Wicked Problems, Wicked Humor: Fun Machines as Strategy

Design methods need to reconsider ways to avoid othering messiness (or what appears to be contradictory or nonsensical) within wicked problem situations, particularly crisis sites. As such, this paper suggests that play frames (defined as Fun Machines) can be utilised as situated strategies that designers can apply to address paradoxes and contradictions. The paper presents the theoretical framework for a Fun Machine by focusing on second-generation design methods and how they facilitate conversation, while simultaneously exploring an often-neglected playful aspect of conversation that is usually found in fun-making. The applications of a Fun Machine are discussed in the historical context (Cedric Price’s Fun Palace) and with a pilot project conducted at a contemporary crisis site (Dessau).