Mitrovi 2021 Beyond Speculative Design
Mitrović, I. et al. (2021) Beyond speculative design: Past, Present - Future.
~~“Good speculations ‘stretch’ rather that ‘shatter’ the co-ordinates, ensuring plausibility and in turn eliciting a powerful level of audience reaction” p28
the lifecycle of imaginaries diagram
traditional design vs speculative design diagram
‘Speculative design asks questions about the future and offers some alternatives that are essential for the world of today, but more importantly, the world of tomorrow. It is a discursive activity founded in critical thinking and dialogue reflecting design practice. However, the speculative design approach expands the critical practice towards imagination and
diverse visions of possible future scenarios (Mitrović, 2016). Through imagination and its radical approach and by using design as a medium, speculative practice inspires thinking, raises aware-
ness, examines, provokes actions, opens discussions and has the ability to provide alternatives. With critical thinking, design of objects generating a story, or through the stories embodied in artefacts, speculative design attempts to anticipate the future and at the same time helps us to re-think the present.’ p69
definitions-of-speculative design
critiques of speculative design
In Wendell Bell’s terms, one of the crucial tasks of futures studies is “increasing democratic participation in imagining and designing the future” (Bell, 2005, p. 93). This task implies, in addition to the arduous work of convocation, literacy, and implementation, a permanent exercise of metacognition and decolonization. (Karla Paniagua) p153
The processes of creating designs can encourage interrogation of prevailing assumptions and invite exploration of other, alternative states of being and doing. These activities can lead to a deeper understanding of, for example, the contextual, political and cultural factors that influence the activity of design, and in turn, consideration of the potential implications and effects caused by bringing new products and services into the world. p163
Although the speculative approach to design can primarily be seen as an attitude or position rather than a traditionally defined methodology, especially since many designers practice the approach without using this term, we can still point out some distinctive characteristics of the approach and determine a basic framework. Since speculative design continuously interacts with other related practices, fields and disciplines, it uses any methods, tools and approach that is accessible and appropriate at any given moment. For instance, it legitimately uses tools, techniques, instruments, methods, genres and concepts such as fictional narratives, film language, screenplay, storyboard, user testing, interviews/questionnaires, games, but also media and pop culture phenomena, such as
candid camera, elevator pitch, observational comedy, stand-
up, etc. Anything considered suitable at a given moment is
legitimate (Mitrović, 2019). p163
Speculative and related designs such as Critical Design, Design Fiction, Future Design, Near Future Design, however, take the idea of grappling with the possible in a different direction as they engage with issues through objects (products, services, narratives, etc.) that are expected to explicitly challenge the reality where such objects exist. Such contexts of possibility remain challenging to access for design projects that need to adhere to user-centred or market-centred
demands. However remote or wicked the contexts, speculative and related designs can potentially address the possibilities within them, and, as a form of design, do so through methods, approaches and tools that are shared with other disciplines. As we have tried to highlight when presenting our themes and tensions, “right” and “wrong” are not appropriate terms to decide which methods to use. Instead methods for creating designs should attain precision through relation and not through a criterion of objectivity – rarely is a method universally valid regardless of context, designer and audience. It is likely that there are no methods for speculative designs in general – but methods for particular context and requirements of a particular design. Defining the methods is a crucial part of designers’ ability to critically engage with the people and the context where the design happens. p164
speculation-as-privilege-or-luxury
‘the role of speculation (financial, political and cultural) was held (and continues to be
held) by the powerful few, often with the gender, race and class privileges to match; decisions about how the future will look, how our environments are designed, and how social decisions are made, have been taken by a small elite’ p178