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Mono-material company Amphico gets a rebrand

Amphico. Identity by How & How, UK

Amphico. Identity by How&How, UK

UK – Creating a brand identity for a visionary outdoor company working across the fields of science, engineering, design and sustainability is no mean feat, but Lisbon-based How&How’s identity for Amphico highlights multiple visions around a singular mono-material.

Amphico, founded by Jun Kamei, is built around Amphitex, a recyclable waterproof material which, unlike materials such as Gore-Tex, is not made of layers of different plastics and chemical coatings. The How&How team felt that the current outdoor industry was filled with multiple products that were becoming harder and harder to recycle. Both Amphitex, as well as an amphibious gill for humans and other future products in the pipeline from Amphico. are all made of the same polymer mono-material – leading the way for even the most complex of products such as an outdoor jacket, being made of one material.

‘It’s never been more difficult to enjoy the outdoors without polluting it. Working at the intersection of science, engineering and design, Amphico is paving the way to make everything from one thing,’ says the brand. This is reflected in How&How’s tagline: Everything One Thing.

Amphitex by Amphico was chosen as one of four winners of the Terra Carta Design Lab in the UK by HRH The Prince of Wales and Sir Jony Ive as part of the Sustainable Markets Initiative and in collaboration with the Royal College of Art.

Strategic opportunity

It has never been more difficult to enjoy the outdoors without polluting it. Innovations in materials in this sector – as well as those businesses such as Patagonia that are making nature a stakeholder in their business – are pushing it towards a more circular future

An AI-powered robot lawyer will represent its first defendant in court

US – An artificial intelligence program trained to act as a lawyer is set to make its courtroom debut, arguing in two speed ticket cases in February 2023.

Created by start-up DoNotPay, the so-called robot lawyer will be the first AI system to be used to help defend a case in court. To make this possible, the AI chatbot will dictate prompts to the defendant through Bluetooth-connected headphones, using code to figure out the optimal strategy to argue the case.

DoNotPay previously started using chatbots to help consumers avoid paying fines and late fees, but the advancements offered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology opened up new possibilities for the form. ‘The law is almost like code and language combined, so it’s the perfect use case for AI. I think that this is the biggest potential for GPT and large language model technology,’ explains Joshua Browder, DoNotPay’s CEO and founder.

With the recent surge in AI use cases, DoNotPay’s robot lawyer reminds us that big tech has the power to use new technologies to create better futures, with an application that could drastically increase access to costly law services.

Shutterstock, US

Strategic opportunity

Legal assistance is just one example of a service that AI chat models can optimise. With the latest advances, businesses should re-evaluate whether some tasks, big or small, could be delegated to AI programs for better cost-efficiency and accuracy

Stat: The slow but steady adoption of live shopping events in the US

Depop, UK

US – As more brands offer live-streamed shopping events, a recent Morning Consult survey found that a significant proportion of US adults have yet to participate in one.

When it comes to adoption, live-streamed shopping events have a long way to go – close to eight in 10 respondents (78%) have never joined a live shopping event. Morning Consult notes that many consumers are reluctant to try them, with over half (54%) admitting they are not comfortable shopping through social media platforms. Another 35% expressed concerns about product quality, vendor trustworthiness and shipping reliability for these purchases.

Despite these reservations, nearly half (44%) of US consumers are willing to participate in future live-streamed shopping events. This represents an opportunity for brands, as when consumers do try them, nearly nine in 10 (86%) report being satisfied with the experience. Such events also yield higher conversion rates than e-commerce.

These findings suggest that, for brands, the Live-stream Market promises many advantages, from building intimate relationships with clients to offering convenience, if only brands can overcome the challenge of attracting newcomers.

Strategic opportunity

To benefit from the lucrative live-stream market, brands will have to adapt their platforms and business models in the long run. A first step would be to create strong incentives to drive adoption and offer live shopping events to trusted clients and close brand communities

The Future Laboratory Events Calendar 2023

The Future Laboratory's Trend Briefing 2023 at the Royal Academy of Arts, UK

Join us in 2023 for a series of inspiring video presentations, guest speaker panels and live Q&A sessions as well as our industry-renowned Trend Briefing in London.

Members of LS:N Global get free access to our full programme of online events in 2023. You can RSVP to these events via The Future Laboratory Community. Not yet a member? Get in contact with your account manager to set up your free account.

Join us online or in person this year and get inspired to make a better future happen with trends from Beta Boardrooms, Deep Work Dens and Polywork Campuses to embracing longevity as a core pillar in selling and synthesising tomorrow’s category innovations.

We hope to see you there.