Design Fiction Artifact Scanner

Unlock new possibilities, reframe contexts, and inspire futures thinking.

Last November, I traveled to Detroit for the 2nd annual Imagine Harder Summit, joining fellow Near Future Laboratory showrunners Julian and Chris, along with a gathering of curious minds from across North America. Our mission? To explore The Future of Work.

The theme took root thanks to Chris, who sparked the idea of an Employee Manual as a design fiction artifact. The Near Future Laboratory Discord was buzzing with interest—conversations unfolded in our weekly office hours, and ideas poured in from members eager to contribute. Naturally, we decided to take it further at the summit. And we did.

In my excitement, I designed and distributed a small but powerful tool: the Artifact Scanner. A simple yet clever piece of laser-cut acrylic, outfitted with a red gel and a stack of insertable prompts printed using the classic red reveal technique—the kind you might remember from childhood books or toys.

This unassuming device transformed from a static piece of plastic into an interactive thought experiment. Point it at any mundane object, slide in a prompt, and suddenly, you’re reframing its context, imagining alternate futures, and challenging assumptions about what’s possible.

I have a few left, and I’ve promised some to people already. But if I have extras, I might just give one away to a lucky subscriber. Stay tuned.

Lastly, a nod to Smithery’s Obliquiscope, which inspired the scanner’s design.