Abstract
The convergence of design and foresight is emerging as a powerful approach to navigate uncertain Ces and envision alterna Cve futures. This study inves Cgates how design and foresight are mutually facilitated based on the following quesCons: What are the current challenges in foresight prac2ce? How can design meaningfully enhance foresight processes? Despite the growth of academic interest in frameworks such as experien2al futures and design futuring, foresight pracCces of many organisa Cons (par Ccularly private corpora Cons) remain limited in scope and imagina Con. Drawing on a pracCce-based perspec Cve, this paper examines five organisa Conal cases – the Japan Research InsCtute, the Taiwan Design Research InsCtute, the Long Now FoundaCon, the Centre for Strategic Futures in Singapore, and the EU policy lab – to propose discourse through futures as a conceptual frame. This study idenCfies three key roles of design in advancing foresight: (1) fostering empatheCc connec Cons, (2) democra Csing par Ccipa Cons, and (3) provoking criCcal reflec Cons. By demonstra Cng how design expands the discursive dimensions of foresight, this study bridges theory and pracCce by posi Coning foresight as a discursive design pracCce that fosters criCcal 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., and 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 uncertain Ces and envision alterna Cve futures. This study inves Cgates how design and foresight are mutually facilitated based on the following quesCons: What are the current challenges in foresight prac2ce? How can design meaningfully enhance foresight processes? Despite the growth of academic interest in frameworks such as experien2al futures and design futuring, foresight pracCces of many organisa Cons (par Ccularly private corpora Cons) remain limited in scope and imagina Con. Drawing on a pracCce-based perspec Cve, this paper examines five organisa Conal cases – the Japan Research InsCtute, the Taiwan Design Research InsCtute, the Long Now FoundaCon, the Centre for Strategic Futures in Singapore, and the EU policy lab – to propose discourse through futures as a conceptual frame. This study idenCfies three key roles of design in advancing foresight: (1) fostering empatheCc connec Cons, (2) democra Csing par Ccipa Cons, and (3) provoking criCcal reflec Cons. By demonstra Cng how design expands the discursive dimensions of foresight, this study bridges theory and pracCce by posi Coning foresight as a discursive design pracCce that fosters criCcal engagement and strengthens future literacy.