Abstract
Materials and design develop together. Due to their mutable character, understanding materials requires personal engagement with matter. The importance of new materials is often discussed in the context of innovation but a perspective that looks beyond economic issues allows a more conceptual approach to materials in design. DIY materials focuses on creating materials by ourselves including hands-on experimentation and often involves (re)considering overlooked and waste(d) resources. This group of creators, or material designers can be seen as a new group of players in the field of design working towards a responsibly designed future. Creating new material aesthetics proves to be powerful in sparking our imagination. Combining DIY materials with digital tools generates a kind of hybridisation of materiality supporting visual storytelling and future-thinking. The selection of material ingredients can help in focusing on specific scenarios. The use of DIY materials in scenario making can be an effective tool for futures related studies such as speculative design and eco-social design. We see a strong potential for DIY materials combined with digital tools in the context of future scenario making for supporting the ability to give direction to ones’ own future.