What if an AI-led totalitarian regime forbade analogue technology? What if we were forced to live under water because of climate catasters? And what if our emotions were no longer private but were visible to everyone?
These are just a few of the provocative questions that stimulate speculative design of fuel – a discipline that dares to propose alternative future by combining creativity with research. It challenges conventional thinking, which goes beyond aesthetics and functionality to make the design in a powerful tool for critical reflection.
At Ied Firenze, students of the Master’s in graphic design Inthonvenile this progressive approach investigated as part of their research and trend forecasts. Led by professor and course coordinator Isabella Ahmadzadeh, they embraced the role of future thinkers and created individual ‘what as’ scenarios rooted in emerging trends.
Located in the heart of Florence, Ied Firenze is a hub for innovation, culture and creativity. It offers an international environment where students from all over the world come together to push the boundaries of design. The school combines traditional Italian craftsmanship with contemporary visions and promotes daring experiments between disciplines.
Each student developed a unique and thinking of a mood of dystopian projections for criticism of current social issues-and the conceptual basis for a visual essay of 32 pages. These essays became compelling spaces for experiments, in which collage, personal artworks, typography and AI-generated images came together to visualize speculative futures.
The result is a collection of visual stories that go beyond the presentation of design skills. They doubt the process of our world, investigate the cultural and technological shifts ahead and ultimately remind us of the power of design – not only to display reality, but to reconsider it.
For more information about the Master’s course in graphic design, visit Ied Firenze Ied.edu.
