Paper Spaces: Visualizing the Future

We tend to think of space as irrelevant in creative work, or at best indirectly influential: architects may use a mix of open office plans, natural lighting, and bold colors, for example, to create stimulating workspaces. But for futures workshops, and for the kinds of visual processes that many futurists use, the relationship between space, ideas, and creativity is much more intimate. Ideas are embodied in materials; they become cognitive and physical spaces that literally surround groups; and the process of creating those spaces can promote a sense of group identity and common vision for the future. I use the term “paper spaces” to describe these environments, and in this article explains how paper spaces are used to help create collective visions of the future. In particular it shows how futures workshops take particular advantage of the affordances of paper spaces to facilitate the creation of collective knowledge about the future, using processes that embody our beliefs about the future.