<client>
big kitty labs
<team>
elyse applewhite, elle miller, joe owens
<role>
futurist & service designer
<challenge>
Forecasting the future of entertainment in Columbus 2050 in order to inspire the future leaders of the city.
<approach>
Extending one’s thoughts into the future always poses a steep challenge, especially when we have to bring that vision back to the present. We needed to unpack and unlearn our biases so that we could learn more about our users and what their needs, wants, and pains truly are.
We tackled desk research, trend and scenario mapping, CLA analysis, SME interviews, and facilitated co-creation sessions to ground our visions of the future in reality.
<key insights>
A majority of our participants found invasive technology to be ugly - this includes wearables, implants, and cybernetics
Participants want to be productive and active in their future. They want to have a purpose and not be a liability to others
Many loved the potential cultural shift that embraces play and imagination and they expressed discomfort with how serious modern culture has become
The most common fear voiced during co-creation and interviews was how personal technology and accounts can be hacked and how it may affect wearable technology and reputation currencies
Participants were unanimous in their trust and want for devices and technology however, they did not trust their fellow man with it
<outcome>
A visual narrative was presented to inspire investors and future young leaders of Columbus.
“I know we kind of just dumped this project on you guys but you took it and ran with it. This is more than I ever imagined, I was not expecting this. You all did an incredible job.”
<dan rockwell, big kitty labs>
