Trend reports, like trends themselves, can be a waste of time or they can shed some light on the cultural climate. David Report, produced by Swedish designer and strategist David Carlson, always seems pretty right-on to us. His most recent publication profiles 5 key design trends, most of which have been in heavy rotation on Apartment Therapy for a while now...
The report splits up the current landscape of design into 5 categories:
• Cooltural: stresses regionalism, authenticity, and uniqueness
• Responsibiz: humanistic, stresses sustainability and ethical production
• Sensuctive: poetic design that appeals to the senses and engages our emotions
• Breaking Boundaries: an approach that blends things that seem to be polar opposites
• Rationaissance: functional, iconic, participates in a dialogue with modernist history
A few concrete examples:
The report goes into each of these trends in greater depth, examining how they relate to political and cultural sea changes. To read the full report, click here.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
I wrote a trend piece myself recently, based on my visit to the 2008 Kitchen/Bath Industry Show. Granted, it's not as sexy or intellectual as David's, but it could be interesting to those wondering what's happening in that domain. It can be found on page 37 of this magazine:
http://www.tampaflair.com/.
I also wrote about my favorite products at this leading trade show on my design blog:
http://jgkitchens.blogspot.com/2008/08/top-kitchen-products-from-kbis-2008.html
http://jgkitchens.blogspot.com/2008/08/top-bath-products-from-kbis-2008.html
Again, not as sexy or stimulating as David's by far, but those looking for new goodies for their kitchen or bath could find the notes, pics and links useful.
view JG_Kitchens's profile
That owl is looking at me!
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Dear Apartment Therapists, thanks for the review on our latest trend report!
view davidcarlson's profile
Trends forecast from Canada: http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2008/09/trends-forecast-springsummer-2009/
view ChrisToronto's profile
Coining words is hard, try again! Foulique speakaging.
view K T G's profile
I got a lot of helpful information in that article, 100% serious, I am glad Mr. Carlson provided a pdf link because I couldn't look at it in the originally linked format.
You might not call "Breaking Boundaries" an abbreviation for 'Breaking Boundaries,' and check out the word portmanteau in the dictionary, and still I mean it, I think the concepts were clear and didn't require such severe lingo gymnastics. Those are worse than the names they make up for new drugs.
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I'm going to start using the word "sensuctive", but not in the manner that you intended.
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Looking further into the fact that he's Swedish, we are led into the minds that name IKEA furnishings. They just use k and leave off the e at the end, and it's a shelf, a lamp, a curtain, a tv cart!
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Those slippers are awesome.
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