Design Directions

Translating consumer trends into actionable designs, colour palettes and materials.

Biofabricated Futures

A revolutionary sustainability breakthrough, biofabrication is the engineering of biological products. This report explores its market evolution and future potential in transforming materials to drive commercial success

Design Directions

Design Directions

London Fashion Week A/W 2013

This season British fashion designers presented an exciting and multi-directional take on fashion, with looks both sugar sweet and dark, yet future...

British : Rubber : Gothic

Design Directions

Royal London Hospital

An odd box of toys and a few wooden blocks are often all that can be found in a hospital play area. But The Royal London Children’s Hospital is an ...

Wiggle : Woodland : Hyper-real

Design Directions

New York Fashion Week A/W 13

This season designers presented classic and sophisticated silhouettes, referencing organic structures and adventure wear. Looks were feminised and ...

Leather : Skin : Architectural

Design Directions

Silo by Joost

Founded in July 2012 on pure principles and old-school hospitality, Silo is a zero-waste café in Melbourne, Australia – and a slick example of clos...

Restaurant : Zero Waste : Cradle To Cradle

Design Directions

Stealth Wear

The rise of data-tracking should have everyone looking over their hyper-connected shoulder. Or so says Adam Harvey, whose counter-surveillance...

New York : Mega-Systems : Personal Information Economy

Design Directions

Stockholm Furniture Fair 2013

The diverse range of products and furniture on show in Stockholm this year was refined and considered. Designers played with form and added hidden ...

Luxury Sobriety : Geo-Luxe : Psychedelia

Design Directions

Lynx Space Academy

Top-selling men’s grooming brand Lynx is known for courting controversy with its adverts and straplines. Now it is making waves around the world ag...

Perfume : Beauty : Scent

Design Directions

Men’s Fashion Week A/W 2013

By Thomas Rees

Sportswear : Industrial Futurism : Adventurist

Design Directions

Smart Tasting Prototype

The term Internet of Things is increasingly bandied about as our built environment becomes smarter and more connected. As this digital layer become...

Interactive : Basque Culinary Center : Think Big Factory

Design Directions

Haptic Illusion

Reminiscent of the Surrealism Redux trend impact that LS:N Global identified in our Faction Marketing macrotrend, this design direction is defined ...

Surrealism : Tromp L'oeil : Optical Illusion

Design Directions

Ying Wu: Illustrator

London : Illustration China : Utopian

Design Directions

Aktina*

Bike-sharing programmes have enjoyed plenty of fanfare – and some controversy – in recent years. But so far, they have been confined mostly to rela...

Transport : Elefsina : Athens

Design Directions

Maison et Objet 2013

The spring/summer Maison et Objet was a vibrant show. Contemporary products and interiors were on display inspired by urban living, luxury hacktivi...

Scandinasian : Hacktivism : Japan

Design Directions

Lego Mindstorms EV3

Children’s lives have changed dramatically since Lego first released Mindstorms, its build-your-own robot kit, in 1998. They have less free ti...

Robots : Generation D : Children

Design Directions

No Noise at Selfridges

As we predicted in our New Sublimity macrotrend, getting away from it all is on the rise.Businesses are creating new contemplative spaces...

Branding : Alex Cochrane : Pause

Design Directions

Uni-forms

For millennial men luxury no longer has to mean hand-crafted and rough-hewn. Instead they are seeking the functional and simplified, and rejecting ...

Luxury : Masculinity : Utility

Design Directions

Clouds Over Cuba

There are more than two sides to every story. Now with the variety of media platforms to choose from, storytelling can be richer, and break away fr...

Mobile : Smartphone : Transmedia

Design Directions

Sonic Landscapes

Furniture and product designers are using the science of sound to inform a bold new aesthetic.

Sound : Science : Digi-Tactile

Design Directions

Energy Flow by FIELD

As more people consume media on digital devices, storytelling itself is changing. Energy Flow, a non-linear film from London digital art and design...

Interactive : Non-linear : Generation I

Design Directions

Design Miami/ 2012

Surrealism redux was apparent at Design Miami/ in December. LS:N Global noted an other-worldly take on flora and fauna, fluid strokes and material ...

Surrealism : New Sublimity : Lab