Designing a speculative artifact for the future of the nutritional supplement industry
Design Fiction is an exploration of the possible applications and future developments of certain ideas and objects.
For my Innovation project, I wanted to explore the topic of nutritional supplements and its massive growth. The health and wellness industry is booming and we're seeing more trends and changes in consumer preferences. In my process, I examined the trajectories of influences, opportunities, and prior innovations that led to the innovations of dietary supplement throughout history through a Legacy Map, which allows me to visualize these evolutions and identify themes or insights.
LEGACY MAP
I continued by identifying "signals" surrounding my topic that inform the potential direction the industry and market is heading towards, examples of these signals include adaptogens, nootropics, personalized supplement subscription plans, etc. Using one of the signals I identified, I created a Futures Wheel, identifying three layers of consequences and outcomes.
FUTURES WHEEL
Out of the insights I got from my research, I decided with the idea of focusing my design fiction prototype on supplement vending machines. This is an idea which addresses the rates of deficiencies of essential nutrients within communities, and to help individuals stay on top of their health goals. The convenience of vending machines allows easier accessibility and will serve as a visible reminder for individuals to take their vitamins on-the-go.
The vending machines that currently exist around us mostly sell high-sugar beverages and highly processed snacks, and studies have proven the contribution of vending machines to the growing levels of obesity. Healthier vending machine options are currently starting to become more common, therefore the creation of vending machines that dispense nutritional supplements could definitely be something that exists in the potential future.
I decided to depict my design fiction artifact in the form of a digital web article mockup published by The Cut, a publication site which often cover topics on health and wellness. I depicted details throughout the article that represents some of the consequences I identified through my Futures Wheel, such as the article suggestions and the advertisement. Mimicking the style of website articles, I made sure to include an illustration that relates to the topic. I wanted the illustration to not be an accurate depiction of what a supplement vending machine would look like, but a visual expression with a more playful approach.
Experimenting around with different color palettes for the illustration:
THE FINAL ARTICLE
*The article mockup is scaled to take up the full screen to resemble an actual site, scroll down to read through*
