Milan – Is Memory Data? explores whether water could be used as a way to bridge physical and virtual reality.

Created by The Dornbracht Research Lab, a new innovation arm of kitchen and bathroom brand Dornbracht, the exhibition at Milan Design Week 2019 enables individuals to understand how virtual (VR) and augmented (AR) realities could elevating our future cleansing rituals.

Central to the exhibition is Hyper Fountain, an immersive VR experience that lets the viewer experience water in a subversive way. A virtual representation of a sink is visible in VR, with the wearer simultaneously washing their hands in a physical basin. Various emotive textures, shapes and symbols appear on screen to represent water, neurologically tricking the brain into thinking these visual and touch senses are connected. Post-experience, people report feeling calmer, meditative and like the water is still running, even when their hands are dry, highlighting a potential creative, digital solution to reducing water consumption.

Although currently a concept, the development of unobtrusive AR suggests how this concept could evolve to improve physical and mental wellbeing in daily cleansing rituals.

As the gap between the physical and digital realms becomes increasingly fluid, brands are having to consider how static products can fit into an era of Programmable Realities. For more on this, look out for our viewpoint with Mike Meiré who created the installation for Dornbracht.

Denmark – Awkwardness leads two strangers to miss out romance in the latest campaign from footwear brand Bianco.

The campaign, Step Out of Your Head, encourages consumers to silence their inner critic and let go of perceived insecurities that hold them back from serendipitous life experiences. A short film entitled The Lift shows the message in action, following a man and woman who silently ride the lift together at work, both on the verge of a romantic encounter but held back by their thoughts.

The film is accompanied by a visual campaign featuring models wearing Bianco shoes, accessorised with thought bubbles such as ‘when you really like her but then you accidentally liked her picture from two years ago and now everything is ruined’.

‘In today’s society, we’re spoiled for choice and presented with thousands of possibilities every day. And in some way or another, we’ve all held ourselves back by overthinking,’ says the brand. For more on the pervasiveness of avoidance culture and why it's time for brands to help consumers step out of their comfort zones, read our macrotrend Resilience Culture.

New data released by General Social Survey finds that more than half of young Americans said they did not have a steady romantic partner in 2018. This figure is up significantly from 33% in 2004.

With singledom rising to a record high among all age groups, 35% of the general public say they have no steady partner. Between genders, a higher proportion of men (42%) than women (31%) were found to be single. Factors contributing to the increase in single Americans are thought to include individuals choosing to delay marriage as well as child-bearing.

As more adults embrace the single life, brands are having to re-think their communications around relationships. For more on this societal shift, read our Uncoupled Living macrotrend.