Why Storyworlds Matter

At Visioning Lab we use storyworlds to explore ideas that are still forming.

A storyworld is not just a narrative. It's a structured setting where different elements — people, technologies, environments, rules — can be placed in relation to each other. This makes it possible to test how something might work before it exists.

We use storyworlds when a concept is too new, too complex or too speculative to explain directly. Instead of describing a future system in abstract terms, we place it inside a world and see what happens. How would people behave? What would change? What tensions would appear?

This approach is useful across research, design and public engagement. It helps teams move beyond slogans or single scenarios and think through consequences. It also gives collaborators from different disciplines a shared reference point. Rather than debating in the abstract, they can respond to the same world.

Storyworlds don't have to be fictional in a dramatic sense. They can sit very close to reality. Sometimes they are near-future settings built from existing technologies and policies. Sometimes they are interpretive environments that help people understand ecological or social systems. The level of speculation depends on what the project needs.

We often connect storyworld work with immersive and ontology work. The storyworld provides a context. The immersive work lets people step inside it. The ontology work helps structure the language and relationships within it. Together, these methods support clearer thinking about emerging systems.

The point is not to predict the future. It's to create a space where possibilities can be explored in a concrete way, with enough detail to be useful.