Document Type : Scientific - Research
Authors
1
Department of Industrial Design, Kish International Campus, University of Tehran, Kish Island, Iran
2
Associate Professor, Department of Industrial Design, Kish International Campus, University of Tehran, Kish Island, Iran
3
Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial Design, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
4
Associate Professor, Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
10.22047/ijee.2026.588766.2259
Abstract
The growing complexity of socio-technological challenges has increased the need for critical thinking, ethical reflection, and futures thinking in design education. However, speculative and critical design tools often address only isolated parts of learning. This study preliminarily evaluated a five-phase educational framework for undergraduate industrial design students. Developed through design-based research, the framework comprised critical problem framing, exploration of techno-ethical futures, scenario world-building, speculative intervention development, and reflective integration. A qualitative-dominant exploratory mixed-methods approach with a single-group post-intervention design was used. Twenty students, selected through homogeneous purposive sampling, participated in a one-day workshop. Quantitative data were collected through a seven-criterion evaluation form, and qualitative data through activity and reflection sheets, observations, group discussions, scenarios, and speculative interventions. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inductive thematic analysis, respectively. Mean scores for all criteria exceeded 4, with group collaboration, futures thinking, and social responsibility receiving the highest ratings. Qualitative analysis identified four themes: a shift toward critical problem framing; ethical complexity and systemic inequality; futures thinking and speculative imagination; and redefinition of the designer’s role. The findings provide preliminary evidence of the framework’s capacity to support critical, ethical, future-oriented, and collaborative design learning.
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