Message from future you

Riyadh in 2030 is AMAZING.

Streets and buses think for you—traffic? solved. Public spaces cool you automatically with shade, water, energy, all is smart. Schools and parks teach AND test ideas, here students build the future! Everything is green, clean, and fast, literally everything like water, energy, materials, all smartly reused!!

The best part? Anyone with an idea can make it real.

Here’s my tip for you: Dream big. Solve real problems. Start now.

Riyadh 2030

YOUR MISSION

Design a small product/device that helps people live better in Riyadh in 2030.

This product should:

1. Solve ONE real problem
2. Be small-scale (handheld, wearable, tabletop, or attachable to a place)

Here are your categories:

1. Sustainability (saving water, energy, materials)
2. Smart living (making daily life easier or safer)
3. Climate comfort (heat, shade, cooling, air)
4. Transportation& public space (waiting, walking, transport)
5. Learning anywhere (schools, parks, streets)

WHAT WE ARE DOING

WHY WE ARE DOING IT

You will create a product from the future in collaboration with AI.

Work with AI and your imagination to design future everyday objects, things people will use in 2030.

Now

Future

The design process will include these steps:

؜Sketching & Collage

Research & Ideation

1

2

60 mins

SPRINT STEPS

3

Model Making

4

؜120 mins

Pitch Deck

؜60 mins

5

Future Fair

60 mins

Exhibition

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13-14

Week 15

Research Vision 2030 and choose one problem you want to solve with a product for the future.

Sketch your future product and create a collage showing how it is used in everyday life.

Build a small prototype that shows the shape, function, and main features of your product.

Create a poster explaining your idea, how it works, and why it belongs in 2030.

Showcase your futuristic project in the Vision 2030 Fair !

A precedent is a project done in the real world that can be used to help explain some of the ideas that will be covered in the studio or project.

Students should locate and critically evaluate precedents and demonstrate how the content of the relate to their projects.

ACTIVITY MATERIALS

Week 11

Printed Template

ACTIVITY RESOURCES

Week 11

؜Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is transforming transportation with innovative projects like the Riyadh Metro, eco-friendly smart buses, and the Haramain High-Speed Railway. Future opportunities include hyperloop technology for ultra-fast travel and expanded sustainable urban mobility, shaping a connected and efficient transport network. We will look into examples of current designs in the world and get inspired and link it to futuristic plan in Saudi Vision 2030

Check toolbox to explore projects!

Research & Ideation

؜Problem: Pick a real problem people face today

Think about daily life. What is annoying, frustrating, inefficient, or unsafe?

Example Problem:

1. Heat in Riyadh, we need more water dispensers

Pick one need your product responds to:

1. Environment & Resources
2. Movement
3. Daily Life & Wellbeing

1.

Research & Ideation

Environment & Comfort

1. Water is limited due to the desert climate.
2. High energy demand for cooling and daily life.
3. People feel too hot while walking outside during the day.
4. We need more green!
5. Plastic waste is still there.
6. Hot and humid weather
7. Air quality is poor in some areas due to dust and traffic.
8. Few shaded or comfortable spots to rest outdoors

1.

Movement & Safety

1. Traffic jams make it hard to get around quickly.
2. Pedestrian areas are crowded or unsafe.
3. Waiting for public transport is long and uncomfortable.
4. No public space
5. No pedestrian crossing
6. No Bike lane
7. Lack of safe, personal ways to navigate

Daily Life & Wellbeing

1. Few green places to relax or meet others in the city.
2. Few shaded or cool public spaces.
3. Limited activities for walking or playing outdoors.

Research & Ideation

Solution: Think of how this can be solved in 2030.

HydroBuddy Clip

A small clip-on device that:

1. Tracks refills
2. Glows when you need water
3. Suggests nearby refill point

1.

Sketching in design thinking is a quick and visual way to explore, communicate, and develop ideas. It helps designers think through problems, test concepts, and share their thoughts with others—without needing polished drawings. Sketches can be rough, but they’re powerful tools for brainstorming, prototyping, and collaboration.

ACTIVITY MATERIALS

Week 12

؜A. Sketch Your Device

1. Draw your device clearly: front, side, or perspective views.
2. Show its size (handheld, wearable, tabletop, attachable).
3. Label key features (buttons, sensors, screens, solar panels, etc.).
4. Add colors or textures to make it more realistic.

2.

؜Sketching & Collage

؜B. Storyboard the Experience

Create 3–4 frames showing a short story of your device in action:

1. Problem: What is happening before the device is used?
2. Solution: How the device helps fix the problem?
3. Result: What changes for the person or environment?

2.

؜Sketching & Collage

؜C. (Optional) Visualize in AI

1. If you want, use AI tools to turn your sketches into 3D-looking images or colored renders.
2. Include Riyadh-specific cues: sun, streets, markets, parks, architecture.
3. You can also experiment with futuristic styles: neon, smart sensors, holograms.

2.

؜Sketching & Collage

PROJECT EXAMPLE:

Watering Can of the Future

؜ Indoor Gardening/Plant-keeping

PROJECT EXAMPLE:

Watering Can of the Future

Water Ball Slide

Central Vessel filled with water beads (biodegradable outer part)

Tubes have sensors that read when plant needs water, then sends the correct amount of bends down the tube of the soil.

PROJECT EXAMPLE:

Watering Can of the Future

First Prompt/ Image output

A robotic watering system from the future that uses smart technology to identify plants that need watering and then shoots biodegradable water balls at their roots

PROJECT EXAMPLE:

Watering Can of the Future

Final Prompt/ Image output

Watering plants 100 years in the future with water bead spheres delivered to plants through twisting tubes when the system detects that they are dry

PROJECT EXAMPLE:

Watering Can of the Future

Second Prompt/ Image output

A robotic watering can from the future that shoots water spheres at root systems of a vertical home vegetable garden

Prototyping is the process of turning your sketches and ideas into physical models that you can test and improve. It starts with drawing your concept, then building simple versions using materials to explore how it moves or works. Prototyping helps you test mechanisms (how parts move or connect) and kinetics (how motion happens), so you can find what works and what needs fixing.

ACTIVITY MATERIALS

Cardboard

Colored Acetate

Bristol Papers

Zip-ties

Straws

Metal Ruler

Pencil 

Markers 

Cutting Blade

Masking Tape

Hot Glue Gun

String

Brads

Popsicles and wooden skewers

Week 13-14

Find all the resources for basic prototyping techniques and mechanisms in the toolbox!

ACTIVITY RESOURCES

Week 13-14

CARDBOARD TECHNIQUES: SHAPING

Bending

Scoring

Curving

Faceting

Layering

Hinging

CARDBOARD TECHNIQUES: Mechanism

Scissor lift

Grabbing

Waving

Tentacle

Curving

Fanning

CARDBOARD TECHNIQUES: JOINERY

Brads

Flanges

Brace

Skewer

Bend

Hinge

Slots

Butt Joint

؜Model Making

3rd

Using low-fidelity prototyping materials, create a model of the object you envisioned. Imagine that this object will be found in a time capsule from the future; what can you tell about that future world from the design of this relic?

1. Show How It Works

1. Represent inputs (what the user does) and outputs (what the device does).
2. Example: Press a button → a light turns on (draw an arrow or symbol instead of a real light).
3. Example: Shake the device → a sound “happens” (use a paper label, icon, or small speaker shape).
4. Even without real electronics, you can simulate interaction:
5. Buttons = paper circles or stickers
6. Screens = cardboard or paper with drawings
7. Moving parts = paper tabs, strings, or rotating cardboard pieces

2. Test Your Prototype

1. Try it out with classmates

Remember: The goal is to show the idea and how it works, not to build real electronics. Your prototype is like a visual story of your device in action.

PROJECT EXAMPLE:

Watering Can of the Future

Prototype

Desk Critiques

Group Feedback

Kinds of Feedback

There are three forms of feedback. Understanding these can help us understand the conversations we have with our teams and improve our own ability to react to and use feedback to strengthen our designs.



Reaction-Based

Feedback

Direction-Based

Feedback

Question-based Feedback

X

X



Feedback time!

Teachers are going to move around the class and give feedback to each group!

Make sure you have your research, sketches, and prototype.

Final Exhibition is when you display all your work done the sprint. Present what work and didn't worked!

ACTIVITY MATERIALS

Week 15

4th

You are not just designing a device—you are creating a product that solves a real problem in Riyadh 2030. Imagine you will pitch it to people who might use it or invest in it!

Pitch Deck

؜Name & Picture –Upload your prototype image

Problem – What problem does it solve?

How It Works – Show the main features simply.

Impact / Result – How life is better with it.

Futuristic or Cool Feature – What makes it special?

Keep it visual & clear.

Use colors, icons, and arrows to explain your idea.

Imagine someone sees your poster in 2030 Riyadh — make them say “I want this!”

Photo of Project

+ Student Name

1

2

Concept Idea

+

Sketch

3

Prototype

4

Poster

End of Challenge!