Section 9 · Time, Motion & Interaction

Speculative Design

Definition

Design proposing a plausible near- or far-future scenario in order to examine its implications, rather than delivering a product for present-day use. Its output is an argument in the form of an artifact.

Why it matters

A speculative prototype is judged on whether its scenario is coherent and its implications worth thinking about — not on whether it could ship. The design is a way of asking a question about the future.

Example

An app for a public service that doesn’t exist yet, designed convincingly enough that its social consequences become discussable.

Teaching note

Requires an explicit brief about representation. Speculative scenarios involving communities students don’t belong to slide into caricature without research, and the fix is research plus a conversation before the premise is locked, not a correction at critique.