Design research: Magic against solutionism

Abstract

This research joins others in exploring anti-solutionist design methods, by investigating magical design fiction as an avenue to open the problem space and advance discussion. Our approach uses the Magic Machine Workshop [1] to generate data about junior designers’ perception of a magical design process and evaluates their results. We use these results to speculate on the potential of magic beyond the workshop and as part of the design process. Magic’s potentials for junior designers include challenging designers’ normative thinking, triggering a reflective synthesis of the magical design process and their own, and the versatility of magic. In addition, the magic machines made during the workshop are mapped based on their degree of opening the problem space and advancing the discussion in comparison to their extraordinary, novel and surprising degree. These graphs indicate that most magic machines open the problem space to some extent (6 out of 7) and are advancing the discussion in some extent (5 out of 7), based on the used criteria. The decision to conduct the Magic Machine Workshops online introduced new elements, such as receiving and unpacking the box. Our analysis of the magic machines suggests the online setting is a successful form of executing a Magic Machine Workshop.