Design In The Fourth Dimension
Wenqi Chen
This thesis interrogates how we send or receive messages into the past or the future. The time capsule, a container storing items from today that are buried for later discovery, is an example of how we attempt to create a connection across time by sending a message. All time capsules have a date for reopening or lasting. When we make a time capsule, we assume that the future exists and hope that future generations will see it. In other words, time capsules assume the future while recording the present or the past. Some time capsules are instead designed around the expectation of an undesirable future.
This thesis argues that our speculation about the future commonly follows two patterns. A desirable future reflects an optimistic view that manifests the hope of humanity and our dreams. An undesirable future reflects a pessimistic view that makes visible our anxiety and fear of the unknown, the worry about our human existence.
I also redefine the idea of time capsules and then bring the concept of time capsules into design activities to expand the definition of design and designers. As time moves from the past to the future, everything can be seen as a time capsule, i.e., all carry information from yesterday to tomorrow, and every active action can be seen as a design. Design involves humanity’s planning and actions. Thus, We are all designers.
What is the future of humanity?
These four collages are a visual response to the first question I posed in my thesis, what is the future of humanity? I challenged myself to see if I could envision the future through the four themes: drugs, time, love, and money.
Tarot Cards
The idea behind making the Tarot cards is to reflect that we as humans have always been interested in predicting what is going to happen. The name of each card relates to the content of the text. For example, the card Death was inspired by two definitions of extinction in “The Future of Humanity.” According to Nick Bostrom, extinction means we will either become another species or die. Furthermore, The death card itself has two ways to interpret: end or rebirth.
Dadaist Poetry
I picked up some random words from Elon Musk’s Twitter and put them back together to create a new meaning. I call it Dadaist poetry. It’s random and surprising in its purpose. Like the nature of the future, we never know what will happen tomorrow.
New Humanity Poster
The first poster describes a scenario in which we may obtain biological immortality by reconstructing the human body—for example, brain-computer interfaces, Alternatively growing organs in a lab. When that day comes, the human body may become a commodity that we can readily purchase. Another poster arises from the question of immortality; if we are one day immortalized through digital or biological means, who are we? How do we define ourselves?
How DOES imagination and curiosity drive humanity to speculate about the future?
A pamphlet that includes all the thinking and research process in my "Thesis Research" journey.
Bobu 01
My Capstone project is a set of handmade clay character designs, the character is named Bobu, and The bouba/kiki effect inspires the name. In making this character, I deconstructed my memories and experiences as references and elements to shape the character’s appearance. And later, I will have Bobu do something that might happen in the future in the story. The character is a medium that links my past, present, and future. Repetition of Making this character gives me a continuous experience of mental time travel to review my past, observe the present and imagine the future.
Bobu 02
An illustrated version of the Bobu.
Design In The Fourth Dimension - How to send messages to the past or future? And to receive them?
A rotating version of my thesis book.
Design In The Fourth Dimension - How to send messages to the past or future? And to receive them?
This book includes my thesis essay and all projects related to my topic. It also includes other historical precedents to support the arguments I presented in my thesis.