Speculative Design
“In effect, a design speculation requires a bridge to exist between the audience's perception of their world and the fictional element of the concept.”
Auger, James. “Speculative Design: Crafting the Speculation.” Digital Creativity, vol. 24, no. 1, 2013, pp. 11–35.
Definition
Speculative design aims to stretch the imagination by developing systems and prototypes for the future.
Type
Design technique
Context
Futuring
Use Case and Analysis
To me, the best way to communicate speculative design is through storytelling. The comic style images to the right show samples from a concept scenario my team and I made. It was for a prototype of wearable bands which transfer messages with other bands nearby. We were trying to imagine how this would play out in real life, so we acted out different scenes and recreated them in a comic strip.
Speculative design has its limitations. It’s impossible to picture every possible scenario, and actual reality may end up being different than imagined. Regardless, this can also be a creative and fun way of sharing stories which can inspire real, impactful design.
I play a fictional character named Dooge who receives a message from someone close by.
I give a fist bump to the person who sent the message.