WHAT IS SPECULATIVE DESIGN?
Speculative design is a medium that fosters critical discussions about the human trajectory. According to speculative design expert Dejan Krsic, speculative design is a practice which "generates, analyses, distributes, mediates and reproduces social meaning" (Mitrović, 2015). It offers open-ended solutions for an alternative present or possible future through reflecting and responding to our development across socio-political, technological and economic landscapes. Through examining both desirable and undesirable futures, speculative design is an approach that allows us to understand the fundamental mechanisms through which these futures can come about, their broader implications and how we can change our current world to mitigate unintended consequences.
Mitrović, I. (2015), Introduction to Speculative Design Practice [Diagram] http://speculative.hr/en/introduction-to-speculative-design-practice/
The future based approach of speculative design is seen across transitional design, future scoping, and other frameworks. However, a key point of difference speculative design offers compared to traditional frameworks is that rather than using tools, methods and processes, speculative design is not so straightforward and continues to seek out questions rather than answers. It is critical rather than affirmative. Due to this, speculative design can generate satirical and unusual outcomes expressed through many different mediums airing on the verge of an art-form and utilising design as a form of social commentary. A speculative approach redefines the nature of design. It proposes alternatives to the current dialogue, challenging the public to critically analyse current ways of doing and being in the realm of design and across multiple disciplines. Overall, the ambiguous nature of speculative scenarios allows the audience to interpret and respond to design in unique ways.
Unlike other frameworks, a speculative approach allows designers to explore the values they practice. Through engaging in creative future scoping, speculative design sets itself apart from other practices by generating outcomes that do not link to the immediate needs of the industry. Freed of corporate responsibility and consumerist mindsets, speculative designers operate outside of the constraint of commercial practice, enabling practitioners to future scope beyond the restrictions of consumer wants and needs and move forward with creative liberty. This means that designers can create speculative futures that reflect their personal intentions, motives, and expectations.
There are several strengths and limitations of this mode of design. A positive of speculative design is that it acts as a vehicle for transformation and action. Speculative design offers a space to discuss potentials for future scenarios. We can examine how we could adapt our current reality to potentially achieve a better future or avoid dystopias from these conversations. Additionally, speculative design builds connections and prompts discussions as it encourages both industry stakeholders and the wider audience to exchange ideas about what values we strive to achieve in the future and the impact current and new systems may have.
Although speculative design can provide fantastical hypotheses and stimulate discussion, a drawback of this approach is that it is ultimately unproductive as we often cannot examine and test its solutions to provide clear results. The further we speculate into the future, the less predictable it becomes. Our inability to collect concrete insights regarding whether a speculative design is successful questions the function of this design style. In particular, whether speculative design can genuinely benefit society or is merely an occupation for privileged modern philosophers and academics. This also poses a risk that speculative designers are disconnected from the world and can only design with an exclusively western lens filled with biases and false assumptions, creating designs beyond a shared reality that disregards the dystopian situations some people already experience.
CASE STUDY: LIFE AFTER TOURISM
Mitrović, I. Šuran, O. (2018) Life After Tourism [Video] https://interakcije.net/en/2019/02/23/life-after-tourism/
In the project ‘Life After Tourism’, researchers Ivica Mitrović and Oleg Šuran examine the implications of near-future climate changes on the East Adriatic region, resulting in the breakdown of tourism. The scope of this scenario suggests that to survive economically, the remaining citizens have started developing urban marine farming strategies to rebuild. The tension within this case study lies in creating a stable local economy without tourists whilst conserving the natural environment to form and maintain resistant systems to future climate changes. The researchers applied a Mediterranean Speculative Approach to develop designs that prepare the locals with the necessary skillsets for survival to navigate these tensions.
A key method used was testing tools the community can utilize to aid economic reconstruction, including artefacts such as a working mariculture system and a DIY manual. The marine agriculture systems were built using organisms that are resistant to the extreme conditions that may be posed in a climate crisis. The designers envisioned locals cultivating mariculture to form the backbone of a new economy. To make these designs accessible Mitrović and Šuran created and published an online DIY manual that detailed how to start one’s own mariculture system.
Mitrović, I. Šuran, O. (2018) Life After Tourism [Photographs] https://interakcije.net/en/2019/02/23/life-after-tourism/
‘Life After Tourism’ is a successful example of speculative design as it predicted a future that actually came true and fulfilled the key features of speculative design by providing tangible mechanisms for action. Additionally, unlike speculative designs that examine an overly ambiguous future, Mitrović and Šuran proposed a scenario in 2018 which became true only a few years later. In retrospect of COVID-19, this project prepared locals for the impacts of the pandemic. In summary, ‘Life After Tourism’ is successful because it is speculative design at its most functional; it proposes tools that empower communities to claim economic autonomy and provides a framework to adapt and create a new industrial beginning without relying on international factors.
CASE STUDY: PLASTICFUL FOODS
Waste2Worth, (2020). Plasticful Foods Speculative Design Artefacts [Photographs]. https://plasticfulfoods.com/
What if the only way to manage our plastic pollution was to consume it ourselves? This question is the scope for Niño and colleagues' project 'Plasticful Foods'. They examine the tension between mass production, sustainability and consumerism by addressing the issue of global microplastic pollution. This case study envisions future foods made from plastic.
A key part of the design's success and its ability to hold our attention is the medium; Food. Cleverly chosen by the designers, it strikes a chord with all audiences and violates us on a directly personal level, subverting our basic needs with a substance we view as toxic. In the form of extreme sustainability, the 'Plasticful Foods' campaign subverts foods we know and love and portrays them as plastic edibles marketed in bright and unnatural colours. Each item further provokes the viewer through slogans that prompt one to imagine, in disgust, what it may taste, smell and look like to eat. This case study highlights how impactful it can be to showcase global issues through a relatable form, encouraging viewers to imagine how they would interact with these artefacts.
Waste2Worth, (2020). Plasticful Foods Speculative Design Artefacts [Photographs]. https://plasticfulfoods.com/
The 'Plasticful Foods' campaign goal is to shock the world into action. Capitalising on absurdity, Nino and colleagues raise awareness around the global microplastics crisis humans have produced, and stimulates discussion regarding how we can manage our excessive plastic waste. Speculative design aims to ask questions rather than provide solutions. Therefore, Nino and colleagues have been successful in their goal by prompting viewers to reflect on questions such as; what can we do to avoid this dystopia? Unfortunately, this future is not far off as microplastics have already made their way into the food chain. Ultimately, 'Plasticful Foods' provides a form of social commentary which motivates reflection on our current systems and urges change for a better future.
REFERENCES
Boeijen, Annemiek Van, et al. “BIS | Delft Design Guide | A. Van Boeijen, J. Daalhuizen, J. Zijlstra.” BIS Publishers, 2020, www.bispublishers.com/delft-design-guide-revised.html.
Encinas, E. Božanić, S. Šuran, O. (2021), Methods, Approaches and Tools: Ambiguity, Tensions and Scopes, In I. Mitrović, J. Auger, J. Hanna & I. Helgason (Eds.) Beyond Speculative Design: Past, Present, Future, (pp. 94-165), SpeculativeEdu; Arts Academy, University of Split.
Gonsher, I. (2016), Beyond Design Thinking: An Incomplete Design Taxonomy, CD-CF, http://www.cd-cf.org/articles/beyond-design-thinking/
Lutz, D. (2020), Future Thieving #1—Stealing from the future with speculative design, UX Collective - Medium, https://uxdesign.cc/stealing-from-the-future-with-speculative-design-e769059b6689
Mitrović, I. (2015), Introduction to Speculative Design Practice, Speculative.Hr, http://speculative.hr/en/introduction-to-speculative-design-practice/
Mitrović, I. Šuran, O. (2018) Life After Tourism. https://interakcije.net/en/2019/02/23/life-after-tourism/
Waste2Worth, (2020), Plasticful Food: An Innovative Project Tackling The Plastic Pollution Problem, Plasticful Food, https://plasticfulfoods.com/theproblem.html
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