This talk outlines a strategy for designing interactions that take advantage of novel technologies by combining research, design, prototyping and storytelling. Current and future network standards (e.g Neighbour Awareness Networking) will allow faster and more convenient direct connections between mobile devices. This technology has the potential to enable new interactions and social dynamics, as phones become aware of each other's presence and can exchange large amounts of data in a fast and private way. But how do we find out what is possible? And how do we design for it? This talk draws on several examples and working prototypes to show how a multidisciplinary iterative process can lead to important insights and a broadened range of possibilities. Both design and engineering are fundamental parts of this process, as a wide range of skills is necessary to (among other things) carry out research, understand the constraints of the technology, build prototypes while ensuring that they remain usable and focused, detect problems and opportunities, and inform the course for future exploration.