If you are currently engaged in research with consumer groups, please note - your average consumer only knows about average things. Of 100% of people: 80% do nothing, 20% drive everything - so if you want to do research, speak to these people.
There is a backlash against the 'suedette cube'... future trends see romantic, sensual and playful design imbued with the patterns of myth. For example, UK shops are desperately trying to source patterned dinnerware like grandma used to have, for contemporary bridal couples... after 10 years with nothing on their plates!
Then there is magnetic wallpaper allows you to change motifs at will. Technology is magic and new consumers think like artists - you can use your marketing plan to be a magic carpet that will transport your brand to new heights, or you can put it on the floor with matching drapes. Dreams or drapes - you decide.
It is fair to say that Richard Seymour of UK outfit, SeymourPowell, brought the house down.
One of the things that design can do is, it can make things better without making them more expensive, in fact, well thought out design can even make things cheaper! This should be good news to all those who subscribe to the Xcel spreadsheet school of marketing.
"We, don't," says Richard, "ever call them 'the consumer', because you make them seems like 'they're' out there, consumers are us!"
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We have been so starved of the sensorial that we crave, we want it back. We are in a unique position in the history of mankind, perhaps we've only been in this situation twice before - during the Renaissance and at the beginning of the 20th century. What these times have in common is that - what we can do goes beyond our imagination - Richard showed intelligent watches that you purchase in twos, that react to touch and would let another person anywhere in the world know you were thinking of them.
Martin had showed Swarowski crystal chandeliers, that function as SMS interfaces. If this is not the most compelling argument for design then I don¹t know what is.
The future will be by visionary thinkers, artists and those who display empathy - design is about other people, their comfort, their interface. Contemporary design is a process of optimistic futurism - you can't be a designer if you're not an optimist. Ergo - if you're neither an optimist nor a futurist, outsource your design work to someone who is.
Popped in to see Justin Nurse of 'Laugh it off' notoriety, out of curiosity. Just in from lying low in South America for two months to cool off from the heat of the kitchen, Justin was justifiably jetlagged.
Listening to him in the flesh brings into focus the anonymous figure of the media. For a start he is, a brilliant graphic designer, he is also very eloquent and courageous. He described his appearance in the Supreme court of Appeal in Bloemfontein last year, amidst five judges, six advocates and others as 'a draining experience'.
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At last the furore around his legal battle with South African Breweries over the 'Black/Labour white guilt' T-shirt design has been somewhat demystified for me.
In a nutshell, Justin makes people aware of social issues by using the familiarity of the brands, labels and logos, many of which have become as familiar to the global family as ABC. This makes whatever message he wants to communicate easy for the man in the street to relate to.
Often his work draws a fine line between parody and satire. For example, 'Dead Bull - gives you mince', 'eMpTv' and 'Unlucky fried kitten', make for humorous social commentary about relevant issues without particularly denigrating the brands involved. So far so good.
It seems SAB do not have a case against the message per se, the suit has become a pure copyright issue. His use of the Carling Black label logo is a copyright infringement of the Trademark Act 1993 341C. The interesting thing is this, Justin reckons that while SAB may have dropped the case, the fact that this has become a issue of copyright, means that the patent lawyers who are paid a retainer by big corporates to protect their brands, are raking it in, and have no incentive whatsoever to stop legal proceedings...
If Justin Nurse has become just a pawn in the legal system, it is indeed a pity. That's my take on it. We will follow with interest this David and Goliath struggle, played out in the global media.
