Future Services Studio: Imagining the Next Chapter of Australian Design Products and Services

Future Services Studio is an exhibition, workshop series and public discussion that empowers Australian designers to imagine how design might meet future Australian product and service needs. It invites both designers and the public to explore how emerging technologies, particularly AI, can expand the way we design the services, systems, products and experiences that define everyday Australian life.

The exhibition showcases the Future Services Radar process, a future design method that helps designers structure how they go about imagining future needs and services. It presents three interconnected displays: the Future Services Radar process and research method behind speculative service design; selected projects by emerging designers on future Australian services and designed systems; and a participatory station for the public to contribute their future imaginings of Australia’s service ideas and design artefacts.

Across three workshops, participants will explore different levels of creative engagement with Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI). The first workshop introduces publicly available GenAI tools for design exploration and speculation. The second workshop invites participants to apply GenAI tools to imagine and prototype future Australian services. The third workshop offers a masterclass in advanced GenAI tools for design practice.

The program concludes with a public panel discussion where designers, educators and industry leaders will reflect on what future Australian services might emerge (based on the exhibition and workshop outcomes) and how today’s designers can prepare for these new opportunities and design challenges.

• for: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Design Week
• Event link: https://designweek.melbourne/event/future-services-studio-imagining-the-next-chapter-of-australian-design-products-and-services/