This weeks lecture was on speculative design. We looked at this in second year but today we returned to it with how much has changed since then. It’s all about possible, plausible, probable, and preferable opportunities in the future. The chart below articulates the different spectrums of this. In the chart the red triangle is a ‘preferable’ project, which aims to encourage imagination, challenge norm, shape innovation, and prepare us for change. Speculative design is not about predicting the future, but creating thought-provoking visions that inspire conversation and innovation.
We can practice speculative design by identifying a future concern, then asking “What If?” questions. This helps us to challenge these technologies to stop them being abused. Creating a fictional scenario that depicts what these new technologies might look like can help us get an idea of what life might look like with these technologies. Engaging in conversation and discussion also helps us to think objectively and not just have our own ideas, but work collaboratively. We should also ask all of the big questions, the good and the bad.
We then took part in a workshop exercise that helped us engage in thinking speculatively. We had to come up with a problem, a context, and an artefact. The deliverable wasn’t the important part, but the thinking behind it is. Thinking about what has come in the past with smartphones, internet, and music players, we can see what impact technological advancements have on society. We looked specifically at sport and what it could look like in 2050. Because we didn’t have to worry about current technological constraints, we were able to think of ideas that weren’t yet currently possible. Our idea was the ability to watch players live from their POV, using VR and futuristic contact lenses. This opened up another line of thinking, specifically about how it can impact healthcare, military, and other probably more important areas of society.
Todays class was very beneficial and a helpful refresher on speculative design. I really enjoyed looking at the thinking behind speculative design and how it compares to traditional design thinking. I found the workshop exercise quite enjoyable and thinking about how speculative design can impact entertainment and even other areas of society.