To begin dreaming about alternative ways of living, speculative thinking in design helps us imagine different visions of the world and pulls our attention back to the present so we can critique it. Fiona Raby and Anthony Dunne note in Speculative Everything that design can be “a means of speculating how things could be—speculative design” (Dunne & Raby, 2013, p. 2). In this approach, the concept is not merely an “intermediate output of the design process”; it is the primary outcome for investigating problems (Franzato, 2011). Presented as design fiction, these concepts—objects, systems, worlds—are intentionally unreal, discursive, and outside commercial constraints (Auger, 2013), thereby provoking imagination about possible futures.
Freed from market agendas, speculative concepts thrive on imagination. Julian Bleecker argues that such designed objects become “imaginative conversations”—persuasive extrapolations into future worlds (Bleecker, 2009). Fictional outputs spark debate, encouraging people to think freely (Dunne & Raby, 2013). Speculative design thus has two objectives: (1) to encourage thinking about alternative futures and (2) to critique the present (Auger, 2013).
By means of speculative design, we step into alternative future worlds not only for entertainment but for contemplation, criticism, and provocation (Dunne & Raby, 2013). Auger observes that speculation lets us explore potential products and services before they exist, applying varied ideologies and configurations (Auger, 2013). Bleecker’s design fiction offers multidirectional futures beyond the usual dystopia–utopia binary (Bleecker, 2009).
These stories shape new future worlds in a “shared imaginary” (Bleecker, 2009). They take forms such as what-if scenarios, cautionary tales, thought experiments, and counterfactuals (Dunne & Raby, 2013). Futures researchers use the Cone of Futures—possible, plausible, probable, and preferable—to categorize them (Tonkinwise, 2014). By widening that cone, speculative stories help audiences discuss which futures are desirable.
For engagement, a bridge must link the audience’s current world with the fictional one. Auger proposes strategies such as contextual design, verisimilitude, observational comedy (rooting speculation in the familiar), and alternative presents. Designers often evoke emotion and reflection by tying an object’s technological, functional, symbolic, or commercial aspects to its imagined landscape (Franzato, 2011), creating dialogue between designers and society.
Research Question
We live in a world facing pandemics, climate change, migration, and mass extinction. Speculative design can widen the cone of possible futures. Yet context—historical, geographic, social, political, cultural—is often overlooked. How can speculative design depict inclusive futures tailored to specific inhabitants? This proposal argues that storytelling, worldbuilding, and immersive technologies can incorporate marginalized contexts—especially the Middle East—and surface neglected voices.
Research Methodology
Storytelling as a qualitative method.
Interviews and informal interactions will collect visions of possible, plausible, probable, and preferable futures in Middle Eastern cities. Using reacting, matching, eliciting, and collaborating techniques (Kendall & Kendall, 2012), we will document fictional and non-fictional stories as bases for prototyping.
Worldbuilding as research through design (RtD).
Narratives become robust storyworlds through worldbuilding (von Stackelberg & McDowell, 2015). Visualizations of objects, spaces, and systems will be presented via VR, AR, or MR. RtD “thing-making” yields knowledge and provokes new design thinking (Bardzell et al., 2015).
Expected Outcome
The project will produce an essay and digital visualizations depicting multiple speculative futures in Middle Eastern contexts. These future-telling machines will dismantle the illusion of a single future and invite communities to imagine alternative selves and societies: the future will be speculative—or there will be none.
References
- Auger, J. (2013). Speculative design: Crafting the speculation. Digital Creativity, 24(1), 11–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/14626268.2013.767276
- Bardzell, J., Bardzell, S., & Hansen, L. K. (2015). Immodest proposals: Research through design and knowledge. Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems – Proceedings, 2015–April(April), 2093–2102. https://doi.org/10.1145/2702123.2702400
- Bleecker, J. (2009). Design Fiction: A Short Essay on Design, Science, Fact and Fiction. Near Future Laboratory, March, 49. http://www.nearfuturelaboratory.com/2009/03/17/design-fiction-a-short-essay-on-design-science-fact-and-fiction/
- Dunne, A., & Fiona Raby. (2013). Speculative Everything.
- Franzato, C. (2011). Design as Speculation. Design Philosophy Papers, 9(1), 23–39. https://doi.org/10.2752/144871311×13968752924392
- Kendall, J. E., & Kendall, K. E. (2012). Storytelling as a qualitative method for is research: Heralding the heroic and echoing the mythic. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 17(2), 161–187. https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v17i2.697
- Tonkinwise, C. (2014). How We Intend to Future: Review of Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby, Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming . Design Philosophy Papers, 12(2), 169–187. https://doi.org/10.2752/144871314×14159818597676
- von Stackelberg, P., & McDowell, A. (2015). What in the world? Storyworlds, science fiction, and futures studies. Journal of Futures Studies, 20(2), 25–46. https://doi.org/10.6531/JFS.2015.20(2).A25