the kit
ABOUT THE KIT
The Digital Democracy Workshop Kit is a toolbox that enables users to organize and conduct workshops within digital environments as well as physical spaces. The kit is designed with a focus on speculating about the future of digital public spaces such as current social media platforms. Nevertheless, it’s structure and the provided templates can also be adapted for the speculation on other subjects.
HOW TO CONDUCT THE WORKSHOP EITHER VIRTUALLY OR PHYSICALLY?
The provided workshop material can both be used for a digital or physical workshop setting.
If the planned workshop is to be held digitally, you will need some tools to get the most out of the digital environment. Essential prerequisites are that you enable all participants to communicate and discuss with each other, to develop concepts together and to visualize them collaboratively. To make our concept and templates usable for a wide range of digital tools, we provide them in different formats below. You will also find SVG files for further editing and distribution in the spirit of the open source idea. We encourage you to do your own research to find out which tools are best suited for you and your purpose. In the course of our first purely digital workshop we used Skype for communication and Figma for collaborative design work. Both come free to use (April 2020). Please note that no sponsoring or other collaboration has taken place with the mentioned tools and associated companies.
If the planned workshop is to be held in a physical location, all brainstorming and concept templates can easily be printed and used physically. Please find all material below.
WHOM IS THE WORKSHOP INTENDED FOR?
Workshop Host: You are interested how the digital public sphere might evolve in the future? Or how we might form our opinion, share our thoughts or communicate with each other in 10 years from now? Then this workshop kit is made for you!
Participants: Workshop participants are at best interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary and intercultural. Getting a as divers as possible group together enhances changes that divers values, thoughts and beliefs are considered in the speculated future scenarios. Because this workshop method emphasised the potential of speculative design as a method, designers, who will visualize the speculated ideas, are needed as workshop participants.
THE FOUR PHASES OF OUR WORKSHOP CONCEPT
Our concept of the speculative design workshop comprises the following four phases. Each phase includes different methods and tasks. Inbetween each phase a longer pause is adviced.
The kit and the provided materials for each phase are designed for a 1.25 day workshop. More specifically, we conducted a one day workshop covering phase I, phase II and parts of phase III. Phase III is mainly intended to be worked on and concluded at home after the workshop by the workshop groups. Phase IV takes place as a final presentation (and makes up the 0.25 day) where the workshop groups present their created projects.
To understand how the workshop – whether digital or in physical space – should be divided and conducted according to our concept, please take a look at the following structure and its components:
DISCOVER
In the first phase it’s all about getting to know the method of speculative design and the issue at hand, here: the digital public sphere.
SPECULATION
In the second phase the workshop groups speculate about how the future regarding the topic of interest might look like.
PROTOTYPING
In the third phase the workshop groups create a product that has an influence on the speculated future scenario and visualize it.
DISCUSSION
In the fourth phase the products are presented and their impact is discussed with the audience. Lessons learned for today’s time are derived.
RESOURCES
Terms of use: Please credit perfectfuturedesign.com when using these materials.
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