Imagine
Design fiction
Exploring the futures of a brand or organisation to give meaning to the present.
Design fiction is a method of exploration through imagination, structured to think about tomorrow. Starting from weak signals and emerging trends, we imagine disruptive scenarios: “What if…?” becomes the starting point for stories that make a future concrete, debatable and desirable. It is a core expertise of Gardeners, the group's agency in Annecy and Geneva.
A strategic vision does not mobilise through logic alone: it becomes a collective movement when everyone can picture themselves in it. Design fiction makes people feel before it convinces. It is used to share a ten- or fifteen-year vision, bring teams on board during a transformation, feed innovation or raise a brand's voice in public debate.
The method follows six steps: frame, explore, imagine, prioritise, embody, activate. It produces communication assets that can be used right away: audio series, web series, magazine, exploratory website, artefacts from the future. For an industrial site, the audio series “Chroniques de demain” brought the 2040 vision to life for 500 employees, with more than 40% reach. For WiiSmile, six workshops produced more than 100 hypotheses, 12 scenarios and 6 artefacts about the future of small businesses.
What we do
- Foresight workshops and disruptive scenarios
- Stories and fiction: audio series, web series, magazine
- Artefacts from the future and foresight report
- A 10- or 15-year vision shared with teams
- Internal or public campaign to activate the narrative
Markets
Design fiction, market by market
- Design fiction in Africa
- Design fiction in the Indian Ocean
- Design fiction in the Middle East
- Design fiction in Côte d'Ivoire
- Design fiction in Morocco
- Design fiction in Ghana
- Design fiction in South Africa
- Design fiction in Madagascar
- Design fiction in Reunion Island
- Design fiction in Mauritius
- Design fiction in Mayotte
- Design fiction in the French Caribbean and French Guiana
- Design fiction in the United Arab Emirates
- Design fiction in France and Switzerland
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is design fiction?
Design fiction is a foresight method that uses storytelling and fictional objects to explore possible futures. An organisation uses it to make a strategic vision concrete, debate it with its teams and decide today. At SouthNext, it is an expertise of the Gardeners agency (Annecy and Geneva).
In which countries does SouthNext offer design fiction?
Each zone has its own agency. France and Switzerland : Gardeners Annecy and Gardeners Geneva. Other markets in Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Middle East and Europe are covered from these offices.
Contact
Let's talk about your market
A project in Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Middle East or Europe? Write to us and the right office will answer.