Professor Paul Coulton
Professor of Speculative and Game DesignResearch Overview
Paul is the Chair of Speculative and Game Design within Imagination and the School of Design. His practice uses research through design to create experiential futures which deliberately mix a present experience with a speculative future that are concretised by combining immersive scenarios with artefacts produced as design fictions or speculative designs. His work has helped establish a particular form of Speculative Design; Design Fiction, as a research method exploring futures for areas such as the Internet of Things and Artificial intelligence. His current research focusses on more-than-human design to expand design approaches so that they play greater consideration to human and non-human actants within the complex assemblages in which new product and services exist particularly in relation to sustainability and climate change.
Web Links
http://imagination.lancs.ac.uk/people/Paul_Coulton
PhD Supervision Interests
Speculative Design, Critical Design, Design Fiction, Design Futures, Design as Rhetoric, Game Design
Re-imagining Alternative Futures of Sustainability Through Design Fiction
01/11/2023 → 01/04/2024
Research
E3: InterNET ZERO: Towards Resource Responsible Trustworthy Autonomous Systems
01/04/2023 → 30/06/2024
Research
E3: Fixing the Future: The Right to Repair and Equal-IoT
01/08/2022 → 31/03/2025
Research
E3: Edge of Reality (ER)
01/04/2022 → 28/02/2023
Research
Trust Me? (I’m an Autonomous Machine)
12/04/2021 → 31/03/2022
Research
FLF: The Next Generations: Design Research in the 21st Century
01/11/2020 → 23/01/2025
Research
E3: AHRC Design Fellowships: Challenges of the Future 2020
01/02/2020 → 30/06/2020
Research
Experiencing the Future Mundane
01/09/2019 → 30/09/2023
Research
PETRAS 2 - Uncanny AI (UncanAI)
01/08/2019 → 01/05/2021
Research
Augmented Humanity: Does the Human Enhance the Machine or the Machine Enhance the Human?
01/01/2019 → 29/10/2019
Research
PETRAS: Extension - demonstrator
01/11/2018 → 30/04/2019
Research
Objects of Immersion
05/02/2018 → 04/08/2018
Research
Cyber Security of the Internet of things
28/02/2016 → 31/08/2019
Research
Design Fiction: The Movie Joe Lindley
01/02/2016 → 31/03/2018
Research
Digital Personhood: Creating and Exploring Digital Empathy
01/10/2013 → 31/03/2016
Research
Taking the Artwork Home
01/05/2013 → 31/01/2017
Research
moBile sociAl netwoRking supporTing local Ethical tRading
29/04/2013 → 31/12/2014
Research
The Creative Exchange
09/01/2012 → 30/06/2017
Research
Citizens Transforming Society: Tools for Change
01/11/2011 → 30/04/2015
Research
Exploratory use of mobile phone technology to assess the impact of traffic related air pollution on children on the journey to school.
01/01/2007 → 31/12/2009
Research
Review of grant application
Expert Opinion
Futures (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Future Internet
Expert Opinion
ACM Designing Interactive Systems 2025 (DIS'25) (Event)
Publication peer-review
Speculative Woolgathering Workshop 2
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Reviewer for Ecological Citizen(s) Network+
Expert Opinion
Futures (Journal)
Publication peer-review
more-than-human design
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Futures at the Margins: adopting more-than-human perspectives
Invited talk
EXPANDING THE MARGINS
Participation in conference - Academic
UKRI TAS Hub InterNET ZERO project @ ESRC Festival of Social Science 2024
Festival/Exhibition/Concert
External Examiner MSc in Connected Environments UCL
Examination
ACM Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction 2025 (TEI'25) (Event)
Publication peer-review
PhD Examination @ Royal College of Art
Examination
AHRC Research Funding Review
Expert Opinion
AHRC Research Funding Review
Expert Opinion
PhD Examination @ Edinburgh College of Art
Examination
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) (External organisation)
Member of Advisory Panel
External Examiner MSc in Connected Environments UCL
Examination
AHRC Research Funding Review
Expert Opinion
PhD Examination @ University of Primorska
Examination
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) (External organisation)
Member of Advisory Panel
The future is a work in progress Exhibition at the Festival of Futures
Festival/Exhibition/Concert
Imagination Now & Next at the Festival of Futures
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Re-imagining Alternative More-than-Human Futures of Sustainability
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) (External organisation)
Member of Advisory Panel
Re-imagining Alternative Futures of Sustainability Through Design Fiction
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
AHRC Research Funding Review
Expert Opinion
Enhancing the UK Economy through Immersive Technology
Invited talk
Design Futuring: Speculative Design and Design Fiction
Invited talk
External Examiner MSc in Connected Environments UCL
Examination
AHRC Research Funding Review
Expert Opinion
PhD Examination (Internal) @ Lancaster
Examination
AI Futures
Symposium
PhD Examination @ Northumbria School of Design
Examination
Bluedot Festival 2023
Festival/Exhibition/Concert
Bath Digital Festival 2023
Festival/Exhibition/Concert
Alien Futuring: Speculative Approaches to More-Than-Human Design
Invited talk
Caravan from the Future
Festival/Exhibition/Concert
PhD Examination (internal) @ Lancaster
Examination
ESRC Festival of Social Science 2022
Festival/Exhibition/Concert
Alien Futuring: shifting perspective from a one-world-world to a world of many worlds
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
TEA Talks
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Digital Design Weekend @V&A for London Design Festival
Festival/Exhibition/Concert
British Science Festival 2022
Festival/Exhibition/Concert
ISF DSTL Stories4Policy: Speculative Futures for Engaging with Risk and Uncertainty
Festival/Exhibition/Concert
ISF DSTL Stories4Policy conference: Experiential Futures - Exhibits Panel Discussion
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Ethical Dilemma Cafe as part of Mozilla Festival 2022
Festival/Exhibition/Concert
Ghosts in the Smart Home
Oral presentation
PhD Examination (internal) @ Lancaster
Examination
PhD Examination (internal) @ Lancaster
Examination
Seeing the spaces in between: Philosophical perspectives for exploring spatial configurations in games
Oral presentation
AI: more than human
Festival/Exhibition/Concert
Sustainable Things: Design for More-Than Human Centred Worlds
Invited talk
Designing More-Than-Human Futures
Invited talk
Defuturing Futures through More-Than-Human Centred Design
Invited talk
Uncanny AI Iconography Workshop V2 (Swiss Design Symposia)
Other
more-than-human centred design: ghosts in the machine
Invited talk
PhD Examination (internal) @ Lancaster
Examination
Uncanny AI Iconography Workshop V2 (open call 6 UCL)
Other
Uncanny AI Iconography Workshop V2 (open call 5 UCL)
Other
Uncanny AI Iconography Workshop V2 (open call 4 UCL)
Other
Uncanny AI Iconography Workshop V2 (Imperial College & Blackburn Fab Lab)
Other
Uncanny AI Iconography Workshop V2 (open call 3)
Other
Uncanny AI Iconography Workshop V2 (open call 2)
Other
Uncanny AI Iconography Workshop V2 (open call 1)
Other
Think/Do/Repeat
Invited talk
Uncanny AI Iconography Workshop V2 (more -than-human design class)
Other
The ESRC Festival of Social Science
Festival/Exhibition/Concert
Machine Learning and place-making 2020
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Uncanny Ai Iconography Workshops
Other
Uncanny AI Iconography Workshop
Other
Uncanny AI Iconography Workshop (Open Call 4)
Other
Uncanny AI Iconography Workshop (Open Call 3)
Other
Uncanny AI Iconography Workshop (Open Call 2)
Other
Uncanny AI Iconography Workshop (Open Call 1)
Other
PhD Examination @ Delft
Examination
Uncanny AI Iconography Workshop (LICA)
Other
Uncanny AI Iconography Workshop
Other
Uncanny AI Iconography Workshop (Beyond Imagination)
Other
ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Prototyping Alternate Presents and Plausible Futures for IOT using Design Fiction
Invited talk
moving towards more-than human centred design
Invited talk
more-than-human centred design: reimagining design for the internet of things
Invited talk
TIPS by Design – Building a Community of UK TIPS Researchers – 2018
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Living Room of the Future
Invited talk
more than human centred design: considering other things
Invited talk
Becoming Immersed in the Future Mundane
Invited talk
Adoption in the Internet of Things
Invited talk
Design Futures and the IoT
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Exploring Futures through Game Worlds
Invited talk
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (External organisation)
Membership of committee
Design Futures through Design Fiction
Invited talk
Mozilla Festival 2016
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Light Up Lancaster
Festival/Exhibition/Concert
BBC R&D
Business Engagement
The N8 Research Partnership (External organisation)
Membership of committee
Speculative Game Design
Invited talk
AHRC (External organisation)
Membership of committee
Digital Design Weekend at V&A
Festival/Exhibition/Concert
A Rhetorical Approach to Gameful Design
Invited talk
Mobilities & Design Workshop
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Social TV and the Second Screen
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Social Media
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Panel Speaker on Designing for Young People
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Social Media and Gamification
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Mobile Augmented Reality: Looking Beyond the Hype
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Moving Beyond Points and Badges to Using Games as a Lens for UX Design
Invited talk
Role of Social Media in Mass Particpation TV
Invited talk
Social Media
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Rest In Pixels
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Gesture Based Computing
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Gamification: Brilliant or Bullshit?
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Augmented Reality: Beyond the Hype
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Gamification: Will it Yeild and Epic Win?
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Mobile Games as Social Information Appliances or Meme Generators
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
MobiKUI 2008 International Workshop on Mobile and Kinetic User Interfaces
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Innovation Prize in FlashLite Developer Challenge
Prize (including medals and awards)
NFC Innovation Award
Prize (including medals and awards)
Bronze Award in ACE 2011 Game Competition
Prize (including medals and awards)
Nokia Champion
National/international honour
ACM Best Provocation/Work in Progress Paper Award
Prize (including medals and awards)
Imagination Lancaster
MSF PhDs Cohort 2 (2019/20)
Materials Science Institute PhD Student, MSF PhDs Cohort 2 (2019/20)
- Imagination Lancaster
- More than Human
- School of Design