Neil
Henson, Fashionbytes, was in New Zealand recently, sponsored by Resene
to present his recent research on worldwide trends that will drive future
commercial and residential design.
Emotional consumerism
The key is product that offers experience, novelty and excitement...
meaning.
We have been encouraged in recent times to 'not be emotional' and have experienced three decades of 'economic rationalism' where if you couldn't measure it... you couldn't place a value on it. Today, we are entering a more holistic world where experiences and intangibles are gaining in value. Why do we buy things that we don't need? Simply because they make us feel good. The challenge is to offer products that ground us in meaning. We don't need any more rubbish in our lives, today we seek out products and experiences that enrich and empower our lives as we continue to use up valuable resources in our unsustainable world. If we offer meaning and value our consumers will come back for more.
Forecasters and designers are engaging people. Marketing is a strong aspect of what we do, colour is the catalyst that allows us to engage people with what we do. Colour is a primary connector between product and consumer - it creates an emotional bond... people relate to colour.
Emotional consumption comes out of engaging the senses, engagement equals a better environment to exist in. People are not just after things, they are wanting experiences. You will never engage them by doing the same things as in the past. Today's consumer has it all and yet wants more seeking emotional engagement. Rather than owning more, they seek out personal sensations and satisfaction.
We are witnessing a new and unlikely synthesis between hedonism and austerity, individualism and altruism, freedom and commitment, living in the present and expressing concerns for the future.
Humans are not ideally set up to identify logic we are highly emotional and emotional values are increasing in importance It is a brave person that can live in a minimal environment, there is a shift away from this to simplicity and paring back but we want to remain very human.
We can divide consumers into two contrasting mindset prototypes: Hunters - ME orientated individuals focusing on life according to themselves and Gatherers - WE orientated individuals focusing on collective values and empowering the group.
It is all about meaning. Looking into the future there is a move towards more intangible abstract notions.
With apologies to Descartes (French philosopher)
I think - therefore I am.
I shop - therefore I am.
To the future: I feel - therefore I am.
In all sectors one size doesn't fit all, we need to understand product categories and consumer mindsets: their skills, talents and psychology and marry them to products that will best engage them.
It is a conceptual age. Over the last 20 years design has been devalued, now design leadership is on the rise - many of the top 200 CEO's in US are creative thinkers looking for new and exciting opportunities rather than building on existing needs.
Today is about connectivity and belonging, we are wealthier but not as happy. Connectivity in communication is engaging people globally; this connection leads to wiser people. Our values are changing on a spiritual level we are finding peace and fulfilment and seeking new ways to engage with others.
Today's consumer types...
1. Rational hunter - the Free styler
These people are seeking new solutions to complex problems, they think
outside the square, want to be stimulated by new products and services
and will probably know more about your products than you do yourself
because they want to empower themselves. They won't wait to be told,
they will search out and explore for themselves... knowledge is power!
2. Happy bohemian - Rational gatherer
These consumers are more difficult to market to in traditional ways,
they want to be entertained and educated by their engagement with you.
They will want to come on a journey with you... not necessarily lead
you like the Free styler. They will be engaged if you offer them 'value'
and quality. They are concerned with our environment and see many new
products as wasteful of our valuable resources.
3. Caring explorer - Emotional gatherer
Highly emotive and expressive people, they are searching out experiences
that give them a sense of belonging and connection to this frantic world.
If they can't find what they are looking for they will create and tailor
their own. They want to create a perfect world for themselves and take
you along on their journey. They will relate and partner with companies
that marry with their values and vision.
4. Spiritual tourist - Emotional hunter
These people live in a highly intuitive and creative world; they will
want to experience sunsets from the top of a mountain and are seeking
out the ultimate 'emotional' experience. For them there is not enough
time to experience all that they want to. They are searching for a connection
to a greater cause... a new 'secular' spirituality, whether it is indulging
themselves in rituals and ceremonies around self fulfilment or cleansing
their minds. Yoga and meditation interests these people as a way of
self-improvement.
Key society trends
Today we are living in a world where everything is 'smart' from the
car we drive to the way we do our banking. We are concerned with our
health and wellbeing. Our society is changing, particularly values concerning
our place in the world, we can no longer exist in isolation like previous
generations... we live in a global world and can no longer export our
problems. Our family make-up is also changing. Today we need to honour
and value diversity and 'difference'.
The time balance between work and rest will become more important as work becomes more stressful, as we engage on a global basis, we will require less 'stressful environments' at both work and home. And, today we are seeing a convergence across all disciplines and community.
Key opportunities
To reach tomorrow's people and society demands we must deliver innovative,
empowering, empathic and sensorial solutions. We are entering the emotional
decade and must restore the balance. Entering a weightless society -
luxury lies in the weightless, the seamless, the emotional and the spiritual
not the expensive, the obvious and the ostentatious. It is about meaning
where corporate image and identity must engage new consumer mindsets.
2008 is a time of ambiguity and paradoxical creative energy and a time for considered application.
Residential colour palettes
Stand out from the bland - simplicity - single statement.
Don't necessarily use them as they are presented, it is how you integrate
them.
Key points
A selection of Fashionbytes Colour Palettes for Spring/Summer 2008 presented in Resene colours.
1. Midnight at the oasis - "... a lush and overgrown garden comes to life under a midnight sky" | ||||||||||||||||||||
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2. Shifting sands - "... summer breezes
sway the stalks of wheat & barley in this semi-desert landscape"
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3. Sweet dreams - "... the ephemeral
beauty of blossom and sun bleached grasses blurs the horizon in
this dreamy landscape"
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4. Strawberry fields forever - "...
fragile fields of wild flowers dot the countryside, mixed with
the abandon that only nature allows"
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5. Imagine - "... windswept and rugged, clouded in mist, these subtle and dusty tones become the new neutrals" | ||||||||||||||||||||
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6. Girl from Ipanema - "... the rumba and salsa inspire these high energy brights for fantasy and excitement" | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Commercial colour | ||||||||||||||||||||
Today there are no boundaries between fashion, home fashion, interiors or product groups. 2008 colour groupings... |
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Colour palette 'Midnight at the oasis' |
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![]() Moody and shadowed. Or clean and crisp. Heathered tones. Greens are a base of core colours. 2D graphics flourish. Organic feel makes us feel secure. New precious objects. Tailoring product for individual environment. Integrated technology. Nature engaged. Timbers add relief. Familiarity in retro looks. Sense of nostalgia and humanism. Bringing nature inside. Sculptured. Soft and cushioned. Colour palette 'Imagine' |
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Colour palette 'Girl from Ipanema' |
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Colour palette 'Shifting sands - the new neutrals' |
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View 2009 seminar notes View 2008 seminar notes View 2006 seminar notes View 2005 seminar notes |