Books to exercise your creative, strategic and speculative design skills.
We are an independent publisher for design, culture and technology.
Design expertise meets A.I. imagination, and we publish incredible books.
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Synthetic Stategies
The concept
Real-world data, by hybrid imaginations
What are Synthetic Strategies?
Synthetic Strategies is a design practice that combines speculative design, strategy, cultural studies, futures thinking, and real-world data to create design fictions.
The approach blends numerous practices:
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Real-world data from social, market and cultural sources
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AI-human hybrid imagination
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Speculative design
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Market and opportunity analysis
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Culture-sensitive design
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Futures thinking
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Design fictions
Inspiring methods, strategic design, empathy, critical thinking, and creativity.
Synthetic Strategies
The books
We aggregated data from dozens of countries with artificial intelligence, considering cultural, economical and geopolitical factors.
Now we explore how to solve these fictionalized problems.
Synthetic
Tropic
Speculative and strategic design in emerging economies
Synthetic Tropic
PDF / Softcover, 12.5 x 18.0 cm, 0.53 kg, 276 pages
With real-world data aggregated from emerging democracies with limited freedoms, Synthetic Tropic speculates the fiction of Terracrux, a tropical federation with characteristics of Brazil, Turkey, South Africa, Mexico and other similar countries.
Culture The book presents a sophisticated framework to understand culture, needs, power relations, experience and technology — a valuable addition to any designer's skills.
Strategy Practical examples for using market indicators, business ecosystems and lean approaches for strategic work — like real consultants practice, but along the dystopian timeline of this fictional nation.
Immersion With a vibrant gallery of life-like characters, to a wildly imaginative showcase of local innovations, Synthetic Tropic is an exciting immersive journey through strategy, speculation and the design craft.
An immersive dive into Synthetic Tropic
Follow the day-to-day of Terracrux on Instagram
Archipelagos
Speculative and strategic design in uniquely prosperous nations
by AI-Human imaginations
Archipelagos
PDF / Softcover, 12.5 x 18.0 cm, 0.56 kg, 298 pages
Aggregated data from culturally unique nations, which in one way or another stand out: these islands of peculiarity were inspired by Uruguay, Estonia, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Iceland and more. Comparing and contrasting these aggregations, we wonder the jobs to be done when everything has already been thought of.
Culture The book presents a sophisticated framework to understand culture, needs, power relations, experience and technology — a valuable addition to any designer's skills.
Strategy Practical examples for using market indicators, business ecosystems and lean approaches for strategic work — like real consultants practice, but along the dystopian timeline of this fictional nation.
Immersion A gallery of life-like characters, to a wildly imaginative showcase of local innovations, Synthetic Tropic is an exciting immersive journey through strategy, speculation and the design craft.
Regimes
Speculative and strategic design in high-growth authoritarian systems
by Human-AI imaginations
Regimes
PDF / Softcover, 12.5 x 18.0 cm, 0.56 kg, 180 pages
Selected by artificial intelligence, these regimes display impressive economical growth and limited freedoms for civilians. Here we wonder the pains, opportunities and intricacies of 1.5 billion people living in these cultural systems.
Culture The book presents a sophisticated framework to understand culture, needs, power relations, experience and technology — a valuable addition to any designer's skills.
Strategy Practical examples for using market indicators, business ecosystems and lean approaches for strategic work — like real consultants practice, but along the dystopian timeline of this fictional nation.
Immersion A gallery of life-like characters, to a wildly imaginative showcase of local innovations, Synthetic Tropic is an exciting immersive journey through strategy, speculation and the design craft.
Values we live by
Validated cultural and market studies
Credibility We work with validated references of cultural trends and market drivers
Brief and meaningful
Brevity We keep it simple, but not too simple. Axios' smart brevity is a compass for respecting your time and purpose
A self-aware society
Social impact Our projects contribute to more self-aware and integrated society
Made for your real-life work
Applicability Real-world consulting frameworks will develop your own strategic approach — and make real impact in the world
Diversity is a strategy
Diversity by default Multiple communities contributing bring vibrant outcomes to content. We strive to avoid current structures of power
Speculative and strategic thinking
Imagination Speculative scenarios are combined with the latest AI models, to give you that brain itch that gets things going
Human-AI collaborative
Hybrid embrace We don't repel, but mindfully embrace the hybrid of A.I. imagination and human creativity