Need to Know
11 : 08 : 21

Global – The technology giant is enabling people to customise their digital interfaces through a design language called Material You. Available on all devices that run on the Android 12 operating system, the update allows users to tailor the visual appearance on their phone and tablet screens. Focusing on accessibility, users can control the contrast, size and line width of icons; they can also add personal images and choose their own colour palette.

Through this approach, Google recognises the importance of personalisation in technology – both for general user engagement and for accessibility needs. ‘Material You explores a more humanistic approach to design,’ explains the company in a blog post. ‘One that celebrates the tension between design sensibility and personal preference, and does not shy away from emotion.’

Elsewhere, social media platform Facebook has also experimented with more personal approaches to digital interfaces. Its E.gg platform avoids cookie cutter templates to enable space for self-expression. As creative director Matthew Jones posits, designers must embrace such risky tactics to avoid homogenising design.

China – With some drinkers seeking tipples that have functional benefits, brewer AB InBev is launching a low-alcohol, sparkling tea wine for Chinese consumers. Dubbed For Chill, the ready-to-drink tea is made from concentrated tea powder combined with wine. Its branding, by design agency Low Key Design, features illustrations centred around characters called Fookis.

Communicating the idea of providing a relaxing and comfortable drinking experience, the Fookis are shown in a ‘weightless floating city enjoying daily urban life such as music, sports and lying around.’ Here, the brand captures the idea that drinking alcohol can induce a sense of calm and doesn’t need to be associated with hedonism or excess.

Since 2015, we’ve been tracking the rise of Tipsy Tea, as drinks brands recognise the health benefits of replacing sugar-laden mixers with natural tea leaves. Looking ahead, this category is set for growth as the ready-to-drink market evolves to usher in new opportunities for health-minded Millennial and Generation Z consumers.

While the climate crisis has been a growing concern across all sectors in recent years, the latest report by The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) quantifies the drastic rates at which global temperatures are rising.

The landmark report, which culminates data from more than 60 countries, reveals that the world is likely to temporarily reach 1.5°C of warming within the next 20 years. This figure is predicted even in a best-case scenario of reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Having been signed off by 234 scientists, the report states that without ‘immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions’ in emissions, curbing global warming to either 1.5°C or even 2°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100 would be ‘beyond reach’.

Brands and organisations must drive efforts to combat environmental change. For more, explore our Climate Crisis series.