top of page

Medusa Inc.

Fostering a harmonious coexistence between humanity and the natural world through the principles of queer ecology and sustainable reproduction.

DESIGN FICTION

INTERFACE

PRODUCT

VISUAL DESIGN

UX: Tom van Wijland, Ece Günesen

ID: Isabelle Olsson, Julius Bahl

UX: Tom van Wijland, Ece Günesen

ID: Isabelle Olsson, Julius Bahl

2z copy.png

In a future, tech helps parents create a plant-baby from their own genetic material.

The resulting hybrid organism is called a ‘Botanic Chimera’ and has the genetic blueprint of both plant and human cells spliced together. Botanic Chimerae hold legal personhood rights just like anybody else.

25 2.png

Please activate sound from the right corner of the video ↑

Botanic Chimera

Parents can provide a blood sample through the device for stem cell collection to later be used in-vitro to generate a plant cell embryo. 

Firefly image of a finger that is pricked and has a drop of blood on it where the sample w
pexels-cottonbro-studio-7268853.jpg
HeroShot4export copy.png
21.png

Throughout the process, parents can interact with the monitor to view the reaction parameters as well as the specific instances where they are expected to add primer to the test vial.

Dropper Packaging copy.png

 Nexus file is created for every hybrid organism that holds their unique genome sequence, to be later used as a safe form of identification.

codefile.png
Nexus.png
Darkmode.png
Lightmode.png
Frame 57.png

Brand Identity

A comprehensive brand identity along with a typographic expression that embodies fluidity, transcending the boundaries of science and logic, was crafted. Light and dark color palettes has been developed, along with UI assets and iconography, to ensure a cohesive experience.

Weekly reflection

A weekly recap in the form of an audio-visual experience is compiled through all the saved recordings. By turning moments into a more fluid medium through sound, things become less easily quantified and more open for humane interpretation and reflection. 

 

The composition can be synchronized with diverse data sources at the user's discretion.

lightlogo.png
darklogo.png
Artboard 4.png
Slide 16_9 - 4.png

Process

We participated in a workshop with Søren Rosenbak at Umeå Institute of Design, exploring the 'Futures Bazaar' framework—a 'public imagination toolkit' developed by Situation Lab and BBC. We delved into reading mega trends and weak signals around us and then utilized prompt words from the toolkit to select a future 'direction' for individual narrative exploration. I later did a backcasting exercise to identify the steps needed to connect that hypothetical future scenarios to the present through creative writing.

Plausible fiction

Upon probing the changes and events within the societal, political, economical and technological dimensions, I wrote a speculative research paper that defined a breakthrough that might enable the creation of plant tissue from human stem cells.

This scientific breakthrough acted as the narrative ground for the artifact to stand on.

original_eabbb2ef65ba9f69a75e2c04f42f35dd.png
PubMed_article.png
InaQuuerFuture 2copy.png
P1000503_0.5x.jpg
IMG_0922.jpeg

Project credits

2023   |  Duration: 2 weeks

Individual work, collective workshop

MonsteraPassport copy.png
bottom of page