Elective Design Management

1. Elective Design Management Future Concept Lab Milan, 2012

2. Future Concept Lab Future Concept Lab Expertise Activity Introduction Desk Analysis MicroFraming MacroFraming Collective Imaginary Genius Loci Fieldwork Coolhunting Cultsearching Design Thinking 4P development

3. Expertise Future Concept Lab Future Concept Lab is a research institute specialized in marketing and consumption trends. Over the last twenty-five years FCL has been carrying out extensive research in 25 countries around the world, gathering, monitoring and interpreting the trends in the public and domestic environment. FCL defines sector-related scenarios regarding new products, communication and distribution strategies, and offers consultancy and training services to major brands and institutions. FCL’s findings are result of intense research activities, including traditional and advanced in-house research methodologies, on-the-spot observation in 40 cities and interdisciplinary skills (sociology, anthropology, design).

4. Introduction Activity • Marketing is being transformed in Societing, that means market analysis converges into a global analysis of society. • The 4 P of classic marketing (product, price, place, promotion) they convert into the 4P of Societing: People, Places, Plans & Projects. • Since consumption is a part of the human experience and not the other way round, being in fine-tuning with people’s real life becomes a priority for decision makers, brands, designers… From Marketing To Societing

5. Introduction Activity • Managers and companies should not remain detached from reality. Systematic, 360 degrees observation is a starting point for defining future strategies. • Professionals should experiment and integrate different methodologies in their projects without «renouncing» upon creative sensibility. • The elasticity of the mind is nowadays important for any type of professional activity, not only creative. From Observation To Participation

6. VISION MISSION BRAND ARCHITECTURE COMPANY PROJECTS CREATIVE HYPOTHESIS ADVANCED TRAINING Introduction Activity WORLDWIDE OBSERVATION GLOBAL VALUES LOCAL BEHAVIOURS MEDIA CONTENT ANALYSIS GENIUS LOCI APPROACH ETHNO-ANTHROPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS STREET & BODY SIGNALS SOCIOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION MEGA TRENDS TRENDS SOCIO-CULTURAL CONCEPT DEFINITION TARGET CHECK CONCEPT TEST STRATEGIC CONSULTANCY

7. Introduction Activity Trends Desk Analysis Depth & scope of trends Collective Imaginary Genius Loci MacroFraming MicroFraming Fieldwork On the spot observation Coolhunting Cultsearching Project Development Trends application 4P Development & Concepts Gymnasium

8. An epocal shift • Social Innovation and Design Thinking are the main drivers of change, implying some general statements: • People become creative enterprises • Technology supports new forms of sharing where individual and collective merge • Communication tools should ground consensus on trust and credibility 8

9. An epocal shift • The 4 paradigms of change that FCL has detected all along its observation and research programs on future scenarios are: • Trust & Sharing • Quick & Deep • Crucial & Sustainable • Unique & Universal 9

10. Paradigm Crucial & Sustainable • The Crucial & Sustainable paradigm supports: • The will to enhance the core values that really matter on a global scale • The need for a new ethic on sustainability • The want to improve those behaviours and thoughts that could help people to minimise their “negative” impact on the eco-system • The sensibility for a change based on the social awareness of environmental care as a global priority 10

11. Paradigm Crucial & Sustainable The two enabling forces that sustain the spread of the Crucial and Sustainable paradigm within the society and the market are: • Selectivity • Sustainability Their effects are strongly visible specially into the world of aesthetics (fashion, design, beauty), supporting a big cultural shift in these markets. 11

12. Paradigm Quick & Deep • The Quick & Deep paradigm supports: • The quest for simple products and services, able to meet people’s requests easily, effectively, and fast • The need of people that consumption could also be an occasion for improving their experience and acquire more information about products and services • The desire for a 24/7 service that never sleeps: happy occasions easy to get 12

13. Paradigm Quick & Deep The two enabling forces that sustain the spread of the Quick and Deep paradigm within the society and the market are: • Timeliness • Happiness • Their effects are strongly visible specially into the world of consumption (mass market behaviours) supporting a big cultural shift into the market. 13

14. Paradigm Trust & Sharing • The Trust & Sharing paradigm supports: • The encounter between consumers and companies and the renewal of loyalty and sharing • The breeding of a chain of values between producers and consumers and the trust between each others • The sharing of opinions and feelings • The enjoying of a common experience through products and services • The feeling that brands strengthen a common bond between producers and consumers 14

15. Paradigm Trust & Sharing The two enabling forces that sustain the spread of the Trust and Sharing paradigm within the society and the market are: • Credibility • Sharing Their effects are strongly visible specially into the world of communication (media, advertising, brand loyalty) supporting a big cultural shift within this sector. 15

16. Paradigm Unique & Universal • The Unique and Universal paradigm supports: • The ending of the antinomy between global and local • The recognition of the unique value of local products, that become universal opportunities • The distinctive plus of the local origin of products • The open diffusion through the internet of a new retailing culture that multiply the chance for local products to reach the different markets 16

17. Paradigm Unique & Universal The two enabling forces that sustain the spread of the Unique and Universal paradigm within the society and the market are: • Exception • Attractiveness Their effects are strongly visible specially into the world of retail, supporting a big cultural shift on this sector. 17

18. Introduction Activity Values 15 YEARS MacroFraming 10 YEARS MicroFraming 5 YEARS Coolhunting & Cultsearching PRESENT Design Thinking FUTURE

19. Collective Imaginary Desk Analysis Why Global Values Designers and Managers should be in fine tuning with people’s values and understand what’s meaningful for them. What Technique Monitoring transversal global values through sociological imagination.

20. Collective Imaginary Desk Analysis The MindStyles Program is the result of a consistent monitoring of the cultural influences related to the collective imagination, based on an analysis of mass media contents and on the influence of opinion leaders on values, styles and taste. Anything from music to literature, art, fashion and design constitute the vital basis of our investigation.The output is an easy format report that gives concrete indications on future markets tastes. The Labyrinth of the MindStyles is divided into 12 Areas. The concepts and trends of the imaginary that have fact gained universal and recognised importance, represent well-established values, that can represent poles of attraction for the future. The Collective Imaginary will help participants identify market priorities and create original concepts.

21. Collective Imaginary Desk Analysis

22. Collective Imaginary Desk Analysis • Monitor the media expressions worldwide and interview the industry trendsetters. • Collect information about brands and brand values regarding products, communication… • Understand the relationship between the influence of the entrepreneurs and peoples’ life and values. • Underline those values that are globally recognized and trace their evolution in time. What do we Suggest

23. Collective Imaginary Desk Analysis The roots of research on Collective Imaginary grounds in psychology: Jung’s archetypes (which regains the platonic intuition of the myth of the cavern), Charles Wright Mills’ Sociological Imagination (1959) and McLuhan’s analysis on media (his celebrated The Medium is the Message), mark the birth of new psychological and sociological disciplines that analyze advertising and communication, as in example Vance Packard’s The Hidden Persuaders and Roland Barthes’ Mythologies. A radical synthesis was made in the 70s by Baudrillard in his theory of simulation (For a Critique of the Political Economy of the Sign and Symbolic Exchange and Death) that overcame marxism and structuralism, opening the way to the theoretical hypothesis of Lyotard (The Postmodern Condition: a Report on Knowledge). Theoretical Framework

24. Collective Imaginary Desk Analysis Collective Imaginary research has been therefore extended to fashion by Gilles Lipovetsky (L'ère du vide and L'Empire de l'éphémère), as well as applied on marketing and communication: Jacques Seguela (Le futur de l’avenir), Kevin Roberts (Lovemarks). A brilliant analysis on the influence of collective imaginary on society was recently proposed by Rolf Jensen, The Dream Society, and Michel Maffesoli, Iconologies. FCL books on Collective Imaginary. Controtendenze / Contratendencias Metatendenze Previsioni e Presentimenti Theoretical Framework

25. MacroFraming Desk Analysis Why Macrotrends Designers and Managers should tackle themes of universal relevance that represent society’s big changes. What Technique Understanding the evolution of market sectors (design, food, wellness…) through sociological interpretation.

26. MacroFraming Desk Analysis Macrotrends, are those sociocultural phenomena that tackle themes of universal relevance that represent society’s big changes, often a sum-up of microtrends that grew relevant in time. Anything, from new forms of interaction, to the way people express themselves through shopping, travelling, eating, partying, and new products that in different market sectors that gained universal recognition in different countries, can convey those strong sensibilities that are highly visible, even if uncommon for many. Macrotrends, or long term trends, embody strong insights that are already present in the market. Since Macrotrends evolve, MacroFraming is useful for tracing their evolution and their different expressions in the different market sectors. Becoming aware of the more stable trends in relation to those less visible allows us to anticipate the market changes in different sectors.

27. MacroFraming Desk Analysis • Collect information regarding specific market sectors, such as retail, design, wellness, food. Delphi interviews can be useful. • Monitor constantly relevant publications, specialized magazines and market reports in relation to the different market sectors. • Identify a number of key case studies, successful or not. • Organize your materials and give interpretation of the impact between consumer behaviours and market dynamics. What do we Suggest

28. MacroFraming Desk Analysis The founding fathers of sociology (from Comte to Marx, from Weber to Durkheim) analysed in the first place some social macro-trends. See in particular: Emile Durkheim, Essay on Suicide (1897), Pierre Bourdieu, Essay on Taste (1979). Megatrends as catalysts of change have been pointed out in the work of the first American futurologists on the 70’s and 80’s: Alvin Toffler in 1970 proposes the Delphi methodology in his first book Future Shock; John Naisbitt in The Third Wave (1980) and Megatrends (1986) approaches the analysis of the contents of the media. Theoretical Framework

29. MacroFraming Desk Analysis On marketing and communication in the 90’s the work of Faith Popcorn (The Popcorn Report) was of great importance: her relevant background on advertising allowed her to incisively indicate trends that summarise values and behaviours. The FCL books on MacroFraming: European Asymmetries Body Visions Living Trends Theoretical Framework

30. MicroFraming Desk Analysis Why Microtrends Designers and Managers should deal with emerging sensibilities in various sectors, even if of a niche relevance. What Technique Focusing on the dynamics of consumer behaviours through ethno-anthropological analysis.

31. MicroFraming Desk Analysis The media (newspapers, magazines, blogs) present eye-catching information and interesting facts on a daily basis. Nevertheless, the impact and analysis of this data is a difficult task for the untrained mind and eyes. Microtrends, niche phenomenaregardingconsumer behaviours, attitudes, styles and expressions, are growing at speed around us. Microtrends may often inspire and stimulate new ideas, but can be misleading without a constant and 360ｰdegrees observation of the local and global realities. MicroFraming is decisive for those who would like to become more aware about the details, aesthetic or behavioural, that surround us and to understand the relationship between the small-scale expressions of change and their influence (weak or strong) in the global market.

32. MicroFraming Desk Analysis • Collect secondary data regarding peoples’ life, through newspapers, magazines, blogs… • Gather information about emerging phenomena in different contexts of daily life, such as work, leisure time, shopping etc. • Take notes on a diary for a specific period (a week, a month…). • Select the most important findings emerging from your constant desk analysis during that period. What do we suggest

33. MicroFraming Desk Analysis Theoretical references on the relevance on Microtrends date since the beginning of 19th century: in particular, Georg Simmel with his essay on Fashion (1905) and Thorstein Veblen on his Theory of the Leisure Class (1899). Recently, many authors worked on the sociology of daily life, among others: Henri Lefebvre on Critique of everyday life; Situationists in France (with the famous Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord); Goffman and Schutz in the USA on symbolic interactionism. In the last few years, of Mark Penn’s Microtrends and Henrik Vejlgaar’s Anatomy of a trend are strongly recommended you consult. Theoretical Framework

34. MicroFraming Desk Analysis On marketing - see Bernard Cova, Innover en marketing - and communication, a valuable approach has been defined as the economy of the unexpected and as non conventional marketing, that found in the explosion of events (during the 90’s), followed by the success of the temporary stores (from the middle of the following decade) as a true solid achievement. The FCL books on MicroFraming: Real Fashion Trends Consum-Authors / Consum-Autori / Consumo Autoral Theoretical Framework

35. Genius Loci Desk Analysis Why Local Cultures Designers and Managers should take into consideration cultural differences and measure market compatibility of projects. What Technique Identifying distinctive local characteristics through socio-cultural analysis.

36. Genius Loci Desk Analysis Future Concept Lab has developed the Genius Loci Program, a research that analyses the cultural characteristics and the consumption patterns in 25 Countries around the world in order to interpret the globalization phenomena in cultural and commercial level. A task force of experts dedicate themselves full-time to the elaboration profiles for each of the countries under observation, underlining the uniqueness and character of each country and market. The Institute has been carrying out research all around the world and has presented the findings of this Program in various Universities, Institutions and Companies. The Genius Loci program helps understanding the differences between several countries and will introduce different expertise and know-how, case studies and brands, that are well-rooted in specific territories. Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Canada China Colombia Finland France Germany Greece India Israel Italy Japan Korea Portugal Russia Spain Thailand The Netherlands Turkey UK United States

37. Genius Loci Desk Analysis • Chose relevant characteristics, cultural traditions and behaviours, well-rooted in country of preference. • Describe any products, expertise or processes distinctive of the specific country worldwide, because of uniqueness. • Compare your findings to the other countries/parts of the world. Do you notice any similarities or differences in behaviours, material culture, traditions? • Following your analysis create a map of compatible cultural patterns between one country and other contexts. What do we Suggest

38. Genius Loci Desk Analysis The talent of places (genius loci) was celebrated on the first place by Norberg Schulz’s book on architecture titled Genius Loci. The great German sociologist Max Weber though, in his The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, highlighted the relevance of the genius loci for the understanding of cultural differences. On literature and philosophy, Baudelaire’s “flaneur” and Walter Benjamin’s travel diaries stated that cities can be better understood when confronted each others. Globalisation gave a strong impulse to the research on cultural differences : see works of Lewis (When cultures collide) and Gannon (Understanding global cultures), and most of all Samuel Huntigton’s The clash of Civilizations. Theorical Framework

39. Genius Loci Desk Analysis Post-colonial Anthropology (Amselle, Bhabha, Appadurai, Clifford, Tomlinson) embrace an alternative point of view: according with these authors cultures are “incommensurable” and their crossbreeding is more spontaneous than schematic. Relevant field research on cultural differences were carried out by Gert Hoffstede who monitored the weight and depth of some cultural universal values, mapping them onto axis that go from male/female influence up to the weight of autocratic/tolerant behaviours in the exercising of power. FCL books on Genius Loci: La strategia del Colibrì / La estrategia del Colibrì Italian Ways / Estetiche Italiane Il senso dell'Italia Theorical Framework

40. Coolhunting Field work Why On-the-spot Observation Designers and Managers should stimulate their imagination with fragments of truth, and people’s daily activities in urban and domestic contexts. What Technique Observing people and places based on the Coolhunting technique

41. Coolhunting Field work The 50 correspondents of Future Concept Lab scattered in 40 different cities around the world, constitute a network of highly sensitive antennas gathering, deciphering and reporting the trends emitted by the observed cities. The report includes a variety of information regarding new products, photos of people, shops and new initiatives from various sectors and different targets. Amsterdam Antwerp Athens Bangalore Bangkok Barcelona Beijing Berlin Bilbao Bogotá Bologna Bombay Boston Buenos Aires Brussels Cannes Helsinki Hong Kong Istanbul Lisbon London Los Angeles Madrid Marseilles Miami Milan Montreal Moscow New York Paris SanFrancisco SanPaolo SanPetersburg Seoul Shanghai Sidney Tel Aviv Tokyo Valencia Vienna

42. Coolhunting Field work The observation of people’s everyday life for understanding the dynamics of reality and anticipating the future, has always been the mission of Future Concept Lab, triggered by the desire to explore the material culture of different societies, going beyond a purely academic background. Future Concept Lab launched coolhuntingin 1992 – the first institute in the world – as an innovative alternative to existing research methods. It was back then that Future Concept Lab started to hire young professionals and researchers around the world, who would be able to become those “highly sensible antennas” for understanding the on-going phenomena and change on a specific territory. Shanghai

43. Coolhunting Field work Nowadays, our network of correspondents, 50 collaborators operating in 40 cities, allows us the constant monitoring of city trends, new venues and people’s daily life. The international observatory and network of correspondents, is set up of young professionals who carry out coolhunting and cultsearching research activities, has demonstrated to be increasingly useful and necessary, as an integration to the traditional research outcomes, that can be strengthen by data, interpretative hypothesis and creative thinking. London

44. Coolhunting Field work It is in our view necessary to clarify and distinguish different professions and the different levels into which the coolhunter operates. In many cases this is not a proper profession but a personal interest that people develop quite rapidly. It is important to underline, however, that intuition and talent are not enough, and these sole factors do not make of a person a proper coolhunter.

45. Coolhunting Field work Triggered by personal interest rather than based on specific skills or qualification, coolhunting risks belonging to one of the many appealing and bound-to-fashions research tools. In the past few years coolhunting gave rise to different by-products. Fashion magazines for example, in their search for eccentric news and scoops, hire people who can provide hot stories on new trends and spontaneous stories on lifestyles and street styles. Another form of recently flourished coohunting is that one called style blogs, rapidly developed after the success of The Sartorialist, now collaborator of the Condé Nast group.

46. Coolhunting Field work For FCL the activity of coolhunting consist mostly of gathering and recording information, on how people dress, their cultural or consumption preferences, new city venues etc., by taking photos and notes. They usually do not interpret the impact of their findings on global and local level. FCL has in the past years experimented a more systematic way of practising coolhunting, offering to the deployed young researchers not only training on alternative ethnographic methodologies but also a strong theoretical background.

47. Coolhunting Field work Coolhunters are young creative people, usually freelancers, gather and report all those interesting (cool) expressions emerging in the urban and domestic reality of a specific city, where they live and work, giving photographic and written evidence. • Which are the characteristics of a coolhunter? • Is a young professional, with academic training or working experience in fashion, design, architecture, communication, photography, journalism, web…) • Has good photography skills • Lives and works in the city of observation, not simply a visitor or a tourist Milan

48. Coolhunting Field work • Is always curious and updated about the new phenomenon, events and changes emerging in the city • Is searching for the unconventional signals emitted by the city, that is to say venues, shops, ideas, and occasions, which give evidence about the on-going transformation of people’s life in the specific city • Has a creative sensibility which allows him/her to spot and describe the people and the life occasions of the city of observation. His/her intuitive talent become skills thanks to indications, feedback and briefs made available by Future Concept Lab.

49. Coolhunting Field work Coolhunting is neither a job-title, coined in the mid nineties, nor a new professional figure. It is rather a valuable method, if integrated with other systematic and consistent set of parallel research activities and design thinking ability, as proposed in the TrendsGymnasium training program. The wide observation of local phenomena that can become global, how people dress, which are their cultural or consumption preferences, which are the new city venues will empower the participants’ ability of observing reality. Buenos Aires

50. Coolhunting Field work • Before starting, plan your on-the-spot observation by choosing the parts of the city you would like to focus on and by getting hold of a photo camera and notebook. • When practising coolhunting, you should take pictures of people styles and attitudes, but also notes of what you perceive beyond the surface. • Group your observations by illustrating and describing the most original phenomena spotted and by making a list of your insights, according to your personal passion and interests. What do we Suggest