THE SCHOOL OF Critical Design
Next Design & Business

Come create the future with us

Explore Our COURSES

Emerging Methods

Applied Speculative Design

Applied Cultural Strategy

Applied Futures

Welcome to the School of Critical Design. We are an experimental design school dedicated to the application of emerging methods (like speculative design) to innovation, research, design and strategy.

We have over 15 years of experience applying speculative design methods to help organizations better understand the possibilities of and design the future.

Our professional and academic courses and workshops, lectures and community, all offer new ways for individuals and organisations to meet the critical challenges facing our planet, people and businesses now, and the for next 1000 years.

Come and explore the future with us.

Read the full Story
WE'VE Trained TaLENTED PEOPLE at SOME AMAZING ORGANIZATIONS
Featured Courses

What is Speculative Design?

Speculative Design is the design of future products and services to understand the impact and implications of emerging technology and social or cultural trends.

Speculative Design is a discipline that seeks to help us understand anew our current state by exploring futures possibilities.

Speculative Design is closely related to critical design, design futures, or design fiction, with these variations emerging from the particular focus, interest, or intent of the designer.

Speculative Design disconnects design from the immediate needs of the business, industry, or the marketplace, and lets us use design to ask new kinds of questions, and create new kinds of value for the organization.

Speculative Design can enhance organizational decision making, by de-risking future possibilities, creating new context, and by generating empathy for future customers / citizens / employees / people / planet.

Speculative Design can work in research, strategy, product, service, and system contexts, in both innovation and development, and across various industries, both tech and non-tech focused.

Speculative Design is a radical expansion of purview, that reframes our current state options. By "closing the loop" we return from the explored future to a better understanding of product, investment, and research opportunities available to us today.

Speculative Design is in a normalizing phase of adoption, with companies and organizations training individuals, bringing the capabilities in house, and embedding futures practice into their process and decision making.

We are dedicated to the acceleration of this normalization, giving individuals and oranizations the tools and confidence to apply speculative design in their particular context and create new kinds of meaningful value.

More Courses
Decoding Culture
Enroll Now

£ 250 

37 Online Lessons / At your own pace

Place Futures
Enroll Now

£ 250 

46 Online Lessons / At your own pace

Speculative Design Introduction
September 16, 17, 18 _ 2024

£ 1,000 

3 live virtual sessions, 3 hrs each

Speculative Design Masterclass
Nov 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 _ 2024

£ 1,500 

5 live virtual sessions, 3 hrs each

BESPOKE LEARNING

Interested in bringing speculative design or other emerging innovation approaches into your wider organization?

Skill up your team

We can run any of our open enrollment courses or lectures as a dedicated session for your organization or in-house teams.

Custom Experience

We can develop custom topic and futures explorations for your organization.

Contact Us
Join us And EXPLORE THE FUTURE

New ways into complexity

We explore and help you apply new kinds of thinking and approach to create meaningful impact in the world.

Discover nkD
ThINKING
Future Cities: Big Topics and Macro Drivers
Cities are dynamic organisms, constantly evolving in response to a confluence of forces. This is what makes them so interesting and pivotal for futures thinking. Climate change, technological disruption, and shifting social and economic landscapes present both unprecedented challenges and exciting opportunities for urban development.
February 7, 2025
Global Placemaking Examples
Placemaking is a dynamic process that involves the collaborative creation of public spaces designed to enhance community well-being, promote social interaction, and reflect local culture and identity. This multifaceted approach can be applied through various types, including architecture, urban design, and landscaping, and it has been successfully implemented in diverse locations around the world. 
February 7, 2025
Placemaking: Definition, History, Origins, and Importance
Placemaking is a multifaceted approach to the planning, design, and management of public spaces. More than just the act of creating a space, placemaking is about transforming public spaces to enhance the well-being and quality of life for the people who use them. This concept integrates community-based participation and fosters collaboration among stakeholders to create places that reflect the values, needs, and aspirations of the community.
February 7, 2025