<i>SPECULATIVE SPACES OF DEMOCRACY. DESIGN AT A TURNING POINT</i>

Abstract

Design, often unreflectively, transmits role models and values, hence it is unavoidably political. Thus, design is an effective force in shaping not only material culture, but also societal values and human behavior. Design as a “critical practice” appears for instance in the context of social engagement, political activism, or civil disobedience. This paper is concerned with speculative as well as activist dimensions of design both as social action and political agency. The central question is what role speculative design activism can play in and for an open, inclusive and therefore socially sustainable society. I will discuss how to envisage designerly strategies and practices in politics and political strategies in design. This shall help us to derive arguments for the (not least socially and politically) transformative potential of design.