In the landscape of design research, several techniques of speculative design -or design about ideas- have been positioned, each with a different time frame. Design Fiction and Critical Design, for instance, emerged as making activities that explore the near and the speculative future, respectively. We previously defined Vision Concepts as a design-led technique that explores and communicates speculative futures. Even though Vision Concepts, such as long-term concept cars and products, have been part of the industry since 1938, previous work has failed to identify and understand them from the design research perspective or compared them with other speculative design techniques. This study intends to identify which spot Vision Concepts occupies within the landscape of design research. To that end, we developed a multiple case analysis that includes examples of Vision Concepts, Design Fiction, and Critical Design. This paper will help design researchers identify the similarities and differences between Vision Concepts and the other speculative design techniques and gain knowledge about when and why to apply this technique.

Keywords: vision concepts; concept cars; speculative design; design fiction; critical design

Read the full paper here: Paper-2-DRS2016-11March2016

https://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid%3A030cf14c-5bd0-425c-bca8-d61478ed1b66?collection=research

Cited (APA) as: Mejia, J. R., Pasman, G., & Stappers, P. J. (2016). Vision concepts within the landscape of design research. In P. Lloyd & E. Bohemia (Eds.), Proceedings of DRS2016: Design + Research + Society – Future-Focused Thinking (Vol. 4, pp. 1659–1676). Brighton, U.K.

Watch the presentation here:

50th-anniversary Design Research Society Conference, Brighton, U.K.

Over the past 50 years design research has established a firm basis for our understanding of design. For DRS2016 we consider how design research can help us address the problems we face now and the challenges that lie ahead. We ask three questions: How can design research help frame and address the societal problems that face us? How can design research be a creative and active force for rethinking ideas about Design? and How can design research shape our lives in more responsible, meaningful, and open ways? DRS2016 is hosted by the University of Brighton in the UK, in association with the Royal College of Art and Imperial College, London

Read more about the conference here: http://www.drs2016.org/#drs2016

Javier Ricardo Mejia Sarmiento