Learn about what shifts are occurring in technology, values, and demographics that will impact health. You will learn what the most up to date innovations are, as well as why these shifts are happening. Use design thinking tools to explore how these future shifts affect the daily lives of the Archetypes.
A Trend is defined as a general direction in which something is developing or changing. Trends, also referred to as Future Shifts, show the trajectory of which the world is moving, and offer us, as designers, a look into societal shifts and actions that are likely to influence consumer behaviors.
In the Loft, we define Trends as ‘drivers of change’ for new and developing innovations and technologies. We consider a Trend to be a shift in the values and practices within a society, and something which explains why environmental, technological, and social developments are being created.
Similar to the development of our Archetypes, the Live Well team spent time completing a breadth of trend research and benchmarking to better understand what Future Shifts were likely to influence consumers relating to their health. We utilized global trend forecasts to compile our search, and identified several key recurring shifts that were most applicable to consumer health and wellness.
How were the five Future Shifts chosen?
Trend development began by identifying themes in the research we conducted. Through our quantitative and qualitative interviews, we identified trends that surfaced repetitively. These themes exemplified the behaviors, attitudes, and aspirations of those that we interviewed. The Live Well team then utilized these as a lens through which to benchmark Future Shifts. We aimed to identify future trend topics, ones which were relevant to the health and wellbeing of our consumers and stakeholders.
After compiling these future trend topics, the Live Well team narrowed our focus into a condensed list of Future Shifts. We were greatly inspired by Arup Foresight’s Drivers of Change, which inspired a final iteration of trend benchmarking. These Drivers of Change, as well as a list of driving technologies, formed the basis on which the five Future Shifts were created.
In choosing our five overarching shifts, the Live Well team considered which trends were most likely to impact consumer behavior over the next 5-7 years. Each shift was broken down into several counterparts to exemplify the trend and show proof of concept. The three main components of our Future Shifts include trends, manifestations, and case studies.
A Trend, as explained previously, is a general direction in which something is developing. We explain a trend as a shift in the values and practices within a society. In the Loft, we call trends Future Shifts.
A Manifestation, also known as a proof of concept, is the evidence that a trend exists. It’s defined as an event, action, or object that clearly shows or embodies something, especially a theory or an abstract idea. It proves the validity of a trend by showing examples of that trend manifesting in the world.
A Case Study is a real-world example of a trend’s manifestation. It’s a news story, a story of something happening in the world, or an example that demonstrates this manifestation.
SUPPORTING MANIFESTATIONS: ACTIVISM, GENDER IDENTITY
The utilization of new technology to investigate and expose the core truths in mass amounts of information.
SUPPORTING MANIFESTATIONS: COMMERCE, FOOD PRODUCTION
The expectation by consumers for goods and services to center around their personal location, needs, schedules, and desires.
SUPPORTING MANIFESTATIONS: RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION, PRODUCT TRANSPARENCY, ECO-EFFECTIVENESS
Consumers are becoming more mindful in regards to their purchasing habits as they seek to counteract some of the negative effects of consumerism.
SUPPORTING MANIFESTATIONS: TRANSPORTATION, INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY, GLOBAL CONNECTIVITY
The increased ease of data translation and sharing from technology to technology to seamlessly meet the needs and desires of consumers.
SUPPORTING MANIFESTATIONS: CONSUMPTION CHANGES, INCREASED LIFE SPAN, URBANIZATION
The impact of shifting demographics on how growing populations are adapting to using global resources.
