Designing the future: Star Trek as visual culture, speculative design, and imagination activator in human–technology interaction

Science fiction audiovisual narratives function as spaces for cultural and design experimentation in which technological interfaces, interactions, and imaginaries are visually articulated before their material realization. From this perspective, the present study aims to analyze Star Trek as a paradigmatic case of visual culture and speculative design, examining how its audiovisual narratives operate as triggers of the imagination that shape expectations about human-technology interaction and contemporary landscapes of communication. The research adopts a qualitative methodology based on non-participant observation and focused audiovisual content analysis, based on the systematic review of episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation, in order to identify and categorize technological artifacts according to their communicative, interactional and design functions. These representations were later analyzed in a comparative way with technological developments documented through a bibliographic review in specialized databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar. The results show that devices such as portable communicators, voice-controlled interfaces, immersive virtual environments, telepresence systems and diagnostic tools operate as visual and communicative prototypes, influencing interaction paradigms and design expectations present in contemporary technologies. Rather than establishing direct causal relationships, the study concludes that science fiction audiovisual narratives symbolically contribute to technological innovation by mediating meanings, imaginaries, and design logics, positioning Star Trek as a form of speculative design within visual culture that articulates design, communication, and human-technology interaction in contemporary media environments.