Vision, Strategy, and Future Scenarios Design

Masaki Iwabuchi is a NY-based Strategic Design Futurist with over 15 years of experience in strategic foresight and vision creation through design artifacts. He specializes in User Experience Design, Speculative Design, and Systemic Design, crafting future scenarios and socio-technical visions through various media, including photography, writing, video, and interactive prototypes.

Since 2021, Masaki has served as a Strategic Design Futurist at JPMorgan Chase, where he leverages his strategic foresight capabilities within the financial sector. In this role, he leads the development of future scenarios and identifies potential opportunities for the organization. Additionally, he has been a Visiting Associate Professor at Tohoku University since 2021, where he researches and teaches emerging design theories to engineering students.

Masaki’s practical design theories are articulated in his first book, Social Dreaming through Design (世界観のデザイン, in Japanese). His recent accolades include the Core77 Design Awards 2020 Speculative Design Award. He has also served as a judge for prestigious design awards, including Good Living 2050 (Canada), Davey Awards (USA), and Indigo Design Awards (Netherlands). His work has been showcased internationally in exhibitions and art events, including the Recto Verso Gallery in Tokyo and the NYC Media Lab.

Masaki holds an MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons School of Design (2020), an MA in Interdisciplinary Information Studies from the University of Tokyo (2009), and a BE in Information and Communication Engineering from the University of Tokyo (2007). He believes that alternative visions and worldviews are essential for addressing the wicked problems confronting 21st-century societies. He is committed to challenging societal structures, vested interests, and Cartesian belief systems through his work, provoking audiences to reconsider entrenched habits and mindsets and inspiring new ways of seeing the world.

🧑‍⚖️ Design Award Judge

• The 31st Annual Communicator Awards. (2025.3). Hosted by the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts, New York, USA. https://www.communicatorawards.com/

• The 8th Indigo Design Award. (2025.2). Hosted by Marly Group Limited, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://www.indigoaward.com/

• Tornado2024: Product Design Hackathon for Students. (2024.8). Hosted by Yumekirai Digital Entrepreneurship Support Lab, Tokyo, Japan. https://tornado-official.jp/tornado2024/

• Davey Awards. (2024.8). Hosted by the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts, New York, USA. https://daveyawards.com/ 

• w3 Awards. (2024.7). Hosted by the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts, New York, USA. https://www.w3award.com/

• Good Living 2050: International Vision Design Contest. (2023.3). Hosted by The Beacon for Sustainable Living, Toronto, Canada. https://beacon4sl.com/solutions/imagining-futures/good-living-2050/#the-jury

📝 Selected Articles

• Speculative Design and Designed Realities on UXPlanet

• Emerging Design Attitudes: Speculative, Transitional, and Pluriversal Design on UXPlanet

• Speculation of the Purpose of Life in 2050 from Kyoto: Case Study on Transition Design in Japan PIVOT2020 hosted by Design Research Society

👔 Professional Experience

• JPMorgan Chase & Co., NY — Strategic Design Futurist (Aug 2021 - present)

• Tohoku University, Remote — Visiting Associate Professor (Apr 2021 - present)

• Speculative Futures TOKYO, Remote — Chapter Leader (Dec 2019 - present)

• Teknikio, NY — Principal Service/UX Designer (Jul 2020 - Jul 2021)

• Parsons School of Design, NY — Adjunct Lecturer (Sep 2020 - May 2021)

• Kyoto Design Lab, Japan — Visiting Design Researcher (May 2019 - Aug 2019)

• IBM, Japan — Product Design Lead (Apr 2016 - Jul 2018)

• IBM, Japan — Senior UX/UI Designer (Apr 2013 - Mar 2016)

• IBM, Japan — UX/UI Designer (Apr 2009 - Mar 2013)

🏆 Awards & Honors

• Jury, Good Living 2050 International Vision Design Contest, 2023

• Core 77 Design Award, Student Runner Up Honor in the Speculative Design category, 2020

• Design Researcher-in-Residence, Kyoto Kyoto Institute of Technology, 2019

• President’s Scholarship, Parsons School of Design, 2018 – 2020

• Selected for ACM SIGGRAPH Student Research Competition, ACM SIGGRAPH, 2008

• Young Researcher Award, Human Interface Society, Japan 2008

🎓 Education

• Master of Fine Arts (MFA), Major in Design & Technology, Minor in Civic Service Design, Parsons School of Design, 2020

• Master of Arts (MA), Interdisciplinary Information Studies, The University of Tokyo, 2009

• Bachelor of Engineering (BE), Information and Communication Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 2007