speculativepractice

Speculative practice refers to an approach in art, design, architecture, and research that uses hypothetical, fictional, or counterfactual scenarios to examine potential futures and their social, ethical, and political implications. It emphasizes process and critique over the production of conventional, market-ready artifacts, aiming to reveal assumptions embedded in technology and everyday life.

Origins and influences

The term draws on critical design and design fiction traditions, notably the work associated with the 1990s by designers such as Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby. It overlaps with futures studies, scenario planning, and speculative realism, integrating philosophical reflection with practical experimentation. The goal is not prediction but provocative inquiry that unsettles habitual ways of thinking about technology, work, governance, and culture.

Methods and practices

Practitioners employ prototyped or fictional artifacts, world-building, narrative construction, and curated exhibitions to make possible futures tangible. Methods may include design fiction, speculative prototypes, imagined user experiences, and participatory storytelling. The artifacts are often intentionally plausible yet destabilizing, inviting public discussion and critical reflection about values, power structures, and possible trade-offs.

aims and reception

Speculative practice seeks to broaden public imagination, critique dominant techno-economic narratives, and stimulate ethical and policy conversations. It is sometimes criticized for being abstract or disconnected from practical constraints, yet proponents argue that it foregrounds unseen consequences and encourages more responsible innovation.

See also

Speculative design, critical design, design fiction, futures studies, scenario planning, and philosophy of technology.