The future is not a distant eventuality, it is something organizations actively shape. Every decision, from strategy to innovation, is an act of future-making. And yet, thinking about the future often stirs fear, uncertainty and doubt.
By exploring different future visions and thinking about what might be possible, organizations can meet that uncertainty with greater confidence, clarity, and optimism. In fact, it allows them to work backward from a desired future vision to the concrete steps they need to take today to make the vision real.
At BCG BrightHouse, we believe that when Futures Thinking is grounded in purpose, it becomes truly transformative. This is where Design Futures (a field encompassing Speculative Design, Design Fiction, and Strategic Foresight) becomes not just an imaginative exercise but a necessary tool for guiding organizations toward futures that are meaningful, relevant, and desirable.
What is Design Futures?
Design Futures is not about making precise predictions. It is a strategic tool that uses intentional design and storytelling to prototype and test different versions of tomorrow.
Every day, in the stories we tell through literature, film and digital media, we are shaping a collective blueprint for what we believe is possible. When organizations use Design Futures as a tool, they expand their sense of possibility and create the conditions for meaningful change. Once mainly applied in the arts and academia, Design Futures has now gained traction in the business world, with companies such as Google, Shell, and IKEA, to name a few, embracing them to drive innovation.
Speculative Design, Design Fiction, and Strategic Foresight provide structured methodologies to challenge assumptions, visualize alternatives, and reframe what is possible. By bringing these speculative futures into tangible form (like immersive experiences, interactive storytelling, or simulated prototypes) organizations can engage with complex questions in a visceral way.
Renowned design professors Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby, who are pioneers in the field, summarize this idea in their book Speculative Everything: Design, Dreaming, and Social Dreaming saying:
We believe that (…) by exploring alternative scenarios, reality will become more malleable and, although the future cannot be predicted, we can help set in place today factors that will increase the probability of more desirable futures happening.
Professors Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby
Authors of Speculative Everything: Design, Dreaming, and Social Dreaming
Purpose: The Missing Piece in Futures Thinking
Purpose is the first brick we lay. It’s the solid foundation on which every layer of our imagined futures is built. Futures Thinking is only as good as the intentions behind it. If left unguided, it risks reinforcing the status quo or leading to futures that serve narrow interests rather than broader societal good. Purpose can act as a North Star, ensuring that Futures Thinking is not only speculative but also ethical, inclusive, and human-centered. At BCG BrightHouse, we define purpose as a timeless and guiding articulation of why an organization exists beyond profit. It serves as a strategic compass that aligns culture, brand, and impact.
An organizational purpose can serve as a compass, directing employees toward the kind of future the organization strives for, while clarifying which futures to avoid. And that clarity is crucial. As Cathy Carlisi, Managing Director at BCG BrightHouse, puts it:
Purpose isn’t just a reflection of where a company came from—it’s a blueprint for where it’s going. When leaders reconnect with why they exist, they gain the clarity and courage to design a future that truly matters.
Cathy Carlisi
Managing Director at BCG BrightHouse
The urgency of this work is evident in the way past crises have revealed the limits of reactive leadership. The fifth anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has passed; a stark reminder of how fragile global systems can be and how quickly organizations must adapt. Despite extraordinary scientific innovation and international collaboration, the crisis also exposed deep inequities and gaps in preparedness. In her book ‘Imaginable’, Jane McGonigal argues that many challenges could have been mitigated with more intentional, long-term Futures Thinking embedded into corporate and governmental decision-making.
At BCG BrightHouse, we take this idea a step further by embedding Futures Thinking into business strategy.
Purposeful Futures: The BCG BrightHouse Approach
At BCG BrightHouse, we apply Futures Thinking through a uniquely purpose-driven lens. We recognize that businesses do not operate in isolation. They are part of broader ecosystems that influence and are influenced by culture, technology, and society. Our approach involves:
01 | Cultural Contextualization
We analyze global and local cultural shifts to ensure futures work is grounded in reality and expansive in vision.
02 | Future Frameworks
We apply specific methodologies such as the Futures Cone which help to systematically categorize, structure, and map multiple future scenarios.
03 | Experiential Futures and Storytelling
We create immersive experiences and speculative artifacts to make the future tangible for decision-makers.
04 | AI-Augmented Visioning
Combined with the expertise of designers, writers, and filmmakers, AI-powered tools help bring imagined futures to life in more vivid, compelling, and immersive ways.
05 | Participatory Design
We co-create futures with a diverse network of stakeholders to ensure inclusivity and alignment with human needs.
By using this methodology, we help organizations move beyond reactionary strategies and position themselves as active architects of a better future.
The Future is a Direction, Not a Destination
Design Futures tools and methods help our customers unlock new thinking and transform strategic uncertainty into innovative opportunities. Organizations that engage with Design Futures do not just adapt to change, they are able to shape it with clarity, intent and conviction. At BCG BrightHouse, we are committed to ensuring that the futures we imagine, and help to build, are not just speculative but purposeful, equitable, and ultimately, desirable.
Alan Iny, Global Lead for Creativity and Scenarios at BCG, notes that the most successful organizations are those that maintain flexibility while committing to a strong vision. By integrating Design Futures with purpose, we create pathways toward futures that are not only possible but worth striving for. Because in the end, the most meaningful futures are the ones designed with purpose.
…the most successful organizations are those that maintain flexibility while committing to a strong vision. By integrating Design Futures with purpose, we create pathways toward futures that are not only possible but worth striving for.
Alan Iny
Global Lead for Creativity and Scenarios at BCG
Visuals created using ChatGPT, MidJourney, and Runway by Angus Nicholls, Associate Creative Director, and Catalina Lotero, Creative Director of Design at BCG BrightHouse. The visual style pays homage to the late Syd Mead, renowned Visual Futurist whose visionary work continues to inspire generations of designers and storytellers.