ANAB JAIN (RDI)
Co-Founder, Creative Director

Anab is a designer, futurist, filmmaker and educator. As Co-founder and Director of Superflux, she catalyses our Studio’s vision to imagine and generate plural visions of precarious flourishing in challenging times. 

Anab grew up in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India within the entangled postcolonial landscapes of a fast-growing nation. After studying filmmaking at the National Institute of Design she moved to London to gain her Masters at the Royal College of Art, and went on to work on machine intelligence at Microsoft Research, Cambridge. 

In 2009, Anab, with Jon Ardern, co-founded Superflux, to foreground the practices of speculative design, critical foresight, design fiction and experiential futures as an integral strategy for businesses, governments, foundations and NFP organisations wishing to navigate deep uncertainty. In our 13th year, Superflux has received the Design Studio of the Year Award in recognition of our “contribution to the fields of speculative and futures design with a committed social mission.”  Clients and commissioners include Google AI, DeepMind, Omidyar Foundation, the Cabinet Office, IKEA, UN Development Program and the Government of UAE.

Over the last 16 years, Anab has gained international recognition for her work and commentary on imagining plural futures, innovation, art and speculative design, emerging technologies and critical foresight. She has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the Arts, London, with the citation A philosopher for our age, her concepts of ‘design for the new normal’ and ‘more-than-human centered design’ are expanding the public’s imagination, and making possible futures tangible.”

As a visionary design and futures leader, Anab has is responsible for presenting key ideas to the world, such as Design for the New Normal (2012), More-than-Human-Centred Design (2018) and Ancillary Design (2022)

In 2022, Anab was awarded the prestigious ‘Royal Designers for Industry’ (RDI) Award, by UK’s Royal Society of Arts, in speculative design.  The title ‘Royal Designer for Industry’ (RDI) is awarded annually by the RSA to designers of all disciplines who have achieved “sustained design excellence, work of aesthetic value and significant benefit to society”. The RDI is the highest accolade for designers in the UK. Only 200 designers can hold the title. In addition, Non-UK designers may become honorary Royal Designers.

Anab is also the recipient of the Award of Excellence ICSID, UNESCO Digital Arts Award, and Grand Prix Geneva Human Rights Festival, as well as awards from Apple and the UK Government’s Innovation Department. Her work has been exhibited at MoMA New York, V&A Museum, Science Gallery Dublin, National Museum of China, Vitra Design Museum, and Tate Modern.

Anab has delivered talks and keynotes at several conferences including TED main stage, Skoll World Forum, Human Rights Watch Ideas Festival, MIT Media Lab and MOMA’s first design summit ‘Knotty Objects’, NEXT, LIFT, SIGGRAPH, Global Design Forum, EPIC, Design Engaged and FuturEverything. Recent talks include Why We Need to Imagine Different Futures, More Than-Human Centered DesignDesign for the New Normal, Valley of the Meatpuppets and How Will We Live

In addition, Anab serves as Professor of Design Investigations at the dieAngewandte, University of Applied Arts in Vienna since 2016. Her hope is to instil a culture of radical enquiry in her students, so they can become active designers-translators-catalysts for a complex and uncertain world.

Recent Interviews:  

BBC Radio 4 | Is ‘feeling’ the future the solution to climate change inaction?

NPR | TED Radio Hour | Can a glimpse of tomorrow change our decisions today

Financial TimesSuperflux: the duo inspiring change through hypothetical worlds

Spearheading a new position for design | Damn Magazine

8 Women in STEM who are changing the game

Start the Week, BBC Radio 4

Evening Standard


Please get in touch for bio, profile photo and CV requests.

SUPERFLUX

Somerset House Studios, London UK
hello@superflux.in
All rights reserved © 2017. No. 6601242

Web Design > SONIA DOMINGUEZ
Development > TOUTENPIXEL

We'd love to hear from you

New projects
Internships
General enquiries

Studio M48,
Somerset House Studios,
New Wing, Somerset House,
Strand, London, WC2R 1LA

Title By Date
We’re hiring a Studio & Operations Manager! Superflux 20.12.2023
Announcing Superflux’s ambitious new initiative: CASCADE INQUIRY Superflux 10.01.2023
ANAB & JON RECEIVE THE ROYAL DESIGNER FOR INDUSTRY (RDI) AWARD 2022 Nicola 10.01.2023
SAFE: A Collection of Works Exploring Safer Futures Superflux 05.10.2022
Superflux Featured on BBC Radio 4 Anab 10.08.2022
SUBJECT TO CHANGE: Announcing Superflux’s first-ever solo exhibition at The DROOG Gallery Superflux 04.02.2022
Superflux’s new immersive installation opens at Museum of the Future, Dubai Superflux 23.02.2022
Design Studio of the Year Award 2021 Superflux 17.12.2021
A More Than Human Manifesto Superflux 17.12.2021
Superflux Interview in ICON Magazine Superflux 12.12.2021
“Dreamed-up Designs”: a Financial Times feature on Superflux Superflux 18.06.2021
Calling Creative Producers! Nicola 08.02.2021
‘Our Friends Electric’ acquired by the European Patent Office Anab 15.03.2021
Emerging Futures Grant from National Lottery Community Fund Nicola 16.11.2020
‘Standing on the Shoulders’ Podcast: On Plural Futures and Multi-Species Companionship Superflux 01.10.2020
Superflux Invited to La Biennale Di Venezia 2021 Superflux 03.07.2020
EU Horizon 2020 Grant for Superflux and Partners Superflux 19.06.2020
Experiments in Indoor Farming Leanne 08.06.2020
Calling for a More-Than-Human Politics Superflux 23.03.2020
Superflux Feature in ‘Feeling the Future’ Conference Superflux 24.06.2020
Spring in Flux Nicola 14.04.2020
Calling Creative Producers! Nicola 29.01.2020
Inviting Internship Applications Superflux 16.01.2020
Come Work With Us Superflux 01.10.2019
Stop Shouting Future, Start Doing It Anab 24.01.2019
2018 Highlights Danielle Knight 21.12.2018
Instant Archetypes: A toolkit to imagine plural futures Nicola 01.11.2018
TED Talk: Why We Need To Imagine Different Futures Anab 19.06.2017
Cartographies of Imagination Anab 30.09.2018
Tackling the Ethical Challenges of Slippery Technology Anab 11.06.2018
AI, HUMANITARIAN FUTURES, AND MORE-THAN-HUMAN CENTRED DESIGN Nicola 08.06.2018
The Future Starts Here Danielle Knight 29.05.2018
Studio News: Power, AI and Air Pollution Jake 09.10.2017
Future(s) of Power Launch Event Anab 09.10.2017
BUGGY AIR AT DESIGN FRONTIERS Jake 15.09.2017
Calling all comrades & collaborators! Nicola 14.09.2017
CAN SPECULATIVE EVIDENCE INFORM DECISION MAKING? Anab 31.05.2017
STUDIO NEWS: TED, MAPPING, FOOD COMPUTERS, AND THE FUTURE OF WORK. Jake 21.04.2017
BACK TO THE FUTURE: WHAT WE DID IN 2016 Jake 31.01.2017
REALITY CHECK: PRESENTING AT UNDP SUMMIT Jon 06.12.2016
MITIGATION OF SHOCK JOURNAL Jon 12.07.2016
STUDIO HAPPENINGS Anab 04.07.2016
PROFESSORSHIP AT THE UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED ARTS VIENNA Anab 28.06.2016
HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2015 Anab 30.12.2015
SUPERFLUX MAGAZINE, ISSUE 1. Anab 21.04.2015
THE DRONE AVIARY JOURNAL Anab 09.04.2015
IOT, DRONES AND SPACE PROBES: ALTERNATE NARRATIVES Anab 01.03.2015
AUTUMN NEWS Jon 08.11.2014
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND DESIGN: AN INTERVIEW WITH SARA HENDREN Anab 07.11.2014
A QUARTERLY UPDATE FROM THE STUDIO Anab 11.05.2014
IN THE LOOP: DESIGNING CONVERSATION WITH ALGORITHMS Alexis 04.04.2014
IOTA WINS NOMINET TRUST FUNDING Jon 25.10.2013
SAILING THE SEAS OF SUPERDENSITY: GUEST POST BY SCOTT SMITH Scott 19.10.2013
DNA STORIES: GUEST POST BY CHRISTINA AGAPAKIS Christina 30.09.2013
PRESS RELEASE: DYNAMIC GENETICS VS. MANN Jon 01.08.2013
AN INTRODUCTION TO INFRASTRUCTURE FICTION: GUEST POST BY PAUL GRAHAM RAVEN Paul 24.06.2013
SUPERNEWS, VOL 1. Jon 08.04.2013