Seven Macro Trends That Will Shape Product Design and Innovation.

Had this one stored in my Evernote account for a week or so. The FreshFuelBlog reports that "global brand consultancy Dragon Rouge has released the results of observations made by an "internal group of trend watchers across their worldwide offices ." They look for macro-societal shifts by looking for key changes in what they refer to as early-adopting industries including fashion, cosmetics and entertainment, and design."

Here's what they suggest:

THE MACRO SOCIETAL TRENDS
1. Re-act - Consumers are now focusing their ethics around the idea of 'meaningful consumption'. They believe that any purchase occasion gives them an opportunity to make a clear statement about the values that are meaningful to them, and help re-build an environment, whether it is their own body, their family, their community or the world at large. 'Green activism', which represents a sub-set of this trend, has evolved to incorporate technological cues (e.g. new Method refills).

2. Me and My Ego - "Ego-spirituality" drives consumers to build mysterious personal rituals to help them
manage their fear of the unknown and accelerate their way out of an economic and moral crisis. They look for products and services that deliver multi-sensorial experiences, and avoid materialism. From a design perspective, this gets expressed through a combination of dark undertones and deep, mysterious imagery and color schemes.

3. Foundations -Fundamental societal values (restraint, heritage) and historic symbols and personalities (such as Abraham Lincoln) give consumers the means to counter greed, extreme individualism and perceived decadence, which are seen as the root causes of our current issues. That's why many innovative products are now re-inventing history by combining modern and classical design cues.

4. Euphoria -Consumers increasingly resort to irreverence and respectful disobedience to carry their hope for abetter tomorrow. Their attitude towards life and consumption is tongue-in-cheek, and they look to bold colorful offerings to help them escape. For instance certain brands increasingly feature the root of the problem rather than the expected benefit on the front of their packaging, or use unexpected design cues to provoke a sense of irreverence.

5. Simply Better -Simplicity has become a new standard of perfection. Consumers are turning to offerings that help simplify their lives (functionally and emotionally) because simplicity helps them regain control in their lives.Simplicity has also become a guarantee of quality since it is perceived as a symbol of objectivity and transparency.

6. Schizophrenia -Virtual tools help people escape while they encourage them to experiment and reinvent themselves. This sense of freedom fuels a desire for personal recognition, customization and instant gratification. Successful innovation will therefore continue to invite consumers to experiment on their own terms their relationship vis a vis a given product.

7. Yes we can - Consumers perceive that societal turbulence is announcing a new world order that will
challenge uniform globalization. This new phase will be about co-existence, re-interpretation of local cultures, with transparency and accountability.