It is not my intention to rephrase a definition or predict the future of design but rather to illuminate and share my opinion on various patterns of change that are already happening to design today. To understand drivers that define tomorrow’s design, we need to understand the social, technological, economic and political changes that propel the mechanism of everyday life. What is most apparent in today’s society is the sheer diversity and complexity of life. Every new day creates plenty of needs to which future design and business have to respond. We are supposedly more informed than ever – we feel burdened by the information overload that has become a very integrated part of our life. We are all in the same boat – constantly bombarded with predictions, promises and warnings. We will live in a trans-dimensional world that has to be understood by trans-dimensional future business.
The future will bring some new changes. Due to the new industry of upcoming 3D printing, we will get a completely new set of professions, skills and competences. Slowly, the transformation from present GLOBAL “capitalism” into a new LOCAL “co-capitalism”- a new form of economic system like Sharing Economy (according to Jeremy Rifkin and Thomas Piketty) – is becoming a fact. Of course, these are only speculative thoughts but already we can say that along with the development of a new system, many occupations will return. In the European countries, middle and high schools for craft education are coming back. One of these new movements will reintroduce the old craftsmanship and artisanry.
This new system requires changing our awareness from “me, my-self and I” to “us”. Already the new generation (born after 1980 and later) thinks in terms of concepts such as “we” and “our local community”. This kind of social integration and awareness can already be noticed in Scandinavian countries. According to the rankings of “The happiest countries in the world” by Legatum Prosperity Index, Scandinavian countries are in the Top 10. Maybe the secret to the future lies in HAPPINESS?
TREND = BUSINESS TOOL
Trends are not the colour of this season’s consumer’s shoes and bags. Trends are tools to build the future of your company. Trends create a landscape and show the rich horizon of future possibilities. Trends are not ready-made answers to future developments. Where one trend ends there comes a new one. We stand at the beginning of the new era in which most of important concepts and values will be redefined. The new generation is taking over. For some businesses it will even mean a rapid revolution. How social awareness will manifest in the trends for the next years you can find out in my new Trend Book 2007/2018 Towards 2025
If you wish to purchase an individual copy of the Trend Book (hard cover) + Tool Book, please contact our publisher. Price 395 euros.
