Ten brainstorming exercises to help generate future-forward ideas

Reframe, rethink, and reimagine the present to design the future



"Design the future" written in yellow white and blue in all caps sans serif type on a mostly pink background (with blocks of white, orange, and blue in the corners). Wavy white lines and shapes fill in the spaces behind the words.

Illustrations by Matthew Carlson

We have supercomputers in our pockets that connect to cloud-based networks. A proliferation of collaborative software is changing the way we work together. AI has risen as a creative tool. Drones serve multiple purposes across commerce and society. Biometric scanning is used to unlock phones and to get people through security checkpoints in airports. And, although technology for space travel and self-driving cars isn’t stable, we can see them on the horizon.

The future continues to come in waves with innovation happening in cycles: People try things. They fail. Someone tries again. And eventually things move forward.

Like many people in design, I think often, and deeply, about technology, innovation, and designing the future. Over the years I’ve created a handful of exercises that help me reframe, rethink, and reimagine the present so that I can think ahead. I hope they spark your imagination and help you generate your next big idea in a future-forward and future-friendly way.

1. Build a time machine

A black line drawing on a white background with the heading "01 / Build a time machine" in all caps in sans serif type. On the left are the words "Start with now, then project..." in red handwritten type. Next to them, is a person is feeding a ribbon titled 2024 into a time machine that's displaying 2044 on it's screen. Coming out of the top of the machine is an idea cloud containing a robot alongside a child and a pet robot dog in front of a stylized tree and house.

Start with now and map back. Look at all the things in your life—the way you are, the way you work, the way you consume products and media, and the way you travel—and consider the remarkable amount of change and acceleration that’s happened in just the last five years. Then look at the trends that affected everything and consider what might happen if these same things keep moving forward. What might it look like four years from now (or ten) if phones get smarter, or AI becomes more pervasive? With enough time and focus, your brain can begin to imagine “what if?” and envision a future filled with innovation that still feels familiar.

2. Meet your future customers

A black and gray line drawing on a white background with the heading "02 / Meet your future customers" in all caps in black sans serif type. On the left is a woman, drawn in a quick sketch style, with short curly hair and bangs and wearing a T-shirt with the word "You" on it. On the right, under the heading "She/he/they looks a lot like you. How will they differ?," is a list of descriptive words: AR/VR primed (Minecraft); AI fluent; Mobile first; Social networked; Touch UI + Gestural UI; Tech savvy; Internet since birth. Finally are the words, "What's next?"

Use this exercise to imagine the type of person that will be using your idea. Think about what the "firsts" might be for a future set of customers that's AI fluent or comfortable manipulating 3D objects in 3D spaces. How might that play out in a more artificial or virtual reality future? What will be the next big breakthrough that might pull today's technologies together in a way that's transformative? That will be what your future customer wants.

3. Imagine future jobs

A black line drawing on a white background with the heading "03 / Imagine future jobs" in all caps in black sans serif type. On the left, above the heading "AI empathy coach" in pink handwritten type, is a person drawn in a quick sketch style with flowers, hearts, and speech bubbles surrounding them. In the middle above the heading "Nanobot herder" in yellow handwritten type, is a person drawn in a quick sketch style wearing a VR headset and surrounded by mini drones. On the right above the heading "Metaverse farmer" in blue handwritten type, is a person drawn in a quick sketch style wearing a overalls and a baseball cap surrounded by gardening tools.

Jobs are a sign of future need. Maybe we’ll need AI empathy coaches to help AI to understand human beings so that it can create more thoughtfully than it does now (that’s probably not even a future job, that's a today job). Or maybe we'll need nanobot herders to guide tiny biological robots toward completing complex tasks, or metaverse farmers to grow artful, bespoke, crops for customers in the metaverse. Think about today’s technologies, how they might evolve, and what jobs might be needed to support them.

4. Think of future artifacts

Four black, pink, and blue line drawing on a white background with the heading "04 / Think of future artifacts" in all caps in black sans serif type. In the upper left, accompanied by the words "Holo-kitty," is a pink-line drawing of a cat in a quick sketch style projecting from a black-line drawing of a phone. In the upper right, alongside the words "Drone jammer" is a black-line drawing of a boy, wearing a baseball cap and holding a phone, encircled by blue radio waves that connect to four drones. In the lower right, alongside the words "Chatty cup" is a black-line drawing of a hot cup of coffee with word bubbles that read "Poor wifi," and "Wrote all your emails. Skip this mtg," handwritten in pink. In the lower left corner, alongside the words "Haptic hand glove" is a black-line drawing of a hand with a glove on it reaching out and touching a "Virtual hedgehog" drawn in blue.

What will be in everyone’s go-bag four years from now? Maybe a haptic glove people carry in their pockets so they can interact in a physical way with an augmented reality object, or a smart cup that can simplify office life by reading and responding to email and checking a daily calendar while also keeping coffee hot. When designing for the future, think about the tools, technologies, and devices people will want to be sure to have with them as they move about their days.

5. Think in atoms

Five black line drawings on a white background with the heading "05 / Think in atoms" in all caps in black sans serif type. Clockwise from top left, under handwritten pink type that reads "LEGO blocks" is a LEGO brick drawn in black; under handwritten blue type that reads "Hashtag" is a hashtag drawn in black; under handwritten pink type that reads "QR codes" are a QR code and phone drawn in black; under handwritten blue type that reads "Just add water" is a large drop of water drawn in black; under handwritten pink type that reads "Allen wrench" is a large allen wrench alongside a small person, both drawn in black.

Because the most powerful tools are often the simplest, getting at the essence of things is central to design thinking. Hashtags are the perfect metaphor; this simple visual symbol acts as the glue for whatever someone is thinking and connects it to an entire community. And what about LEGO blocks? Every piece, every part, fits effortlessly into all others. Underlying every innovative idea is a basic element—uncover that, then build from there.

6. Go on a field trip

A black line drawing on a white background with the heading "06 / Go on a field trip" in all caps in black sans serif type. Under pink handwritten words that read "Bring some innovation back" is a passenger plane, with a lightbulb over the cockpit, flying over photographs of a street scene in Seoul, Korea, a street market in Bangalore, India, and a bicyclist riding over a bridge in São Paulo. Brazil.

Eight years ago, a friend of mine visited family in Shenzhen, China. When she got back, she said, "People are doing everything on their phones. No one touches a computer. And no one carries cash." My response, "That sounds unrealistic. Surely that will never happen in the US.” But how many of us never pay with cash, and use our phones for everything? What she saw and the insights she brought back were transformative. Travel as much as you can and soak up every bit of social, cultural, and commercial innovation, before it seeps into your part of the world.

7. Try magical thinking

A black line drawing on a white background with the heading "07 / Try magical thinking" in all caps in black sans serif type. In the drawing a girl with a wizard's hat and holding a magic wand in one hand and a tablet in the other is tapping a flower in a pot, while she's speaking the magic word, "Transformicus" handwritten in pink. From that magical tap, the potted plant, relays a number of messages: "Air pollution is high today! Also, my roots are a little dry. Starting water sequence." and "BTW, your tomato plants need some love." handwritten in pink.

Even now what’s possible with technology sometimes feels like magic. A great way to design the future is to imagine a common object with magic added. What if there were no restrictions on what you could create? What if you could transform a simple plant into a smart plant that could tell you air pollution is high, or that it needs water, or one that could communicate with all the other plants on a farm and bring that information back to you? No matter how you use it, magical thinking helps generate fantastical ideas that seem improbably... or even impossible.

8. Explore mashups

A pink and blue line drawing on a white background with the heading "08 / Explore mashups" in all caps in black sans serif type. The image is of a classic Venn diagram of two interlocking circles. In the left circle, above the heading "Your perfectly formed idea," is a lightbulb alongside "Aspects" handwritten five times in pink.Alongside it, also handwritten in pink is the instruction: "Getting started. Dig into the right context surrounding your idea. What makes it unique? Capture all your thoughts in the first circle, then generaate complementary or clashing ideas." In the right circle, above the heading "Complementary or disruptive concept," is a lightbulb alongside "Aspects" handwritten five times in blue. Alongside it, also handwritten in blue is a list under the heading "Examples: On a plane, in the mail, for kids, in China, on mobile, Disneyland, luxury, mass market, off the grid, collaborative, solo play, delightful, biological." In the circle overlap is a purple lightbulb and the handwritten words, "What's in the overlap?"

A common way to spark innovation is plain old mashups—Venn diagrams—where your current idea goes in one circle, a complementary or disruptive idea goes in another, and inventive ideas happen in the overlap. Take a perfectly formed idea that’s probably familiar to most people: laundry detergent. In circle one, list everything you know about laundry detergent. In circle two, list ways to reduce waste (less packaging, compostable materials, easy to ship). In the overlap, where the list in circle two impacts the list in circle one, is where innovation (like laundry detergent sheets) is born.

9. Play utopia/dystopia

Two line drawings in a quick sketch style on a white background with the heading "09 / Play utopia/dystopia" in all caps in black sans serif type. Between the drawings is a lightbulb with arrows pointing to each. On the left, in blue and yellow, above the heading "Utopia" in all caps in blue sans serif type, is a framed drawing of smiling people in a sunny tree-filled landscape. Underneath is a sentence, written in blue handwritten type: "What good decisions, fortunate outcomes and favorable conditions lead to your idea growing in deeply beneficial ways, benefitting society." On the right, in pink and yellow, above the heading "Dystopia" in all caps in pink sans serif type, is a framed drawing of an angry person against a background of angular shapes. Underneath is a sentence, written in pink handwritten type: "What mistakes, rushed decision, and circumstances beyond your control, might lead to your idea spinning out and damaging society?"

Imagine the best scenario for an idea. Then imagine the worst. What would happen if you did everything right and your idea became a force for good and positively transformed society. Alternatively, what would happen if your idea were used in an unexpected way or a decision you made ended up hurting people? Technology is never neutral: Design a future utopia through a dystopian lens. Consider the safeguards and ideas you'll need to implement to prevent bad things from happening.

10. Help people adapt

A series of three black and grey line drawings (stacked) on a white background with the heading "10 / Help people adapt" in all caps in black sans serif type. At the top is a woman drawn in a quick sketch style with short curly hair and bangs wearing a T-shirt and glasses. Beneath her in pink handwritten type is the word "Nana." In the middle is two drawings of the same woman drawn in a quick sketch style under the heading "Not like this" in all caps in black sans serif type. On the left she looks the same as above and beneath her in pink handwritten type is the word "Nana." On the right her hair is spiky and she's wearing a VR headset and beneath her in blue handwritten type are the words "Cyberpunk nana." On the bottom is the same woman drawn in a quick sketch style with short curly hair and bangs wearing a T-shirt and glasses under the heading "Maybe more like this" in all caps in black sans serif type. To her left is a flower in a pot, accompanied by pink handwritten words "It's sunny outside," and to her right is a hot cup of coffee, accompanied by blue handwritten words "Remember your yoga,". Beneath her in pink handwritten type are the word "Future-compatible nana."

The most compelling reason to design for the future is to think about how we can meaningfully help people adapt to innovation. Whether it’s for a child, a grandmother, or someone who just doesn’t have the same access, instead of considering how to layer on as much technology as possible, use this exercise to consider how to include it in ways that feel human, accessible, inclusive, and fair. Maybe the best way to adapt technology for your grandmother is to bring it down to a human scale—to create a coffee cup that reminds her to exercise, or a flower that lets her know it’s sunny outside and maybe a good time for a walk.

Make the future better

Some final thoughts about designing the future: Instead of benefiting a few, benefit many. Instead of unlocking wealth, unlock human potential. Instead of consuming immense resources, grow sustainably. Instead of building new walls and silos, make the world feel more open. Instead of making tech more complex, make tech clearer. Instead of controlling innovation, democratize innovation. And instead of making the future feel alien, make the future feel human.


Adapted from Matthew Carlson’s Design the Future presentation for UC Berkeley's A. Richard Newton Lecture Series.

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