Bikkuri Project
Softening reality, a playful mindset, and a lot of experimentation
CLIENT: Toyota Innovation Hub - a design division of Toyota
ROLE: Project Lead
Bikkuri (surprise in Japanese) was a project about reimagining automotive design practices and creating new mobility concepts.
We crafted a book of methods for our most successful design activities, and one of the concepts we created evolved into a new mobility vehicle, currently being tested under trials in Japan ( Hop-On).
1
The automotive industry challenges today
The same linear thinking and streamlined design processes lead to undesirable solutions, legitimating the status quo
Looking at trends through a single lens leads to perspectives where catastrophic scenarios are unavoidable. Making people passive rather than proactive about their attitudes.
2
My approach
Bringing speculative design and lateral thinking methods to the process
Inspired by the works of David Rose and Dunne & Raby, I proposed a plan for approaching this project from a speculative design perspective.
By speculating about solutions we may be able to achieve desirable, not probable, futures
Speculative Design moves away from the constraints of commercial practice, uses fiction, and speculates on future products, services, systems, and worlds.
3
Getting the team onboard
Warm-up & getting the point
This was a very new approach and to get the team familiar with the theory I created an exercise of re-perception of the environment and designing for an alternative reality.
I sent the team on
role-playing expeditions around the city
We used the documentation of the activity to demonstrate speculative design to our clients and get their support
4
Developing the new way of softening our minds
Creating tools and methods
Started trying existing methods of speculative design and was inspired by the works of Sputniko!, Dunne & Raby, and The Design Futures Initiative.
Creation of a speculation space
The team needed a flexible, immersive, and creative space where we could be free to move things, draw, and share ideas.
Ideation method that uses multimedia, multi-sensory, and story-telling techniques
To create new future concepts, with a focus on stimulating the senses.
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Challenging or extending existing thinking about business models
Making speculative design prototypes more of an experience with more impact and relatability for the discussion phase.
Identify ‘signals’ of
emerging trends, Ideate a future product, and Storify the product
Translate these ideas about the future into experiences
Making speculative design prototypes more of an experience with more impact and relatability for the discussion phase.
5
Softening the stakeholder's minds
Our strategy throughout the project was to creatively show not tell
Immerse the stakeholders in our process and create discussions.
We used humor, which activates the audience on an emotional and intellectual level.
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6
Deliverables: bikkuri book
We crafted a book of methods
The book was shared among different Toyota groups. It contained our most successful design activities, a set of principles and tools that helps teams tasked with the challenge of designing for the unknown.
A concept started during this project led to the development of new mobility projet: Hop-On
