VISION AND INNOVATION - SEEING IS BELIEVING
Image credit: Helen Trickey x Midjourney
Introducing the Library of Hope
Over the last few years I’ve been curious about whether what I have in my head for a better future is the same as yours.
Having spent years talking about the “why” of purpose with brands and companies, and then talking a big game around concepts like belonging, and safety, and regeneration, and even zero hunger, I’ve found myself wondering if what I’m really thinking when we talk about those ideals is the same as what you have in your mind’s eye. If indeed any of us really have a tangible and specific outcome in mind at all, or more a feeling about the end game, rooted in a shared philosophy, or based on shared principles.
That’s why with a small team of research-designers we set about to identify who was already imagining a different kind of future, and where the similarities and differences lie.
What we found was there are hundreds of people taking the time to envision a better future; from professional future forecasters, to designers and artists; people from various industries, and countless different perspectives from all over the world.
But many visions and ideas exist in isolated pockets…
So the next step in our journey was to bring all our research into one place and make it available for others, to both inspire and help connect the dots.
Cue the Library of Hope, launched earlier this year.
The Library of Hope is a self funded project that aims to inspire new possibilities by connecting people with tangible visions of tomorrow, opening up new potential for conversation and ideas.
Everything in the library has been grouped within a simple framework recognising there are four things many of us imagining an aspirational future want:
Health: What does our world look like when people have enough clean air, safe water, food, shelter, sleep, clothing, access to healthcare, and reproductive choice?
Opportunity: What does our world look like when people are free to dream, have equal access to education, employment, and key resources.
Peace: What does our world look like when people embrace differences over division, where each of us lives a secure life with dignity? They feel loved, respected, heard and recognised and so anything feels possible.
Environment: What does our world look like when it’s an equal and balanced regenerative system between humans and nature?
Inspired by the vision, ideas and tangible expressions of the future we’ve seen in our research, I spent some time in Midjourney bringing various ideas to life.
Image credit: Helen Trickey x MidJourney
Image credit: Helen Trickey x MidJourney
Image credit: Helen Trickey x MidJourney
Image credit: Helen Trickey x MidJourney
Throughout 2025 we’ll be shining a light on the ideas and visions we’ve found, as well as our own, inspiring people to think bigger, and bringing all these stories together in one place.
The Library is a starting point. Ultimately people will be able to imagine and design their own future; assess the opportunities afoot; and find their place in all this. Because we believe seeing is believing. More to come on this over the next few weeks.
For more thoughts on visualising what the future looks like and why it’s so important to do so, check out more in THE VISION SERIES:
WHY A VISION IS HARD, AND WHAT ELON’S BUSINESS VISION TEACHES US
CRAFTING YOUR OWN VISION
If anything sparks your interest in this or the following articles, please do email helen@purposefulgrowth.co.
