50 years of visionary SciFi Computer Interface Designs

Science Fiction is a fantastic lens through which we can look at our understanding of technology and our vision for its future. Just like real technology, science fiction goes out of date too.

That makes Sci Fi particularly useful to compare with real technology in order to understand the direction and pace of travel.

It's not a simple picture.

Technologies are layered and mature at different speeds (Web design and  mobile app development for example). There are differences and lags between when they are first conceived and when they are mass adopted (did Da Vinci invent the helicopter?). Some technologies blur into others. Names change, methods change and many inventions enable others.

The purpose of this Sci Fi computer interface design infographic is not to be a definitive reference. It is to celebrate the role Sci Fi has played in shaping our interface design technology over the last 50 years, and secondly, by bringing the best examples (in our opinion) together to give a big picture and encourage us all to think about what comes next.

When seen in order like this, it’s easy to see which films were particularly ahead of their time. There are some obvious ones and one or two surprises.

Sadly, we needed to leave out some greats. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy TV Show, Silent Running, Dark Star amongst them.

A parting thought: Isaac Asimov invented (first published) the word robotics, in 1941. It now defines an industry and most certainly a large aspect of our future. Which of these films will do that next?

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