N°095 - Phil Balagtas Is Making Futures Work

18 snips

Mar 13, 2025

Phil Balagtas, an author focused on futures practice, delves into the fascinating journey of writing his comprehensive book on speculative design. He discusses the essential role of imagination in futures work, comparing it to a muscle needing regular exercise. The conversation highlights the significance of collaboration, practical applications, and the transformative power of immersive experiences in learning. Balagtas also shares personal anecdotes about overcoming self-doubt and the intricate balance of creativity and structure in facilitating workshops.

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ANECDOTE

Collaboration with Gary Huswit

Phil Balagtas expresses excitement about a recent podcast featuring Gary Huswit discussing Brian Eno.
He describes a serendipitous encounter that led to a collaboration with Huswit.

ANECDOTE

Book Writing Journey

Phil Balagtas details the journey of writing his comprehensive book on futures practice, starting from his teaching experiences in 2011.
He explains the evolution of his ideas, initial collaboration with Ben Loden, and subsequent work with Lou Rosenfeld.

INSIGHT

Visual Thinking

Julian Bleecker emphasizes the importance of visual thinking in his learning process and book preferences.
He describes how visual elements, like images and typography, can enhance understanding and create a more engaging reading experience.

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Phil Balagtas' book "Making Futures Work" is a comprehensive map of the work of futuring.

https://www.philbalagtas.com/

Learn how to get started with Futures Thinking. With this practical guide, Phil Balagtas, founder of the Design Futures Initiative and the global Speculative Futures network, shows you how designers and futurists have made futures work at companies such as Atari, IBM, Apple, Disney, Autodesk, Lufthansa, and McKinsey & Company.

This book demystifies the process of Futures Thinking into a language that's practical and useful for both designers and strategists. You'll learn about Strategic Foresight for using ideas about the future to anticipate and prepare for change; explore Speculative Design to deal with the relationship between science, technology, and humans; and Design Fiction to explore and critique possible futures.

Balagtas also shares stories from his journey to build a global community and describes how he works with clients to reshape the futures vocabulary. With this guide, you'll learn how to:

We discuss the challenges and triumphs of writing an all-encompassing book on futures practice, exploring the evolution of speculative design and the importance of imagination as a critical element in futures work. Phil shares his experiences from initial concept to publication, the personal and professional obstacles, and the intricate process of curating a methodologically rich and visually engaging text. We discuss the collaborative nature of futures work, the delicate balance of practicality and creativity, and the potential of immersive experiences to enhance learning and engagement in futures studies. Imagination, much like a muscle, needs to be exercised and nurtured through diverse techniques and collaborative efforts.

Please support the podcast by becoming a Patron over on https://patreon.com/nearfuturelaboratory which also gets you access to the Near Future Laboratory Discord server, a vibrant hub of engaged, thoughtful, creative generalists oriented towards creating more habitable near future worlds.