Need to know
26 : 10 : 17

Eindhoven – Studio Harm Rensink and Heyniek have curated a group exhibition at Dutch Design Week that explores the impact of digital design on the physical world. Featuring the work of 18 graduate designers, Modebelofte: Digital Realists examines whether the two worlds can ever be considered separate and celebrates the digital age as an enabler of creative innovation.

The collection of works draw on the aesthetics of the digital world and its impact on consumer behaviour. A project by designer COL invites visitors to embody their digital identities in real life, while Christian Stone’s B-movie-inspired Mutant Artisanal fashion collection explores the notion of bringing outdated and obsolete technologies back to life.

An accompanying digital animation by Leeza Pritychenko explores the idea of permanence in an increasingly digital world, something LS:N Global explored in our Virtual Baroque design direction.

US/Canada – Furniture retailer Floyd has joined forces with the owners of selected Airbnb listings to instal its beds on location. Owners Kyle Hoff and Alex O’Dell fitted the beds in six homes in the US and Canada.

The pair hope that by allowing guests to trial the product for a prolonged period it will raise brand recognition, encouraging people to buy one for themselves. ‘Floyd really goes anywhere – in any kind of space, with any style – and we were excited about the idea of showing that by giving people the opportunity to check out Floyd where it’s really meant to be: in the home,’ O’Dell told Architectural Digest.

Floyd offers a forward-thinking approach to the showroom experience, demonstrating the versatility of its product in a real living environment. For more on the evolution of the showroom, read our In-situ Showrooms microtrend.

UK – Following Thompson’s recent rebranding as TUI, the travel company has joined forces with Realeyes, producer of emotionally intelligent technology, to create a new tool that suggests holidays based on holidaymakers’ emotional needs. The Destination U prototype uses facial coding and emotion measurement technology to track people’s facial responses to various images of locations and experiences.

‘Traditionally, brands have sought to understand consumers’ responses through verbal or written feedback,’ says Realeyes CEO Mihkel Jäätma. ‘Emotion measurement technology captures and delivers unfiltered emotional responses in real time, delving much deeper and detecting non-conscious signals to stimuli.’ Until now, emotion-based travel has been pioneered by luxury travel company Black Tomato, but this marks a shift towards more mainstream adoption.

See our macrotrend The E-motional Economy for more on why consumers are demanding more emotionally intelligent products and services.

A new study by ComRes for the BBC of more than 2,000 people, both men and women, has found that many have been subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace. The report shows the scale of the problem for both sexes and the need to create an environment in which employees feel more supported in speaking out. In Brand 2020 we propose a future in which brands take a more human-centric approach, placing the mental and physical wellbeing of their staff at the heart of their company’s ethos.