on the following questions: What are the current challenges in foresight practice? How can design meaningfully enhance foresight processes? Despite the growth of academic interest in frameworks such as experiential futures and design futuring, foresight practices of many organisations (particularly private corporations) remain limited in scope and imagination. Drawing on a practice-based perspective, this paper examines five organisational cases – the Japan Research Institute, the Taiwan Design Research Institute, the Long Now Foundation, the Centre for Strategic Futures in Singapore, and the EU policy lab – to propose discourse through futures as a conceptual frame. This study identifies three key roles of design in advancing foresight: (1) fostering empathetic connections, (2) democratising participations, and (3) provoking critical reflections. By demonstrating how design expands discursive dimensions of foresight, this study bridges theory and practice by positioning foresight as a discursive design practice that fosters critical engagement and strengthens future literacy.
Keywords
Design futuring; Foresight; Discourse through futures; Discursive design
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.1011
Citation
Huang, L., Yu, X., Lei, S.T., Yasunori, T., Akihisa, Y.,and Liou, S.(2025) Discourse through Futures: Expanding the Organisational Foresight Practice with Design, in Chang, C.-Y., Chen, C.-H., & Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.1011
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 2 - Design Futuring
Discourse through Futures: Expanding the Organisational Foresight Practice with Design
The convergence of design and foresight is emerging as a powerful approach to navigate uncertainties and envision alternative futures. This study investigates how design and foresight are mutually facilitated based on the following questions: What are the current challenges in foresight practice? How can design meaningfully enhance foresight processes? Despite the growth of academic interest in frameworks such as experiential futures and design futuring, foresight practices of many organisations (particularly private corporations) remain limited in scope and imagination. Drawing on a practice-based perspective, this paper examines five organisational cases – the Japan Research Institute, the Taiwan Design Research Institute, the Long Now Foundation, the Centre for Strategic Futures in Singapore, and the EU policy lab – to propose discourse through futures as a conceptual frame. This study identifies three key roles of design in advancing foresight: (1) fostering empathetic connections, (2) democratising participations, and (3) provoking critical reflections. By demonstrating how design expands discursive dimensions of foresight, this study bridges theory and practice by positioning foresight as a discursive design practice that fosters critical engagement and strengthens future literacy.