I just read some comments to the latest David Report bulletin called “I shop therefore I am” in “The Marketer Who Went Off Consumption”. It’s a year-long book-as-a-blog experiment in why we choose to consume, or not, written by India based Gaurav Mishra. In a very clear and comprehensible way he is putting together a couple of important trends that in one way or another describes how our consumption pattern are about to change:

- From conspicuous consumption to conscious consumption.
- From brand-consciousness to background-consciousness.
- From synthetic to organic.
- From mass-produced to hand-crafted.
- From global to local.
- From short-term to sustainable.
- From fashionable to durable.
- From valuing things to valuing insights.
- From fitting in/ standing out to being.
- From buying more to buying less.
- From doing more to doing less.
- From multi-tasking to down-shifting.
- From buying to sharing/ exchanging.
- From owning to experiencing.
- From having to giving.

Sounds quite attractive to me… What do you think?

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Andra bloggar om: shopping, konsumtion, trender, kultur

At the same time as Milan is opening the doors to the crowded Design Week, Gothenburg is opening the annual International Science Festival. This year the theme is play in all its forms and well-attended game events are taken place all over the city. But in an almost empty conference hall, far away from the public game activities in Gothenburg or the media spotlight and the well-visited arenas in Milan, I have the opportunity to listen to some of Scandinavia’s most renowned computer game researchers discussing our virtual future.

Game Studies is still a young, but growing, field of research, where we get a new understanding of the area and a hint of future expectations of interface design and possible user groups. Their reports indeed indicates highly interesting facts when looking for patterns amongst the next generation of consumers, such as ways of communicating in relation to the screen while playing, factors that may stimulate the never ending hunt for game rewards, or questions about gender and identity.

Even if the discussion mostly is focusing on the game design development – with questions like why replicating the real world, with structures in economy, religion, market, laws, etc., when we are free to create our experimental world in the virtual, or the facts that we see a growing professional sport field in computer gaming – the most interesting questions would be raised if we could combine the reports with ambitions of developing our society in large.
For example, millions of gamers are playing a considerable part of their spare time to get game points – and higher status in the game community. How can we use this knowledge of the power of motivation when discussing how to change behaviours for other purposes, such as sustainable lifestyle changes?

New interfaces mean new challenges. What is a computer tomorrow? And in what kind of situations do we play? The transformation from leisure to work, from play to industry, takes different shapes, but the trend is strong: We have only seen the very beginning of the impact from computer games – the blooming game era is to come, and in areas we have not yet imagined!

This is a post by David report contributor Hanna Ljungström.

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Andra bloggar om: vetenskapsfestivalen, göteborg, dataspel, samhälle, media

I’m proud to announce the new David Report bulletin called “I shop therefore I am”. In this issue we are looking into the world of consumer culture from different point of views; ethical, social, political, economical and humanistic.

Shopping has turned into a lifestyle. We consume as leisure and a way to pass time. But at the same time many are realizing that the power of consumption is stopping us from finding true and sincere happiness; and that shopping often works as a substitute for something that we’re missing in life. At what point does the accumulation of material goods become less fulfilling and more stressful and overwhelming?

Our consumption grows in the same pace as our economic growth. Studies shows that in hundred years we consume eight times as much per capita as today. Can our globe take such a strain? The power of consumption is being questioned and there’s a change in attitude and way of life. We don’t want to be consuming goofs, we want to be considered aware and responsible. It is all about WHAT we buy and WHAT we choose to invest in, the world we live in will be the result of those choices.

In the future consumption will be more about experiences and services than things. Perhaps giving will be more important than having. Are the companies, who survive on our consumption, prepared for this transition?

The David Report bulletin no 9 “I shop therefore I am” also offers insight on the subject from strategist Kristina Dryza and Zen-Buddhist Sante Poromaa. On top of this an interview with Mathilda Tham, guest professor at Beckmans school of Design. THIS LINK takes you to the new bulletin (and yes, it’s free!).

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Andra bloggar om: kultur, shopping, konsumtion, handel, hållbar utveckling, csr

Next Friday, April 4, issue nine of the David Report Bulletin will be released. The title will be “I shop therefore I am” and it will concern future consumerism and consumption culture. Among other things you will be able to find interesting texts from Kristina Dryza, freelance strategist and designer and Sante Poromaa, teacher at The Zenbuddhist Society in Stockholm. There will also be an interview with Mathilda Tham, guest professor at Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm. Here’s a short introduction text by Sante Poromaa:

“In the future luxury goods will be methods that bring us back the power of our own attention: the power to choose ourselves what we want to notice or not. And there lies the true luxury of the future, to be able to resist shopping and still be happy.”

To be sure to get a notice when “I shop therefore I am” is released please go to the David Report home page and sign up for a subscription. And the best of all, it’s free!

Image by Barbara Kruger.

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tags technorati : david report future consumerism future shopping trends future consumption

Andra bloggar om: david report, trender, framtid, shopping, konsumtion, design

Some time ago I wrote about the seminar Future Shopping which I moderated during the Stockholm Furniture Fair. Here follows a couple of images from the exhibition that was part of the Future Shopping project as well. If you read Swedish, or would like to look at some images of the student projects, you can follow this link.

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tags technorati : future shopping trends exibition stockholm konstfack

Andra bloggar om: shopping, konsumtion, trender, framtid, konstfack, gallerian

During the first six months of its release, more than two million iPhones have disappeared – or rather, they were sold, but never activated through AT&T. As we all know, these phones have been hacked to work with other networks in many different countries.

With more than two million units cracked, you can follow a lively discussion all over the Internet on the topic of hacking iPhones. For example, Apple’s own discussion board gets flooded with unhappy iPhone, besides hacking the SIM card to work with other operators, are not accepting that they cannot have any other plug-ins installed in Outlook – if they want to synchronize their calendar with their iPhone, that is. Other discussion boards are regular 1-2-3 instruction manuals in modifying your phone (and getting around that Outlook problem too, using a patch).

The interesting part is, that it is not your typical basement-stereotype hacker who actually hacks, cracks and patches the majority of these iPhones. It is people from all areas, mums and dads who crack their child’s iPhones so they can use their local operator and install third party software.

The fact that normal people are no longer accepting the terms for buying a physical product is a rather new trend, considering the scale of things. Hackers have always been modifying everything from stereos to game consoles, but in a very small scale and not in a way that struck the same chord.

This new wave of hacking is a trend that is outlining a new type of end user, the Casual Hacker. From now on, you should expect the everyday users - not only the sophisticated technical elite – to be hacking your electronic products and bending the rules you’ve set up as a manufacturer.

But remember, this isn’t a bad thing. If you are in the mobile phone business and want to stay ahead, you should embrace this outspoken need from the user groups – who will be the first to produce a real open mobile phone that can be modified by the end user? Not the typical feeble attempts at customization, but allowing for changes in the actual core of functionality?

As the casual hackers realize that the boundaries set up by the manufacturers can easily be removed, they want more. Rather than try to make your next phone an iPhone clone with a twist, you should consider the changes happening in the minds of the users, and consider the need for real open source platform that appeals to the casual users.

This will enable you to derive real value from the sociological changes the iPhone has brought about – alas not the ones that Apple had hoped for - and is an example of how to turn this new mindset of your everyday users into innovative product proposals that will get you ahead of the competition instead of lagging behind.

This is a new post from David Report contributor Frederik Andersen. Every single day, the designers and thinkers at Goodmorning Technology are busy working on the products of tomorrow for some of the world’s most interesting companies. This document is a message from the research and development facilities at Goodmorning Technology, based on the knowledge gathered from working with actual future scenarios. The statements are being publicized on select blogs and medias.

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tags technorati : Industrial design sociology trends mobile phones activism casual hacking

Andra bloggar om: design, industridesign, trender, mobil, mobiltelefon, hackers, aktivism

Here follows a couple of images from some of the Boost talks (formerly known as lectures and interviews) my company Designboost hosted at the Stockholm Furniture Fair 6-9 February. Among the persons involved in the different Boost talks were Eero Koivisto, Ilse Crawford, Giulio Cappellini, Satyendra Pakhale, Stephen Burks, Ewa Kumlin, Save our Souls, TAF architects, Matti Klenell, Teruo Kurosaki, Maria Midby Arén and Yvonne Karlsson/Alcro, Anders Breitholtz/Raw, Alexander Lervik, Mirkku Kullberg/managing director of Artek and Christel Vaenerberg/brand director of Iittala.

Ilse Crawford interviewed by David Carlson and Peer Eriksson of Designboost. Photo by Willeam Wendel.

Designers Eero Koivisto and Satyendra Pakhale in discussion with Anders Englund from Offecct.

David Carlson and Peer Eriksson of Designboost (left and right) in an interview with the Greenhouse designers Mattias Ståhlbom and Gabriella Gustafson/TAF architects. Photo courtesy by Core 77.

Matti Klenell

Ewa Kumlin/Svensk Form and Stephen Burks

Ewa Kumlin/Svensk Form, Caroline Heiroth/Swedish Style, Benjamin Budde/Daily Press, Mat (Matsui), Karin Wiberg/Ung, Satyendra Pakhale and Teruo Kurosaki.

David Carlson and Peer Eriksson of Designboost (left and right) in an interview with the Designbar designers Magdalena Nilsson and Johannes Carlström of Save our souls.

Thanks to Offecct for the flower stools.

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tags technorati : stockholm furniture fair giulio cappellini design stephen burks satyendra pakhale teruo kurosaki

Andra bloggar om: möbelmässan, design, möbler, inredning, föreläsningar, stockholm furniture fair

At the 7-8 of February my company Designboost gave specially invited participants the opportunity to take part in Boost chats at the Top:talk of the Rica Talk hotel just besides the Stockholm Furniture Fair. The idea was to bring together designers, producers, journalists and students and make them interact at a given subject. Among the participants were journalists Mark Isitt, Dan Gordan/Sköna Hem, Daniel Golling/Forum AID, Hedvig Hedquist and Imke Janoschek. The group of producers included Mirkku Kullberg/Artek, Christel Vaenerberg/Iitala, Eva-Maria Elstner/Audi, Johan Lindau/Blå Station, Peter Jiseborn/Swedese, Erik Lundh/Källemo and Magnus Wästberg/Wästberg. The group of designers included Satyendra Pakhale, Damian Williamson, Alexander Lervik, Gabriella Gustafson, Mattias Ståhlbom, Pernilla Jansson, Johannes Carlström and Magdalena Nilsson. The students were represented by David Wahl, Marcia Harvey Isaksson and Andreas Hegert.

The theme for the workshops were how companies and organisations can conceptualize on the notion of “sustainable design” to gain business advantages and consequently benefit society. We filmed the conclusions which will be presented at the Designboost web during the spring.

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tags technorati : stockholm furniture fair design designboost workshop

Andra bloggar om: möbelmässan, stockholm furniture fair, designboost, design, workshop, hållbar utveckling

COMPLETE STAGE PROGRAM AT STOCKHOLM FURNITURE FAIR 2008 (all Designboost Boost Talks specially marked).

All activities will take place at the scene in Giulio Cappellini’s lounge in the entrance area if nothing else is stated. The Designboost Boost Talks will be performed from the mobile “design sofa”. David Carlson and/or Peer Eriksson represents Designboost in the conversations where Designboost is stated.

WEDNESDAY 6 FEBRUARY

10.00 Designboost A conversation between designer JEAN MARIE MASSAUD and Designboost about humanism and “sustainable design”.

11.00 Designboost EWA KUMLIN, managing director of Svensk Form talks with designer STEPHEN BURKS on the theme “Saving the planet in style”.

12.00 Designboost Ewa Kumlin, managing director of Svensk Form and CAROLINE HEIROTH, Swedish Style in Tokyo talk with SATYENDRA PAKHALE, cultural nomad + TERUO KUROSAKI and BENJAMIN BUDDE among other representatives from the Tokyo design community.

13.00 Designboost A conversation between designer ILSE CRAWFOORD and Designboost.

14.00 – 15.00 Price Awards

The Nordic Design Prize 2008.

Almedahls award 2008

Design award ”Design Nu”, Hesselboms Universum

THURSDAY 7 FEBRUARY

10.00 Designboost A conversation between ANDERS ENGLUND, design director at Offecct and designers EERO KOIVISTO and SATYENDRA PAKHALE about “sustainable design”.

11.00 Designboost Presentation by Mr GIULIO CAPPELLINI, Guest of Honour 2008. Place: Conference room K2

12.00 Designboost A conversation between YVONNE KARLSSON and MARIA MIDBY ARÉN from Alcro and Designboost on the theme “paint vs colour”.

13.00 Home Furniture Supplier of the Year/The Swedish Furniture Retailers Association.

14.00 Designboost Presentation by MIRKKU KULLBERG, managing director of Artek on the theme “sustainable design”.

15.00 Designboost A conversation between CHRISTEL VAENERBERG, design and brand director at Iittala and Designboost on how to conceptualize “sustainable design”.

16.00 Judith Gura, Professor of Design History, New York School of Interior Design, and author of “Sourcebook of Scandinavian Furniture: Designs for the 21st Century”

16.00-18.00 Designboost Book releases by Arena publishing house. Drinks. Interviews by Designboost. Place: Konst-ig, stand AG:01.

FRIDAY 8 FEBRUARY

10.00 TMF/Swedish Furniture Industry

10.30 TMF/Swedish Furniture Industry

11.00 Price award Forum for real estate boxes

11.00 Designboost A conversation between JOHANNES CARLSTRÖM and
MAGDALENA NILSSON from Save our souls and Designboost about the ideas behind the Designbar. Place: The Designbar in hall C.

12.00 TMF/Swedish Furniture Industry

12.30 TMF/Swedish Furniture Industry

13.00 Stefan Nilsson, Interior trends for 2008/2009

13.00 Designboost Designer ALEXANDER LERVIK talks about his work with the lighting exhibition “Enlightenment”. Place: The lighting exhibition “Enlightenment”.

14.00 Birgitta Tryberg from Feng Shui Goodliving

14.30 TMF/Swedish Furniture Industry

15.00 Stefan Nilsson, Interior trends for 2008/2009

15.00 Designboost A conversation between GABRIELLA GUSTAFSON and
MATTIAS STÅHLBOM from TAF about their design of the Greenhouse. Place: Greenhouse

16.00 Price award: +1 Best in Show/Forum AID

SATURDAY 9 FEBRUARY

10.00 Designboost MATTI KLENELL talks about his new series of glasses among other things.

11.00 Stefan Nilsson, Interior trends for 2008/2009

12.00 Designboost Material expert ANDREAS BREITHOLTZ from Råvara talks about interesting materials in general and sustainable materials in particular.

13.00 Designboost A conversation between IRENE BERNALD, markering director at Audi Sweden and Designboost about a holistic view of “sustainable design”.

14.00 Stefan Nilsson, Interior trends for 2008/2009

15.00 Johan Sjöberg, Svenssons i Lammhult

SUNDAY 10 FEBRUARY

Seminar programme arranged for the general public by interior magazine
Hus and Hem.

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tags technorati : stockholm furniture fair design designboost lectures workshops

Andra bloggar om: stockholm furniture fair, möbelmässa, design, inredning, möbler, föreläsningar, seminarie, designboost

Future of shopping is a project initiated by Christine Hedström/Design United and Dr. Ronald Jones, Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Konstfack. The result from the course at Konstfack will be presented by the students as a future shop in the mall Gallerian at Hamngatan in Stockholm February 5-14. The picture above is a rough sketch of the project.

Future of shopping is also a panel debate which I will moderate on Tuesday February 5th in Gallerian at Hamngatan in Stockholm. It starts at 6pm. Among the panelists you will find Claes von Hauswolf, brand director at Brio, Mikael Schiller, managing director at Acne jeans, Karolin Forsling, retail manager at AMF pension and Micael Dahlén, associate professor in marketing and strategy at Stockholm School of Economics (to mention a few). In the panel debate the future of shopping and a bit of luxury will be challenged. I hope you can make it!

Here follows a text by Ronald Jones about the project and the exhibition:

Our culture is experiencing transition at so many different levels that we find ourselves at an unprecedented moment in history where we have begun to realistically re-imagine art, craft and design’s relationship to our culture, and its future.  And as this broad transition unfolds decisions will have to be made as to what traditions will be carried forward, and how we will integrate them with emerging tendencies across other disciplines and invent the leading edge of this new culture.  A significant share of these critical decisions will be made in professional schools, and within universities.  In this respect I see The Department of Interdisciplinary Studies at Konstfack as ground zero.  As a college of art, craft and design, the students and faculty at Konstfack are particularly well positioned to play a vital role in making those decisions, and therefore in shaping the future of the culture.
The future of luxury is an open question without obvious answers but it will be the young artists, craftspeople, and designers at Konstfack who will ultimately provide them.  What will we be shopping for in the future?  Bling Bling?  The way things look now, it is more likely to be clean air and pure water.  The first recorded war was fought over water in what we now know as Iraq; lets hope that by asking the really difficult questions now in studios like Konstfack’s  The Future of Shopping, answers will come that will allow us to avoid shopping for, and fighting over life’s real essentials.
We originally envisioned this studio as what it indeed became, a “think tank” environment where agendas across disciplines were re-imagined, and altered at something like a genetic level in order to create generational effects.

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tags technorati : future of shopping malling luxury konstfack panel debate

Andra bloggar om: future of shopping, design, konstfack, gallerian, utställning, debatt