With a heightened sense of sanitation and hygiene, how do you expect this to translate into wider lifestyle trends?
This will, without a doubt, play a part in terms of the types of materials and products in demand moving forward. There is a need to address this sensitively though so as not to instill fear or create stressful environments. What does this mean for designers and manufactures? It will be about ensuring we can create clean, hygienic spaces that still look and feel ‘normal’ – such as ‘self-disinfective’ surfaces that remain familiar in style for public and domestic environments. This will also drive a trend where smooth surfaces and clean lines are a key direction for interiors.
Are there any trends that you predicted for 2020, which correlate with the current situation we find ourselves in? Perhaps there are a few that you’ve now added a pandemic lens over?
One overriding theme affecting trends as a whole is connectivity, which has certainly become even more prevalent at the moment. It’s a theme that affects us on so many levels, from being more reliant on digital communication to share and care, to more emphasis being placed on meaningful relationships between one another. This situation has reminded us how valuable real-world experiences are and helped us remember how we can come together to make a positive difference, even on a small scale within our own communities. It has also made us realise how creative we can be when connecting through digital means, with virtual dinner parties and live workshops offering multisensory experiences.
We are definitely seeing people make the best of a bad situation and become more creative as well as innovative, doing more with less. This is another theme I forecast whereby a sense of fun and joy is at the heart of design. It’s taking craft to another level where within this massive trend that continues to evolve, there is room for the perfectly imperfect and it is more about the experience you have gained and reflecting your own personality. People are proud of their home makes, sharing on social platforms however it has turned out. It’s all about giving it a go, taking some risks and not overthinking the outcome.