Prepping for Futures We Can’t Predict- Introducing Speculative Design

Remember when we all thought 2020 was gonna be the glow-up year ? Yeah… plot twist.

Since then, we’ve been living in the ultimate season finale: pandemics, unexpected political drama, economic chaos, AI taking over our Spotify playlists - it’s giving main character energy, but making it global anxiety.

So how do we even plan for the future when everything feels like it was written by a chaotic screenwriter on their third iced coffee?

Enter: speculative design — the ultimate "what if?" tool for businesses that want to slay future challenges instead of getting ghosted by them.

Wait… What Even Is Speculative Design?

It’s like regular design, but with a "spicy" twist. Coined by Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby in Speculative Everything (2013), speculative design isn’t about making the next slightly-better toothbrush or another sad app redesign. It’s about imagining wild future scenarios that push us to think beyond the next quarter or next viral TikTok trend.

Think of it as design’s cool, artsy cousin who reads sci-fi, journals in weird cafés, and constantly asks, “But what if capitalism wasn’t a thing?”

OXYSPACE - A speculative design project that tackles problems of lifestyle habits in 2030 and in turn promotes change in human behavior.

Why Should Brands Care?

Because businesses aren’t just here to sell us overpriced matcha lattes anymore — they’re shaping culture, influencing politics, and literally defining how we live.

• Not about predictions, but possibilities: Instead of making sad spreadsheets trying to “forecast” next year, speculative design lets you explore multiple futures — from wholesome utopias to dystopian chaos.

  
  

• Get ahead of the curve: Imagine being the brand that already has ideas for a world with climate refugees, floating cities, or Mars-based co-working pods (hi, Elon).

  
  

• Vibe with culture shifts: Companies that explore future stories set trends rather than chase them. Example? Philips’ Design Probes (2009), they created concept products like emotion-sensing jewelry way before we all started tracking our feels on apps.

Tools to Get Your Future On

• Scenario planning: Shell used it back in the 1970s oil crisis to stay ready when the world lost its collective chill over oil (Shell Global, n.d.).

  
  

• Design fiction: Basically writing fan fiction… but for your brand’s future. Think Google’s early self-driving car stories before there were even prototypes.

  
  

• Future personas: Instead of “Jenny, 25, loves brunch,” you get “Jenny, 25, lives in a vertical forest city and hates human-AI dating apps” (Candy & Dunagan, 2017).

How To Start (Without Having a Full Existential Crisis)

1. Host a wild future workshop: Let your team dream up scenarios. Extra points for including aliens or influencer presidents.

   
   

2. Make weird prototypes: Test out ideas for future needs — even if they’re kinda cursed.

   
   

3. Track signals: Follow emerging tech, social movements, and global mood swings like they’re your fave gossip account.

Businesses = Future Main Characters

Your brand isn’t just about selling products anymore. You’re basically writing the future plot-line. Bring in your main character energy into this.

Remember Blockbuster? Yeah, they skipped this step. Netflix didn’t.

So, What If…?

• What if your brand helps rebuild social trust after mass tech burnout?

  
  

• What if mental wellness becomes so mainstream your product becomes the new toothbrush?

  
  

• What if remote work evolves into AR-based "meta offices" on literal mountaintops?

  
  

Speculative design helps you ask these questions, play with possibilities, and become the future’s MVP instead of its villain.

Receipts (a.k.a. References)

• Dunne, A., & Raby, F. (2013). Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming. MIT Press.

• Candy, S., & Dunagan, J. (2017). Designing an experiential scenario: The People Who Vanished. Futures, 86, 136–153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2016.05.006

• Shell Global. (n.d.). Shell scenarios. Retrieved from https://www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/the-energy-future/scenarios.html

• Philips Design Probes. (2009). Retrieved from https://www.planet.tue.nl/sites/default/files/probesbook.pdf

Final Vibe Check

In this unpredictable multiverse, speculative design isn’t just a niche design hobby, it’s like your emotional support water bottle: necessary for survival.

So go ahead. Imagine weird futures. Make chaos your creative BFF. And let’s design a tomorrow that isn’t just survivable but that actually slaps.

Ready to jump in? The future’s waiting...