PSFK Weekly
Creativity, trends & futures selected by Piers Fawkes & the PSFK research team. Includes a macro trends analysis, a special trends report on Reformatted Design, and a download on business sentiment.
Marco Trends In March
By using AI Agents developed by our Broadmind team and connecting them with vectorized knowledge bases that PSFK has built, we can determine some higher-level market trends that permeate through business and culture today:
Immersive Engagement through Mixed Reality: Across sectors, from influencers and luxury brands to retail and travel, there's a concerted push towards creating immersive, engaging experiences leveraging AR, VR, and AI technologies. This focus is about captivating consumers with memorable, personalized interactions that stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Sustainability and Ethical Practices: Sustainability is not just a buzzword but a foundational principle driving industries like fashion, food & beverage, and the circular economy. Brands are prioritizing eco-friendly practices, from organic farming to ethical sourcing and sustainable materials, reflecting a broader consumer demand for responsible consumption.
Personalization and Customization: The need to cater to individual preferences is a recurring theme, seen in sectors ranging from consumer electronics to wearables and ecommerce. This trend underscores the importance of using data and technology to tailor products, services, and experiences to meet unique consumer needs and desires.
Collaborations and Partnerships: Cross-industry collaborations, particularly in brand collaborations and luxury sectors, highlight the growing importance of partnerships in offering novel experiences and products. These collaborations often aim to merge different industries' strengths, creating innovative solutions that appeal to diverse audiences.
Community and Inclusivity: Several trends that our AI systems are tracking emphasize the importance of creating inclusive, empowering spaces that foster a sense of community and belonging. From inclusive design in interfaces to empowering spaces in London and New York City's emphasis on cooperative models and local empowerment, there's a clear shift towards valuing diversity and inclusivity.
Integration of Technology into Daily Life: The seamless integration of technology into everyday experiences is a theme that runs through the metaverse, digital twins, and smart home technologies in real estate. This trend reflects a broader shift towards digital-first interactions and the blurring lines between physical and virtual worlds.
Health, Wellness, and Mindfulness: The focus on health and wellness is evident across sectors, from health & wellness innovations to the sports & fitness industry's transformation. This theme encompasses a holistic view of well-being, incorporating physical health, mental relaxation, and environmental wellness into products and services.
Ethics, Trust, and Privacy: As technology becomes more integrated into our lives, concerns around trust, privacy, and ethical considerations are becoming increasingly critical. This is evident in the focus on ethical AI, digital privacy in the realm of web3 & crypto, and the emphasis on transparency and trustworthiness.
Adaptation and Flexibility: The future of work trends underscores the need for adaptability and flexibility in the workplace, reflecting broader societal shifts towards hybrid work models, technological adaptation, and the value of creativity and personal expression.
This Week’s Ideas
This week’s section highlights how themes of sustainability, accessibility, and the fusion of tradition with innovation are reshaping industries. We explore sustainable solutions in technology and fashion, examine how accessible design is making a difference, and showcase the creative ways tradition is meeting technological advancement. These stories offer a vision for a future where design and functionality go hand in hand, promoting a more inclusive and environmentally conscious world.
HiTENCHO's Harmonic Fusion
The VOTT Speaker by HiTENCHO combines larch plywood with colored polyurethane foam, echoing traditional speaker designs with a modern twist. Metallic accents enhance the wood's natural grain, showcasing HiTENCHO's innovative fusion of materials and aesthetics. Learn More
Circular Mini-Golf Concept
Lab La Bla, a design studio in Malmö, created a bar and mini-golf course installation from waste materials for flooring company Bolin at the Stockholm Furniture Fair, providing a playful and sustainable experience for visitors. Learn More / Video Here
Embracing Imperfection in Design
The New York Times looks at how the design industry is embracing imperfection, promoting ethical consumption and sustainability. Learn More
Sustainable Sneaker Project
A student project envisions sneakers with 3D-knitted parts that can be disassembled for repair, cleaning, or recycling, reducing waste and offering more sustainable options in the fashion industry. Learn More
SME Smartphone for the Visually Impaired
A new accessibility-focused smartphone concept, the SME, offers a tactile grip, walking mode, and voice assistant powered by ethical AI, making it a user-friendly and inclusive device for visually impaired individuals. Learn More
TASCHEN's NFT Collection
Luxury art book publisher TASCHEN has released a collection explaining NFTs and featuring four digital artists' work. This creative collaboration bridges traditional art publishing with the potential of blockchain technology. Learn More
School Libraries in Zanzibar
A project that designs school libraries in Zanzibar aligned with the curriculum and serves local students, offering a sustainable and educational model for school facilities. The creators balance traditional and modern elements, promoting inclusivity and community engagement. Learn More
Enchanted Beginnings In A Whimsical World of Discovery
Dalezhiye Kindergarten in Leshan, China, unfolds as a whimsical haven, where DIKA Architectural Design Center's visionary layout merges organic forms with ethereal spaces, crafting an enchanting realm for exploration and imagination. Learn More
Atelier Sisu's Elysian Arches
In a creative installation, Atelier Sisu has adorned London's Leadenhall Building with rainbow-like arches, promoting joy and mindfulness to support mental health in the workplace. Learn More
Louis Vuitton Store in Bangkok
The Louis Vuitton store in Bangkok offers a unique shopping experience, with a focus on art, music, and food, featuring a cafe, bookstore, and event space. Learn More
Gensler's Office Redesign
An experimental office redesign by global architecture firm Gensler in Los Angeles showcases a more casual, communal workspace and reflects the city's essence. Learn More
A Place To Live, Work and Grow
The ‘House for Young Families 01’ in Vietnam blurs the line between indoor and outdoor spaces, promoting sustainability, flexibility, and a strong connection to nature. Learn More
Edelman's Francis House
Francis House, Edelman UK's headquarters designed by Gensler, unfolds across 45,000 square feet with biophilic elements, vintage and reused furnishings, and a variety of workspaces, embracing sustainability and flexibility in its design. Learn More
Foster + Partners Workspace
Foster + Partners has unveiled a flexible workspace in London's Battersea Power Station that prioritizes employee health and sustainability. The innovative design features natural lighting, greenery, and adaptable configurations, providing a modern and comfortable environment for businesses and employees. Learn More
Restaurant Offers A Warm Embrace of Design and Nature
Erik Bratsberg transforms Persona restaurant in Stockholm into a tactile feast of asymmetrical terrazzo, patinated brass, and his unique artworks, weaving warmth and sophistication into Stockholm's dining scene with a palette inspired by nature and mid-century Italian design. Learn More
Past Deposits from a Future Yet to Come
An art exhibition at Waterloo Park's Moody Amphitheater in Austin, Texas, delves into the interconnectedness of time, history, and human experience, transforming everyday artifacts into monumental projections that invite viewers to ponder the cyclic and intertwined nature of past, present, and future. Learn More
AI Meet Up in NYC
Thanks to everyone who came long to this week’s session at Spring Studios in NYC. Thoughts and audience comments here on LinkedIn.
This Week’s Presentation: Business Sentiment Analysis
Now that we're 60+ days into 2024, how are businesses faring? Where are industries channeling their investments? Download our deck!
Some of the results are a little nod along but we were particularly struck by the stark contrasts in how corporations are navigating their investments between physical and digital retail spaces. The differences in reporting between luxury brands and consumer goods companies were quite revealing. Probably our favorite section is the one with the significant variations of focus between industry verticals. Enjoy!
This Week’s Trend: Reformatted Design
For the next few week’s, we’re sharing an extract from Piers Fawkes’ new 2025 trends report: Machine Thinking. Last week we shared some thouughts on the trend Intent Based Experiences and this week we push design further the PSFK and Broadmind.ai founder’s thoughts on Reformatted Design where form can break free when it stops being tied to historical legacy and human habit.
Maybe we start with the Apple Vision Pro. It’s ugly, right? It nothing new like the iPod was, and it’s no way as slick as the iPad seemed when it first launched. Right?
The VR and XR headset is arguably one of the most cumbersome technological devices of our time: shaped out out of necessity, hindered by the limits of our current technology and, ultimately, biased by what designers think a head set should look like.
When it comes to product design today, we often find ourselves shackled to the legacy of the past. Our creations, more often than not, are but modern interpretations of age-old relics. Industrial design, unlike its digital counterpart, grapples with the tangible – the material constraints, the physical realities.
Historically, these designs have been the products of human imagination – inherently limited, confined within the realms of what we know, what we've seen.
But let’s learn that new formats can break through. Remember the story of Sony's Walkman? It was a design that defied convention and was at first rejected: the design was a challenge to the status quo, an idea that wasn’t in line with how things are designed. The Sony staff literally had to go onto the streets and get people to try the headphones on and listen to the music in order to start getting product acceptance.
It’s a rare example of a break away design but too often technology companies iterate on the old. But now, we're on the cusp of a revolution, thanks to the prowess of AI and computational design. These technologies are processing millions of possibilities in mere moments, identifying optimal designs that transcend our traditional limitations. Ai is redefining components, hardware, materials and every aspect of what electronics can look like, feel like.
This is where the magic happens: humans take these AI-driven foundations and infuse them with creativity, crafting experiences that are not just functional but engaging, not just practical but enchanting.
A Royal Institute of British Architects 2024 survey of architects finds that over half of architects expect their firms to use AI, and 57% think it will improve efficiency in the design process. A Reformatted Design approach allows for design innovation in other fields too - like healthcare. Look at the trend in AI-powered bionic prosthetics, like the Genium X3 knee and BrainGate neural interface, which represent a leap in personalized medical technology. These devices adapt in real-time to users' movements and thoughts, offering enhanced mobility and autonomy. The Bespoke Limb System and Esper Hand further personalize the experience with custom-fit designs and aesthetic customization, merging functionality with individual expression. This marks a significant advancement in integrating AI with physical design to meet unique user needs.
OpenAI has already hired famed Apple design leader Jony Ive to to build new hardware technology. The project promises the “iPhone of artificial intelligence” and aims to create a more natural way to interact with AI - and no doubt will produce a product people never imagined before.
We're stepping into an era where design is no longer about updating relics but about reimagining possibilities, breaking free from historical constraints, and embracing the unbounded potential of human-machine collaboration in design. And there’s real reason to take the Reformatted Design approach seriously: A 2024 report by Andreessen Horowitz argues that extreme products win: The Silicon Valley investors say that the most successful consumer products have strong "word of mouth" virality due to surprising or even unserious early use cases (e.g., Snap as "just a sexting app"). But these products often fulfill a real need that shines through in engagement and retention metrics.
Keep subscribed to this newsletter to receive an alert regarding the publication of ‘Machine Thinking’ to PSFK’s report library
Quote of Note
"Plant-based food has been the biggest culinary trend so far this century and attracted interest from vegans, vegetarians, and meat-eaters alike who were curious as to what the fuss was all about. That initial level of interest was inevitably going to drop off slightly, but what we are seeing is phase two of that revolution, with flexitarians now wanting to take more control over what they eat whilst continuing to reduce their meat intake. These latest sales figures show they’re doing that by cooking from scratch."
Cate May, Plant-Based Food Buyer, Tesco
Fact of Note
According to Tesco, sales of plant-based ingredients and whole cuts are on the rise again, with a 100% increase in fish alternatives and a 20% increase in sales of tofu, tempeh, plant-based steaks, and chicken breasts. This trend is attributed to flexitarians wanting to take control of their diet and reduce meat intake, with a growing awareness of the health benefits of plant-based foods. Source
Like This Newsletter But Need Something A Little More Retail?
Chainsaw Links
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