Why:

The Silicon Valley UX Awards (SVUXA) is excited to announce alter+ as the 2024 Runner-Up for Best Speculative Design User Experience. Recognized for its innovative ‘Tomorrow’s Products Design Framework,’ alter+ has demonstrated excellence in embracing Simplicity, Engagement, Empathy, and Design Aesthetics. This transformative tool shows how speculative design can shape foresight, sense-making, and business strategy, offering tech companies a new lens for product development and innovation.

The Challenge: Breaking the Traditional Mold

In the world of product design, roadmap planning is a familiar process. Typically, product managers outline a series of predefined items that cross-functional teams, including engineering, data, and design, then review. While effective, this process often limits creativity and long-term planning by focusing on immediate, tangible goals rather than exploring future possibilities and innovative solutions.

The Impact: Driving Innovation at Twitch

Developed during Twitch’s design-led quarter, the ‘Tomorrow’s Products’ framework has already proven its impact. Twitch’s design team explored future product possibilities by leveraging the framework’s tools, creating visionary prototypes that influenced the company’s 2023 strategic goals.

The framework facilitated informed decision-making and led to the successful development and launch of products like ‘Discovery Feed’ and ‘Stories,’ enhancing the experience for Twitch’s creator and viewer communities. Implementing these new features illustrates how speculative design frameworks can drive real-world product development, directly impacting user engagement and platform growth.

Simplicity in Design and Execution

The ‘Tomorrow’s Products Framework’ is simple, making it accessible and intuitive for tech teams of all sizes. The structured approach begins with clear steps, using familiar language and tools that simplify the often complex process of speculative design. By breaking down the journey into manageable stages, the framework makes it easy for teams to navigate future scenarios and incorporate them into tangible product strategies.

This simplicity allows for streamlined implementation, ensuring that companies can quickly adopt the framework and explore new avenues for innovation without being overwhelmed by the process.

Engaging Teams and Elevating Collaboration

Engagement is at the core of the framework’s success. By incorporating interactive tools like ‘Polarity Map’ and ‘Tweets from the Future,’ the ‘Tomorrow’s Products Framework’ encourages team members to actively participate in the design process, promoting creativity and collaboration. The emphasis on speculative design engages team members in forward-thinking discussions, creating a shared vision and fostering a culture of innovation.

The framework’s collaborative approach ensures that cross-functional teams—spanning design, engineering, and business strategy—can work together effectively, aligning their efforts towards unified and strategic business goals.

Empathy for Long-Term Success

Empathy is a fundamental aspect of the ‘Tomorrow’s Products Framework,’ as it considers users’ immediate needs and anticipates future challenges and opportunities. By using tools like Signal Maps and Future Wheel, the framework allows teams to deeply understand emerging trends and how they may impact users and business strategies in the long term. This empathy-driven approach ensures that products developed through the framework are visionary and sustainable, providing value for users and stakeholders.

Design Aesthetics That Inspire

The framework’s design aesthetics are modern, visually engaging, and thoughtfully crafted to facilitate the speculative design process. Each tool is designed with clarity and creativity, ensuring participants are inspired and motivated throughout the journey. The framework’s aesthetics enhance usability and make the design process a more enjoyable and immersive experience for teams.

Through a pop-up exhibition at Twitch, the framework’s impact was made tangible. Visionary products and prototypes brought the design process to life and highlighted the potential of future product innovation. This emphasis on creating visually engaging and immersive experiences aligns with the framework’s goal of turning abstract concepts into actionable and inspiring realities.

A Visionary Approach to Speculative Design

The ‘Tomorrow’s Products Design Framework’ by alter+ is a powerful tool that redefines speculative design’s role in product development. By offering a structured, engaging, and empathetic approach, the framework guides tech companies in exploring future scenarios and their impact on real-world processes. The success of the framework at Twitch demonstrates its potential to drive meaningful innovation and inform long-term business strategy.

The 2024 Silicon Valley UX Awards congratulate Alter+ on its outstanding achievement in speculative design. Their dedication to Simplicity, Engagement, Empathy, and Design Aesthetics showcases how speculative frameworks can transform the future of tech products and strategies.

Congratulations, alter+, for being named the Runner-Up for Best Speculative Design User Experience at the 2024 SVUXA. Your innovative approach continues to set new standards in speculative design, inspiring tech companies to think beyond today and create for tomorrow.