Speculative Design

What are the key features of Speculative design? How does it differ from the design frameworks you’ve encountered on the Design program so far?

There are some 'wicked' problems out there, problems too big to be given, and straightforward solutions. The specular design opens the thoughts to speculate about the future, creating more possibilities for the possible future. It creates possibilities by asking questions, questions like 'what if'. This type of design evolves both the designers and users, engaging the users to switch to being credible from plausible, thinking what would it feel like to have the world like that, instead of can I imagine a world like this. Challenging the users to think outside their normative and cognitive thinking to avoid being constraint and open more possibilities.

Speculative design generally is used to focus on important social issues.

Common design processes like the double diamond, the speculative design differs. As the result of the double diamond, the process tends to lead to a refined solution. This type of process is not as suitable for 'wicked' problems and important social issues. Spectacular design alters the generic double diamond process to fit these wider problems. Two tensions between objects are brought in the conversation pushing and pulling, changing the original double diamond shape into a dynamic one. Objects being something or someone with meaning, connection, or relationship with something or someone of the object.

What are the strengths/limitations of this mode of design?

The strength of this mode of design is that it allows such a range of possibilities. Which is required for large problems. It gets people thinking are what could be. It starts the process of solution thinking however it does not give one. This type of design provides opportunities for a different future by opening a plethora of different pathways.

The limitation of this design is as said before it doesn’t give a clear solution. The result of this design is a long way away from a final solution which in some cases is not ideal nor wanted.

Case Study evaluation

This case study was created by a man with an obsession with the movie Breathless. This movie is a crime drama film, a man commit

s a crime and then runs away to hide and takes his love interest with him. This is a male-based film, as the time this movie was made it was effectively 'a man's world'. The case study uses significant objects from the movie, a mannequin head that represents the main character of the movie, a hat, gun, telephone, new paper, steering wheel glasses, ashtray, and Gitanes unfiltered cigarettes. These are all the most masculine objects of the film and the goal of the case study was to examine the man behavior with these props representing the cinematic narrative of males, and how it reflects the mans identity.

Imagen from The tension engagement PDF

The Objective of the Lonely Men case study was an interesting one in the way that it focuses on the tension between cinematic and noncinematic life. The tension between what we see in movies and what it is like in real life. This is interesting because in a cinematic life it is portrayed a certain way for a reason. This case study uses the method of film and brought out key film props for men to have in the world they are in.