The future is uncertain, but design can help us navigate and shape what’s ahead. This course introduces a hands-on approach to future casting—using trend analysis, strategic foresight, scenario planning, and speculative design to anticipate and respond to emerging social, technological, and ecological shifts. Participants will learn how to design within a context of uncertainty, embracing complexity to create more resilient, forward-thinking solutions.
In an era of rapid change, designing for the future requires more than just reacting to trends. It demands the ability to anticipate, challenge, and shape possible futures. This workshop explores methodologies for future casting, enabling participants to analyze signals of change, develop strategic foresight, and prototype speculative scenarios.
Through an interdisciplinary lens, students will explore how to translate insights from emerging social, technological, and ecological shifts into actionable design strategies. The course encourages a proactive approach to uncertainty, helping designers and innovators create future-ready solutions that are ethical, adaptive, and resilient.
Prerequisites
Open to all skill levels—no previous knowledge or specific software is required.
How you’ll learn
This course follows CIID’s “learning by doing” philosophy, combining research, hands-on experimentation, and collaborative exercises. Participants will engage in speculative prototyping, interactive storytelling, and scenario-based design challenges to practice future-oriented thinking in real time. Through interactive workshops, group discussions, and expert insights, students will leave with practical tools to integrate future thinking into their design practice.
What you’ll learn
What to bring
• A notebook and a pen
• A laptop
Matt Ward is Professor of Design at Goldsmiths, University of London where he has held leadership positions for 20 years. His practice engages in a wide range of topics from speculative design to radical pedagogy. He was founding member of DWFE; a post-disciplinary, semi-fictional design syndicate. More recently his work ‘The Illegal Town Plan’, with Jimmy Loizeau, explores inclusive strategies for local engagement and education through critical, spatial speculation. The project provides a platform to mediate community engagement with local government in the re-imagining of coastal futures.
He has held numerous External Examiner roles across the UK: Industrial Design at Central St Martins, Design Products at the RCA and Graphic Media Design at UAL. He was one of the principles investigators for Speculative Edu; a two-year project that aimed to strengthen speculative design education by collecting and exchanging existing knowledge and experiences whilst developing new methods.
Matt holds international patents on the work he did at NCR’s Advanced Research Lab on the emerging contexts of the Internet of Things and Urban Computing. He has been a research affiliate to MIT Media Lab and Interaction Design at The RCA and has consulted for a range of organisations; Google, BBC and the Design Council. He lectures internationally about design, technology and education.
Alessandro Mininno is co-founder and Head of Business Development at Flatmates, an influencer marketing agency launched in 2020 in partnership with Marcello Ascani and Gummy Industries, where he also serves as co-founder and former President and CEO. He is also co-founder of in3 Ventures, a company focused on innovation and corporate venture capital.
He serves on the Board of Directors of Biancoinsolito, a company specializing in the cheese industry that enhances traditional dairy products through branding and design. With over twenty years of experience in digital strategy and consultancy, Alessandro has worked with major Italian cultural institutions and publishing houses, including the Venice Biennale, Mondadori, and the Fondazione di Venezia. From 2013 to 2016, he led the digital strategy and media planning for Expo 2015 Milano, overseeing one of the most significant digital campaigns in Italy at the time. Alessandro's multidisciplinary background spans marketing, graphic design, and social media, giving him a unique ability to navigate and connect the dots across creative industries. He is also active as a curator and publisher in contemporary art, having authored and edited several books on street art and visual culture, including "Graffiti Writing," "Street Virus," and "The Sushi Game." He regularly lectures on digital strategy and cultural innovation at some of the most qualified European universities, including Bocconi University, Politecnico di Milano, IULM, IUAV, Università Cattolica, and HSLU Luzern. Since 2023, he has served on the Digital Advisory Board of Telethon. Alessandro maintains an active presence in the cultural scene through his newsletter "Fuori Brief" and continues to contribute to the evolution of digital communication strategies across various industries.
