I picked two areas from this book that interested me and decided to read the chapters. Below is a brief understanding of what I thought about Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby book Speculate Everything.
Critical design
I liked learning about the difference between critical design and affirmative design. Affirmative design keeps things how they are, while critical design challenges the usual ideas to encourage thought, discussion, and change. I thought design was just about solving problems. But learning about critical design showed me that it can also be used to question our beliefs about technology, consumer culture, and social values. Critical design doesn't just criticise current practices. It opens up new areas for discussion by suggesting different and often thought provoking designs. These designs aren't meant to be solutions but are designed to make us think and discuss other possibilities.
This has changed how I approach design projects. I now think about how my designs can question and possibly change user interactions, cultural norms, and society. It's not just about making products that work well, but about creating designs that make people think and discuss what could be, not just what is.
Design and Science
Design can help shift talks from vague ideas to real examples that connect with our daily experiences as consumers. It's important because it makes the discussion real and relevant to everyone. By involving design, people can join in debates about the future of technologies like biotechnology sooner. It's not just about making people aware, but also about impacting the rules that will shape our future.
I've also seen how speculative design can show fictional products, letting us think about ethical and social issues in daily life. It helps picture the potential effect of biotech advancements and how different ways of getting these technologies for example from a family doctor or online can change how people see them and the ethical issues considered.
By getting people used to certain ideas through design, they might not see the potential negative effects of new technologies. Despite these concerns, I think the benefits of using design to get the public involved and provoke thoughtful talks about future technologies are more important. This involvement is key to making sure the futures we make are human and wanted.
Thinking about critical design has changed how I see design's role in society. At first, I thought design was mostly for solving problems and making useful things. But now I understand that design can also start important discussions and challenge how things are done. This way of thinking questions our usual habits around buying things and using technology.
When it comes to design and science, my ideas have changed too. I see how design can help us understand complex science in our daily lives. By using speculative design we can imagine how things like biotechnology might affect us in ways we can easily understand. This gets people involved and also helps us have a better conversation about the future of technology. Learning about critical design and how design and science work together has been a big change for me. It's made learn that we should aim to create a thoughtful and reflective culture around buying and using things not just make things that work.