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Where Design Will Take Us Next
We stand at a unique threshold of emerging technologies that will give designers exciting new problems to solve
Predicting the future is a unique proposition. If your predictions come true, you’re a prescient forward-thinker with rare insight. If you get it wrong, so what—no one else can predict the future either.
With this win-win framework now established for me, I think the future of design does bear honest consideration. We stand at the cusp of a multitude of new modalities in human-machine interaction, and as designers, we will shape the nature of those interactions and define the successes and failures of these new systems.
That’s a lot of responsibility.
Rather than indulge in the potential existential anxiety that could inspire, we should see this for what it is: an incredible opportunity. Each new technology brings with it entirely new potentialities in how we design for it. Things we’ve always wanted to do may become possible, or even better, we may find ourselves inspired to do things we’ve never considered.
Let’s examine a couple of forthcoming technologies and consider the design opportunities they provide as they mature. Some of this will be wildly speculative, but some of these technologies are already seeing innovative design solutions, even in their infancy, that warrant mention.
We stand at the cusp of a multitude of new modalities in human-machine interaction, and as designers, we will shape the nature of those interactions and define the successes and failures of these new systems.
Virtual reality
So, we might as well start with the 800-pound design gorilla in the room. Virtual reality is here, and it’s maturing fast. Right now, it exists primarily as a gaming platform, but that’s a very narrow scope of its possibilities. Interestingly, we are already seeing many of the complaints about VR centering around design challenges.
If you spend any time reading reviews, you’ll see one of the main points of contention and comparison…
