LPK Trends | valerie_jacobs@lpk.com
November + December 2009
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Considering the tectonic shifts in the economic, social, and cultural landscape over the past two years, it appears that we in the branding and design communities could be at a crossroads in our practices. In a world where consumers are less consumed with consuming, we ask ourselves, how exactly did we get here, and what’s next? While in some respects the collapse of the global economy appears to be responsible for the dramatic shift in consumer behavior—decreasing consumption, saving more, searching for the best value, and rediscovering nostalgia for simpler times— the “financial crisis” was the climax of unnoticed nascent trends that had been making waves for quite some time. The bust, as it were, served to unleash the floodgates, allowing a metaphorical collective cultural sigh that hopefully brings to a close our consumerist spree.
In 2004 we were at the height of luxury addiction and celebrity obsession. Even so, the emergence and slow acceptance of the organic and the sustainability movements hinted at a desire to rethink our ethics and perhaps consider the effects of our man-made world. Furthermore, the health and wellness move-
ment began to suggest a more holistic approach to living and “being.” Simultaneously, the seemingly unbounded acceleration of technology has turned us into always-on, 24/7 technophiles, scrambling to broadcast our virtual personas throughout the webiverse using “social software” in often mind-boggling ways. Gen-Xers may reel at the prescience of sci-fi author Neal Stephenson; it can feel like the world we live in is simply the manifestation of his and others’ novels. Together these forces suggest both a simplistic slowdown and techno acceleration.
On the surface these trends appear to have little in common, but they are truly involved in a dynamic dance where the possibility for convergence is greater and more interesting. Mostly we’ve seen this referred to as “ seamlessness,” where technology will become far more simplified and intuitive, and the online world will increasingly blur reality. A practice we deem “platforming” is so far the best way we know to describe how designing and branding paradigms must shift in order to address the future state of this seamless world and fulfill the desires of its inhabitants. In short, platforming pos-
its that design and brands must become more collaborative and generative in nature, with more of the features/qualities of the online world (i.e., platforms), and less prescriptive, immutable, and monolithic. As this dynamic plays out, it will create a ripe new territory for designers and branders.
As the consumer landscape has been evolving, so has the practice of design and branding. “Design, as a brand-building tool, is in its ascendancy,” says Jerry Kathman, president and CEO of international design agency LPK. “Brand aesthetics must be managed strategically today. Leading brands understand that brand design management is not a one-time project, but an ongoing process. A brand’s design franchise serves as a repository for the goodwill assigned to a brand over time. That goodwill comes from the experience that a consumer has using the brand, as well as the investment in marketing communications. But it is a brand’s design that triggers those embedded memories. Design equity is a powerful contributor to brand equity,” he explains.
If we accept that design has been in its ascendancy, then as designers we have also evolved and expanded our roles in the
Photograph by Steve and Sarah Emry
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