above / below

Projects

2026

Amid the horrifying events of the present day, many face a paralyzing fear of the future. This fear can make it difficult to look for or commit to solutions. The text below aims to help unfreeze action through critical design. By distancing ourselves from the status quo through a work of speculative fiction, we can re-evaluate possible solutions. We defamiliarize ourselves with the “real” world to look toward the future with fresh eyes. The work below places the viewer in the year 2032 and allows them to interact with artifacts from this speculative future society. It allows us to ask ourselves what these people did right, what they did wrong, and what we should carry with us into the real 2032.

above / below is a speculative design project that explores how speculative fiction can be combined with communication design to encourage values of mutual aid and collective survival. The project consisted of research, making, and writing in a speculative journal. The full process can be explored here.

kath davis design