In today’s highly mediatized and culturally fluid society, identifying weak signals of future trends has become a key challenge for design futures research and practice. Traditional forecasting tools often overlook micro-practices and heterogeneous narratives embedded in everyday cultural life, making it difficult to detect early signs of emerging issues. This paper integrates methodologies from media anthropology and futures studies to propose a Cultural Radar method for detecting weak signals. Two case studies—youth emotional hunger and the deconstruction of “Deng” as a cultural power holder—demonstrate how design can function as cultural laboratories. This research expands the cultural dimension of weak signal theory and offers a practical paradigm for future-oriented design inquiry.