I’m at the tenth (and last, as it happens) Gnomedex down in Seattle. I just watched Larry Wu, a kind of brand research and development guru (his bio is on this page) give a talk about trends. Among other things, he presented a list of current macro trends which I quite liked. I transcribed his slide, and added a few notes from his talk.
Artisan – The return to handcrafted one of a kind objects, services and activities that express personal style.
Cultural fusion – Proactive interest in experiencing multiple cultures and new culture hybrids grounded in popular and consumer culture. The simplest expressions are in music and food. See, for example, Bollywood or the Kogi trucks in Los Angeles.
Fingerprinting – Search for and articulation of one’s unique identity. Fingerprinting is expressed through an individuals’ collection of unique passion points.
Health monitor – The softer side of wellness is elbowed aside as people turn to science and medicine to answer health issues, from life-threatening to life-enhancing. Think self-treatment.
Hyperlife – Life as a multitasking, multi-sensory barrage. If you’re doing on thing at a time, you’re probably bored.
Memory marketing – Using history as an active resource to take a nostalgic trip through time, recoiling the stuff of our collective past. See, for example, the new 2010 Mustang that feels retro.
Merit badges – The shift in values to collect experiences rather than things; the recasting of social status from what one has to what one does.
Ready, set, go – Innovation plus convenience: the seamless combination is the ultimate answer to soothing the roaring demands of stressed-out. The SmartCup XPress lid is an interesting example of confined macro-trends.
Celbri-Me – Look at me, listen to me, but don’t get too close. It really is all about me. Watch this set of consumers create their own 15 minutes of fame.
DarrenBarefoot.com 
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