LSN : News : Arup adds weekends to flexi-working futures

Nike’s inclusive and eco-conscious vision for football

The Land of New Football by Nike, Europe

Europe – Amid UEFA Euro 2020 fever, Nike’s latest advertising spot points to a more inclusive – and ever-evolving – landscape for the future of football.

Highlighting the diversity of those attracted to the sport, and its ability to connect people across ages and backgrounds, The Land of New Football campaign features a line-up of new-generation footballing talents discussing future directions for the sport.

Featuring players such as Marcus Rashford, Pernille Harder, Sara Däbritz and Azeem Amir, the campaign shares commentary on how football is becoming more inclusive, conscious and innovative. In turn, The Land of New Football shows how Nike is supporting grassroots teams globally, developing more sustainable kits, and lastly, using technology to create future-facing football boots and balls.

While Nike is unbinding football from gender stereotypes, sports media is also undergoing its own evolution. Our recent New Sportswomen Media microtrend explores the nascent online networks and fresh reportage championing women athletes.

A logo generator rebranding climate activism

Tokens for Climate Care by Process, Vienna

London – Design studio Process has created a generative tool that supports climate activists by creating new logos based on their agendas.

The studio’s Tokens for Climate Care project combines technology, design and solutions to help address what the studio believes to be climate activism’s branding problem. Initially presented as an interactive installation at Somerset House in London, users can access the generator via their mobile phones, pick three value-driven keywords and receive a unique symbol generated by artificial intelligence (AI), which is ready for download and free to use in their own digital activism efforts.

‘In the age of social media, companies and initiatives alike are competing to be visible on a global scale,’ explains Martin Grödl, co-founder of Process. ‘Small climate initiatives and grassroots movements usually don’t have marketing and branding budgets. Our tool might help at an early stage by providing a starting point for a logo for free.’

Similarly, we explore the positive impact that AI will have on the future of branding in our interview with Yali Saar, founder and CEO of Tailor Brands.

Arup adds weekends to flexi-working futures

UK – With businesses and workplaces adapting over the past 18 months to give employees greater flexibility in how they work, engineering and design firm Arup is opting to upend the idea of Monday-to-Friday working entirely.

Work Unbound is its new scheme to give more than 6,000 of Arup’s UK-based employees the chance to choose their working days across the seven-day week, including weekends. According to the company, the model is designed to create a working environment that accommodates different needs and allows members to integrate their work and personal lives alongside the needs of Arup’s business, clients and communities.

Work Unbound was trialled at Arup's offices in the UK and Australia. Following its pilot in Liverpool, Arup found that nearly nine in 10 (87%) employees felt that their productivity improved.

With remote working options becoming mainstream, look out for our upcoming Listicle examining the new digital workspaces bolstering creativity and connections.

NV350 Caravan by Nissan

Stat: Retail staff are anxious about returning to work

Off-White flagship store, Miami

As government guidelines on Covid-19 continue to change, retail staff are both worried and confused about how – and where – they will be working, according to a new Westfield Health report.

Among the 1,500 UK employees surveyed by the wellbeing provider, 47% of wholesale and retail staff are anxious about returning to the workplace. Almost a quarter (24%) in the wholesale and retail sector attribute this anxiety to a lack of communication about plans for a return to the workplace.

With such a high percentage of staff feeling anxious about returning to work, mental health assistance (13%), flexible working (15%) and speedy access to healthcare (14%) were all measures that wholesale and retail workers feel could help over the next few months.

In our Epidemic Retail Futures scenario, we consider how retailers will respond to future viral outbreaks, while ensuring the safety of their staff as well as customers.