Summary
UX research is inherently future-oriented. As researchers, we are often on the lookout to understand what users expect, what they anticipate to happen, and what they hope will come next. How we orient ourselves towards the future is part of how we experience the present. By drawing attention to the nuances of different future orientations in everyday life, we can unlock new depths of understanding to improve product and service design. Join this session to learn how to center the future as an object of study and apply frameworks from futures anthropology to advance tactical and strategic research.
Key Insights
-
•
Everyone experiences time differently—our past shapes our present.
-
•
UX research should not only address past and present but also incorporate future orientations.
-
•
Futures anthropology offers a framework to understand how communities envision and experience the future.
-
•
Understanding six future orientations can enhance UX research processes.
-
•
Expectation represents a future state based on past experiences.
-
•
Anticipation involves actions taken in preparation for uncertain future conditions.
-
•
Speculation acknowledges the unknowns and feeds into the creative process.
-
•
Potential examines unactualized possibilities that could arise.
-
•
Hope manifests as positive expectations leading to actions that can realize future outcomes.
-
•
Destiny refers to preconceived ideas that a future outcome is inevitable.
Notable Quotes
"Over 7 billion versions of right now exist."
"We all experience time differently, shaped by our past."
"UX research is inherently future oriented; no one is making products for the past."
"How we balance our actions can signal what we might see happen in the future."
"Futures anthropology is about a humanity-centered approach to understanding the future."
"The future is accessible to us as an object of study."
"How we orient ourselves to the future impacts our experience of the present."
"Uncertainty is our playground—it allows us to explore multiple futures."
"The world in which some people inhabit can be very different from our own."
"There are over 7 billion futures of right now."
More Videos
"This is not a mining operation; humans are not minerals or gemstones waiting to be mined."
Sahibzada MayedThe Politics of Radical Research: A Manifesto
March 27, 2023
"The right partnerships allow you to make a greater impact over time."
Dave HoraAdvice for Establishing Research
December 8, 2022
"If folks can't find the information, it doesn't matter how well it's written."
Gabrielle VerderberDocumentation Your Team Will Actually Use
October 3, 2023
"Let’s have diverse co-creation from the beginning to reduce bias."
Raven VealDark Metrics: Illuminating the Negative Impact of Digital Health Design
March 12, 2021
"Design thinking is not just about stickies and post-its; it's about interaction."
Gretchen AndersonScaling the Human Center
June 8, 2017
"The best outcomes come when we work together and remove ego from the equation."
Craig Brookes Andreas Huebner Morgan Quinn"Just Make it Look Good" and Other Ways We're Misunderstood
June 11, 2021
"Digitaf changed the way parents experience the early years of their children's childhood."
Sarah AuslanderIncremental Steps to Drive Radical Innovation in Policy Design
November 18, 2022
"Not everyone is a confident visual communicator; not everyone wants to be a designer."
Joe Meersman Pooria SohiUse AI to Drive Outcomes that Go Beyond the Design Sprint
September 25, 2024
"We need to involve people with disabilities in every step of our process, not just research."
Saara Kamppari-MillerInclusive Design is DesignOps
September 29, 2021
