What if we embraced something as unwieldy and confusing as “the future” as an additional medium for designers? We are entering a future in which everything around us, from the sidewalks we walk on, to the cities we live in, to the hats on our heads, can be mediums for communication and engagement. Because of this reality, the processes for uncovering web design Murfreesboro Tennessee problems and creative solutions are completely changing.

One of the best actions Murfreesboro web designers can take to stay relevant in a time of great uncertainty is realize that web design Murfreesboro Tennessee ultimately impacts everything, and everything impacts design. Here are 6 emerging technologies that Murfreesboro web designers should keep an eye on, today:

1. Domed Cities

(AFP Photo/Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid) / AFP

What is it? The concept of a Domed City is still largely hypothetical, but it generally refers to a fully enclosed and pressurized urban area that is capable of creating a climate-controlled environment.

What’s an example? Referred to as “Mall of the World”, Dubai has steadily progressed on plans for a megastructure that would cover millions of square feet, and house hundreds of buildings, 20,000 hotel rooms, a transit system, and even the largest indoor theme park in the world. Learn more.

What are the implications for design? After WWII, the practice of brand identity web design Murfreesboro Tennessee skyrocketed thanks to the growth of an even more globalized business landscape. In a foreseeable future in which our countries are divided by millions of domes, branding may see another shift that is more hyper-localized and community-inspired.

2. Blockchain

(Bitmark Home Page) / Bitmark

What is it? Aside from being one of the most challenging Emerging Technologies to explain, theBlockchain is a record of transactions that take place digitally. These transactions are tracked and organized by time-stamping each transaction, and categorizing them in a linear, chronological order.

What’s an example? Based in Taipei, Bitmark is a blockchain startup that makes it easier for creators to claim ownership of their digital property by making it easy for people to mark their one-of-a-kind digital files with their own unique identity. Learn more.

What are the implications for design? As the development of digital media expands, Murfreesboro web designers will find themselves confronting issues of privacy and ownership that have (concerningly) yet to be considered or resolved in our industry. The blockchain is an emerging technology that can help Murfreesboro web designers “mark” what’s rightfully theirs.

3. Autonomous Vehicles

(Interior of the Concept-i) / Toyota

What is it? Also referred to as “driverless cars”, autonomous vehicles are vehicles that have the capability of navigating and sensing an environment without the reliance on human control.

What’s an example? At CES in 2017, Toyota unveiled their Concept-i vehicle which is designed to make drivers feel like they are playing a video game. When drivers want to just sit back and relax, though, they have the ability to enter Chauffer mode. Learn more.

What are the implications for design? The typical means of engagement with an audience trapped behind a wheel for marketers and Murfreesboro web designers has been limited to billboards, and exterior signage. In a future in which every driver is behind the wheel of a self-driving car, new means of engagement and interaction will reveal themselves, and distraction will be less of a concern for safety.

4. Chat Bots

DoNotPay app – Photograph by Joshua Browder / The Guardian

What is it? Occasionally powered by Artificial Intelligence, a Chat Bot is an automated service that allows customers to engage with a chat interface in order to obtain necessary information or clarification.

What’s an example? DoNotPay, also known as “Robot Lawyer”, was created by a student at Stanford University in order to help people overturn parking fines. Now the app is being used for some serious social impact, by using Facebook Messenger in order to help refugees fill in an immigration application in the US and Canada. Learn more.

What are the implications for design? As designers, we are in the service industry, and interfacing with clients is an almost daily occurrence. As Chat Bots get more sophisticated, though, the way we engage with our clients (an ultimately pitch our work) may change significantly.

5. 3D Printing

NBC News – Maxim Grigoryev/TASS

What is it? In fancy terms, 3D Printing is known as “Additive Manufacturing”. This emerging technology allows for the printing of three dimensional objects by way of layering materials that take the shape of a computer-generated rendering of an object.

[Read more about the future of 3D printing in design.]

What’s an example? For a while there, everyone was probably worried that 3D printing would never be able to go above and beyond the novelty of small keychains and tchotchkes. Recently, however, Contour Crafting has proven that the emerging technology can do a lot of good for the environment, and can even build a 2,500 square foot house in just 20 hours. Learn more.

What are the implications for design? As this emerging technology continues to enter the mainstream, and the barrier to entry decreases, 3D printing has exciting implications for Murfreesboro web designers as it provides an entirely new medium and potential mode of communication. Just think of all the 3D logos!

6. Brain-Computer Interfaces

OpenBCI – Kickstarter

What is it? Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) allow for a direct communication between your brain and an external device. Yes, this is a real thing.

What’s an example? OpenBCI, a company based in Brooklyn, has developed an easy-to-use product that allows users to hook up electrodes to a small, batter-powered, circuit board that makes it possible for people to harness the electrical signals in your body in order to interact with a computer. Learn more.

What are the implications for design? In the field of User Experience Design, practitioners will web design Murfreesboro Tennessee interfaces that tap influence the natural intuition and preferred experience of the end user. As emerging technologies like BCI enter the mainstream, the deliverable of a UX designer will reach a new level of intimate influence.

Pretty cool stuff, right? Now let’s have some fun by leveraging this quick thought-exercise that will help you connect the dots between what you do on a daily basis, and the uncertainty of the future:

Step 01: Write down a list of 5 skills you have

Step 02: Write down a list of 5 professional activities you take on on a weekly basis.

Step 03: Select 2 of the emerging technologies listed above.

Step 04: Reflect on how these 2 things might positively and negatively impact what you do.

… and, of course, Step 05: See you at HOW Design Live this May!