Abstract
This paper repositions speculative design artefacts as semiotic riddles, where materiality operates not merely as a carrier of speculation but as a vehicle for play. Drawing on Peircean semiotics and narrative theory, we extend Auger’s notion of the ‘perceptual bridge’ to show how speculative artefacts invite audiences into riddle-solving, assembling ‘fabula’ worlds from incomplete ‘syuzhet’ clues. Methodologically, we propose that speculative design can be understood as the crafting of riddles: designing with ambiguity, incompleteness, and interpretive openness. Through three design projects, we illustrate distinct ways in which designers structure the clues of semiotic riddles, whether singular artefacts, fragmented constellations or embodied scenarios and show how these sustain ambiguity and engagement differently. By treating materials and audiences as collaborators in play, this paper contributes to design research an approach that repositions speculation as a relational, playful, and material practice of meaning-making.
Keywords
speculative design, play design, semiotic riddles, play materials
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1311
Citation
Rahbek, J., and Kinch, S. (2026) Crafting semiotic riddles: Materiality and interpretive play in speculative design, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1311
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Crafting semiotic riddles: Materiality and interpretive play in speculative design
This paper repositions speculative design artefacts as semiotic riddles, where materiality operates not merely as a carrier of speculation but as a vehicle for play. Drawing on Peircean semiotics and narrative theory, we extend Auger’s notion of the ‘perceptual bridge’ to show how speculative artefacts invite audiences into riddle-solving, assembling ‘fabula’ worlds from incomplete ‘syuzhet’ clues. Methodologically, we propose that speculative design can be understood as the crafting of riddles: designing with ambiguity, incompleteness, and interpretive openness. Through three design projects, we illustrate distinct ways in which designers structure the clues of semiotic riddles, whether singular artefacts, fragmented constellations or embodied scenarios and show how these sustain ambiguity and engagement differently. By treating materials and audiences as collaborators in play, this paper contributes to design research an approach that repositions speculation as a relational, playful, and material practice of meaning-making.