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

GFW 2011

Graduate Fashion Week was full of highly creative and wearable collections this year. Impressive prints and long, minimalist silhouettes prevailed,...

Oversized : Minimal : Statement

Design Directions

Off the Grid

The Anarconomy Decade offers a new way of thinking, while an unpredictable attitude retains the possibility of risk and unrest. Some designers are ...

Art Deco : Pattern : Colour

Design Directions

The Urban Physic Garden

City gardening collective Wayward Plants is reviving ancient herbal remedies by placing them in a modern context, in The Urban Physic Garden.

Plants : The Urban Physic Garden : Wayward Plants

Design Directions

Soft Reduction

LS:N Global has previously reported on the rise of simplicity in The New Sobriety and Super Minimalism, a response to consumers cutting back and re...

Craft : Wood : Minimal

Design Directions

KAISER CHIEFS

Rock band The Kaiser Chiefs are letting fans create their own bespoke version of their new album, The Future is Medieval.In partnership with Univer...

Bespoke : Track List : Kaiser Chiefs

Design Directions

Gingerline

The innovation: Pop-up plus The brand: Gingerline The instigator: Susannah Mountfort

Restaurant : Susannah Mountfort : Gingerline

Design Directions

Tactile Purity

Following the excesses of the luxury market and the subsequent recession, the luxury aesthetic has become increasingly pared-down and minimal, ofte...

Minimal Luxe : Wood : Packaging

Design Directions

Lost & Found Hotel Room

You’re booked on your summer city break. You are ready to immerse yourself in the local culture. You have bought the Wallpaper* city guide and read...

Hotel : Six Degrees Architects : Lost And Found

Design Directions

Solicitous Solutions

As reported in our Anarconomy Decade macro trend, an increasingly rebellious spirit is creating a society ripe for transformation. At its core is a...

Social Deisgn : DIY : Salvage

Design Directions

Open House

In New York, there is a job for everything. Professional dog-walkers exercise the pets of inner-city workers. There are even people who will take a...

New York : Open House Project : Jobs

Design Directions

Type Modern

As reported in our Anarconomy Decade macro trend, an increasingly rebellious spirit is creating a society ripe for transformation. At its core is a...

Typography : Nostalgic : Authentic

Design Directions

Daniel Rybakken : Industrial Design

Norwegian industrial designer Daniel Rybakken introduces daylight to the indoors and re-interprets ‘light design’. ‘A designer comes up with a lamp...

Design : Geometric : Industrial Design

Design Directions

El Kombo

Takeaway service is often minimal. The packaging is uniform and cheap, and you never know how the food has been prepared.Danish conceptual dining c...

Restaurant : Preparation : Surprise

Design Directions

Modern Mythology

As previously explored in our Revivalism macro trend, in economically uncertain times, consumers increasingly seek products that revitalise traditi...

Craft : Mysticism : Folklore

Design Directions

Here Design: Graphic Design

‘We lend ourselves as a vehicle to express something about somebody’s brand,’ says Caz Hildebrand, founder of Here Design. ‘We are not trying to sa...

Branding : Carving : Balvenie

Design Directions

The IOU Project

Customers are often unaware of the work that goes in to making clothes, and fashion brands seldom make the effort to introduce customers to the peo...

Transparency : Worth : Transparancy

Design Directions

Fun and Functionality

Bleisure, a term coined by The Future Laboratory, describes the blurring of business and leisure. Now, as Ubiquitous Gaming Culture becomes increas...

Ubiquitous Gaming Culture : Playbour : Functionality

Design Directions

HK Honey

Bees are clever creatures. They play a role in pollinating flowers. They produce honey, which we put in tea to sweeten it. And now, thanks to a new...

Honey : Hong Kong : Beekeepers

Design Directions

Galleria Centercity

Shopping malls can be disorientating and alienating for consumers. At worst, they can be stark, leaving people feeling a little cold.The Galleria C...

Shopping : Convivial Architecture : Unstudio

Design Directions

Milan Trends Part 2

Mystic : Folk : Craft