The Freipass for Ting was developed as part of the Innovation Booster Future Urban Society. The Freipass is a speculative artefact that embodies the (financial) freedom that Ting membership offers. It thus stimulates discussion about a new narrative of money and solidarity.
The free pass is designed as a folded flyer and is reminiscent of old driving licences. When you open it up, you are greeted with the questions: «What would you do if you could, and what is holding you back?»
The «personal details» page does not ask for your place of residence, but for your income and inheritance. On the next double page, where driving licence categories are entered or countries are stamped in a passport, categories such as «reorientation», «further education/training», «start a project», «start a company» or «take time out» appear instead.
As a speculative artefact, the free pass thus reveals how closely money and freedom of action are linked. Do you have the money to start a company? Can you take time off work? And why can some people do it, but others can't?
Ting makes such a free pass, or one of these «journeys», possible.
What is Ting?
Ting is a community account. Ting members pay in a portion of their income each month, creating a shared pot. Members who want to realise a plan or project can apply to Ting. If the plan is supported, the person in question can receive up to 2,500 per month from Ting for up to six months.
What is a speculative artefact?
Speculative design is a transdisciplinary approach to futurology. By designing speculative artefacts, alternative social models are explored and made tangible. The artefacts are not products in the traditional sense, but rather serve as catalysts for critical reflection, public debate and collective imagination. They pose questions rather than provide answers. They provoke, shift perspectives and make desirable futures tangible.
Narratives shape our perception of the present and the future – those who fail to provide images are quickly overlooked. Social innovation in particular often lacks tangible artefacts and narratives that can be told in order to generate resonance in public spaces. However, transformation requires not only technical or political instruments, but also cultural levers. This is exactly where the Freipass comes in: it is a speculative artefact that focuses on a new narrative around money, freedom and solidarity.
What are we trying out with the free pass?
We are investigating whether speculative design can be an effective tool for better communicating social innovation and making it more accessible. Can speculative design spark discussions where pure information is not enough? Can a speculative object make complex social issues more tangible? The Freipass is a narrative object: a deliberately ambivalent, ambiguous artefact. It does not seek to instruct, but rather to provoke, inspire and encourage debate.
If you would like to learn more about the process or other speculative artefacts, take a look at our playbook «Thinking the Unthinkable» or find out more here:
Interested in speculative design?
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