Abstract
This paper explores the imaginative borderland of speculative design, often re-ferred to as 'preposterous futures,' and presents a framework for playful specula-tive design building upon carnivalesque play theory. To operationalize the framework, the concept of ‘playful tensions’ employs three continuums of rele-vance: Firstly, designers should address the ‘purpose’ by navigating the interplay between 'concern and provocation.’ Secondly, the ‘concept’ should be crafted to straddle the boundary between the 'serious and ridiculous,' and thirdly, integrat-ing both 'believable and absurd' elements to scaffold the ‘formgiving’ process. To demonstrate the practical efficacy of the framework, three projects by estab-lished artists and designers are analyzed and discussed. The paper contends that playful speculative design not only nurtures the broader field of speculative de-sign, but also serves as a valuable analytical tool for discerning the playful quali-ties embedded in speculative designs, and finally, contributes to qualifying the transformative power of play design research.
Keywords
speculative design; play design; playful speculative design; preposterous futures
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.323
Citation
Kinch, S., Uhre Rahbek, J., and Behrendtzen, S. (2024) Playful Speculative Design: Crafting Preposterous Futures Through Playful Tension, in Gray, C., Ciliotta Chehade, E., Hekkert, P., Forlano, L., Ciuccarelli, P., Lloyd, P. (eds.), DRS2024: Boston, 23–28 June, Boston, USA. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.323
Creative Commons License
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Conference Track
Research Paper
Included in
Playful Speculative Design: Crafting Preposterous Futures Through Playful Tension
This paper explores the imaginative borderland of speculative design, often re-ferred to as 'preposterous futures,' and presents a framework for playful specula-tive design building upon carnivalesque play theory. To operationalize the framework, the concept of ‘playful tensions’ employs three continuums of rele-vance: Firstly, designers should address the ‘purpose’ by navigating the interplay between 'concern and provocation.’ Secondly, the ‘concept’ should be crafted to straddle the boundary between the 'serious and ridiculous,' and thirdly, integrat-ing both 'believable and absurd' elements to scaffold the ‘formgiving’ process. To demonstrate the practical efficacy of the framework, three projects by estab-lished artists and designers are analyzed and discussed. The paper contends that playful speculative design not only nurtures the broader field of speculative de-sign, but also serves as a valuable analytical tool for discerning the playful quali-ties embedded in speculative designs, and finally, contributes to qualifying the transformative power of play design research.