Futurist + Design Researcher
Melanie Arz is a futurist and design researcher, eager about understanding the past and exploring future trajectories to enable change in the present. She sees the future as a lens to destabilise and critique our current realities. Her work moves beyond the boundaries of disciplines, combining design, foresight and systemic psychology. She grounds her speculations in evidence and facts, while also moving beyond what we can see today by harnessing her intuition. With over a decade of experience in foresight, innovation, and strategy, Melanie still believes (or hopes) that we can move past tech solutionism. She currently works as an independent futurist at the intersection of design and science, and as a researcher at TU Berlin. She studied Trendwatching in Amsterdam and holds a Master’s degree in Communication Science, specialising in media and social psychology. She is also a certified Design Thinker and Systemic Coach.
What if the future of work were to be imagined from the perspective of neurodivergent minds? This question forms the core of this talk and interactive discussion, as well as our accompanying exhibition here at Festival der Zukunft. Each future is grounded in the interpretation of…