In photo above: layered five coat trench by pioneer garment & apparel designer DURAN LANTINK, New Season, available in Farfetch.
Here we go with what we would gather from a first selection of the most defining discoveries in design and technology for the upcoming year. We will focus on those more than anything, plus our usual dedicated posts on important international events, fairs, cool brands and creators throughout 2021.
- Glam (Means) also Circular: finally refining sustainability in its real space, time and sense. No more superficial uses of the term, what is sustainable is made fully circular (: a new sneaker is made by parts of old sneakers), imprinting a Net Zero Model. Thus said, becoming terribly expensive as an end product, it is also alien to the Sustainability clause and cause.
- Partnerships (that Count for Something): in the likes of Raeburn teaming up with Tokyo-based Onward Advanced System, innovation means merging in collaborative research and production. Anything less than that is mere marketing for seasonal or temporary profit, far away from a meaningful design process for 2021.
- The Future of Work: indepth awareness around Future EdTech, the Future of Work and Mental Health in the workplace. Is remote work here to stay? What is best practice to empower the workforce? What cultural shifts are we likely to see emerge post-pandemic in the workplace? This year countless organisations worldwide have been forced to temporarily shut down, instruct employees to work from home, or struggle to find a new way of operating in which staff members are kept a safe distance from each other. The impact of the pandemic led to digital transformation initiatives, such as AI, automation, cloud, CX, data, and help in the self-discovery of organisations not only in terms of Survival but eventually of Success.
- Clean Cities = New Cities: Dominique Bonte, Vice President, End Markets at ABI Research, said: “In the need to increase resilience and optimise resource management in light of COVID-19, Real-time 3D models of cities-built environment allow scenario analysis through the simulation of the potential impact of natural disasters like flooding, [adoption of] generative design principles for new city developments [which optimise] energy savings and solar capacity, and saving costs by operating cities more efficiently and effectively.”Open access to key metrics and dashboards to the citizens themselves, increases their overall involvement and helping gain approval of city government decisions and policies.
- Fashion 4 Change: Toxic mega-profits for fashion mogul powerhouses, modern slavery sweatshop conditions - a fuel to the catastrophic consequences of climate change- fashion remains the multi-sectoral business ecosystem about to be transformed first. The time was yesterday and the transition is happening fast(er) today with more new movements and organizations in the Air acting 4 Change.
- Blockchain 4 All: With more and more companies, organizations even countries like Sweden (e-krona) announcing heavy implementation of the technology in more than one sector or disciplines and joining like AP13 the *Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA), the de facto standards organization for enterprise blockchain- Blockchain seems like THE Plan to adopt for so many functions in the near future.
(*EEA is backed by the largest developer community in the world. The EEA membership base represents companies from every region of the world across a wide variety of business sectors, including technology, banking, legal, government, healthcare, energy, culture, pharmaceuticals, marketing, and insurance.)
- 5G -AI 4 Design et al: More to come from the AI community, where you will find the insight, expertise, training, and connections you need to elevate your business in 2021 and beyond. UK Government invests in 5G ideas, with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport managing to put together a £28 million contribution to some test projects focusing on consumer applications of 5G. One of them is an AR app accompanying the latest BBC Natural History series.
It is a brave, new year. Let's embrace it and learn from it!All the Best
A4D-D4A💙💚🙌
