Need to Know
19 : 07 : 19

Berlin – For the second time, sustainable chemical company BASF has tasked the studio with creatively imagining future automotive colour trends.

Working with BASF’s Coatings Division, Foam Studio has established a visual concept around the fluidity of our social and technological realities. Acknowledging how the separation between the real and virtual realms is becoming less pronounced, the project explores the ‘merging of digital conditions and physical phenomena into a yet-to-be-defined space of its own’.

In order to visualise these abstract themes, the studio has created a global design toolkit for automotive brands, made up of various animations featuring architectural structures, organic textures and natural landscapes.

As we explored in our recent Design Direction Mirrored Realms, creative practitioners are defining a visual aesthetic that sits at the intersection of both the virtual and physical worlds.

New York – The venture capital firm for female-founded companies has launched an e-commerce platform dedicated to women-led beauty, fashion and lifestyle brands.

The Helm’s new e-commerce site will also publish editorial content highlighting female entrepreneurs both on the shopping platform and in the fund. To help consumers recognise the power of their purchases and further the fund’s mission of elevating female entrepreneurs, a portion of the profits from all sales will also go directly back into The Helm’s next round of venture capital funding.

‘For some people, investing in women means writing a five- or six-figure cheque,’ says Lindsey Taylor Wood, founder and CEO of The Helm. ‘For others, a more achievable entry point may be being a thoughtful consumer and purchasing the products and services of women-built-and-led companies. For more on how female investors are driving a female future, read our Women’s Wealth Market.

Milan – Italian designer Elena Tamburini has created a collection of furniture that encourages physical affection among the elderly.

The collection comprises a mirror, a brush, a table and a walker, which aim to facilitate connections with the self or between users. Tapping into the dynamics of affection, each of these objects is inspired by daily gestures, such as a touch or looking at yourself or your partner. The project’s title – Filotea – is a literary reference to the Greek goddess Philotes, who personifies affection, passion and sex in Greek mythology.

Created as part of her final project at Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan, with supervision from her tutor, Claudio Larcher, the objects target Italy’s ageing population. ‘Today in Italy, 30% of the population is made up of elderly people,’ says Tamburini. ‘We are dealing with an increasingly expanding target, and the demanding specifics of this range cannot be ignored, especially from the point of view of design.’

By approaching product design in this way, Filotea takes an analogue approach to the ideas we explore in our Neo-kinship macrotrend.

Wealthy consumers want more personalised tools to manage their wealth, finds YouGov’s Affluent Perspective 2019 Global Study. The report found that 22% of affluents in 26 global markets are seeking digital tools to help them manage their finances.

Although they are financially stable, these consumers still stress about money. Some 12% of affluents find managing their personal assets stressful, and one in four in this group admit to spending beyond their means. However, according to the study, the use of digital tools and wealth management services could allow these consumers to gain better control over their spending and ultimately allow them to enjoy their wealth.

To see how brands can help the wealthy to think about their finances more holistically, download our new Fintech Futures Report.