Welcome to the Future
We’ve entered a new year, a new decade and a whole new future. There’s a lot of uncertainty out there right now (hello Coronoavirus) but luckily for you, we’ve finally dropped our predictions for 2020 and we’re predicting that they are spot on.
Yes, most new year predictions come out at the actual start of a new year, but whatever, March works just as well.
Here are the Slash Design and Society predictions for 2020:
Müge:
> Society: I was reading about this the other day: “Libraries will “start lending clothes, offering lectures and writing courses, hosting exhibitions and concerts”, says Edelkoort. She believes they will become “the epicenters of small towns and villages”, partly run by community volunteers in return for access. In Tokyo, she says, there are already “beautiful” libraries where people work and dine together. She believes this will be one of many “societal initiatives bringing us back together”, in response to today’s “dangerous” state of disconnection.” There’s going to be less focus on the typical 9-5 approach, people want to get out more and having a social life is rewarding towards our professional lives. Design is becoming more about the community and less about the people.
> Design: Data-driven design will be the thing in 2020. No one wants to really do static brands anymore, we want to do something that evolves and comes from a generative source.
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Mar:
> Locally: I think the UAE is going towards decreasing the use of single-use plastic this year — they’re becoming more aware of its impact here, and in the world.
> Design: In 2020, designers are playing with typography big time! We will be seeing artistic typography, maxi typography split into multiple lines, thick and heavy fonts, as well as typography which forms various shapes.
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Jonny:
> Society: Finger guns with a "peow peow" sound will become a completely acceptable way to say “hi".
> Design: We'll finally realize the truth that we all live in a massive stock imagery universe like the matrix, created by a superior Alien race who need good images for campaigns and found it easier to stage an entire life system and continually monitor it for photo and video content, rather than just stage fake looking photos.
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Joana:
> Society: 2020 has the potential to change the way we travel; it will become a way of working, researching and enjoying ourselves all at once. It won’t have a single purpose, it will have endless impact across all parts of our lives.
> Design: I truly believe that the 90’s baggy jeans are coming back — for the good, and the bad. And less businesses will have symbols and more typography-based brands. And Ray Eames’ hairstyle will become the coolest haircut for women.
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Gleybe:
> Society: Society wise I believe the get-together groups apps might be a thing.
> Design: Fashion, I believe that one piece that has been gone for a while are the short skirts and soon enough they will be back (not in UAE of course).
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Nuno A:
> Design: I think this is the beginning of going back to basics, meaning, design is not to look good (alone), but it's to add value. Helvetica will come back! (did it ever go away?...). After tsunamis of "design" (booo Pinterest), the calm will come back. The "why" before making a decision will come back. The "impulse decision" on design will give place to deep and grounded approaches.
> Society: We're going to focus more on what is important. People (me...) have not been looking at what's more important, but more at what's in front of our noses. Prioritizing is the way to go: making sure we know what is important, and then act accordingly. Things that don't add value and get us numb, will start dying...
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Nadine:
> Design: Clothes will become 100% sustainable by 2020. We’ll be wearing recycled plastic head to toes!
> Society: 2020 is the beginning of world citizens! Born in a random country with parents from different places who grew up in different places as well? Here take a global citizen passport!
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Sandrine:
> Design: Design, hipster on the rise. Everybody wants to be hipster.
> Society: I predict that people will be more aware this year. with all that been happening politically, environmentally and socially, i think people have a bigger reason to be more aware and start acting. I think we might have a few major revolutions. Hopefully no wars.
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Marta:
> Design: Year of sustainability in terms of reducing and reusing waste.
> Society: First lady Arab leader will come from the UAE
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Jorge:
> Design: Apple will launch its first flip phone model.
> Society: Slash will become a household name in Abu Dhabi.
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Chase:
> Design: Comic sans will make a comeback.
> Society: I predict Trump will win the elections. The oceans will get warmer. Natural disasters will become more frequent. People will start to care more, but still do nothing to make change (except us). Kombucha will become popular in the UAE. Sourdough business will boom.
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Gerson:
> Design: I think we will see more improvement in quantity rather than quality, because with the EXPO the focus unfortunately will be to sell as much as possible.
> Society: I think there will be a considerable growth in the country’s economy, specially in the second semester.
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Clinton:
> Design: I predict that birch plywood will be in fashion and maybe overused in some places around the UAE.
> Society: Society will continue to follow the media and trends that they enjoy.
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Ljiljana:
> Design: I think people will focus more on sustainable materials, design and ideas. Vegan, ecologic, recyclable, slow fashion and product design i would say.
> Personal: Personal is to live healthier life, to think positive to find time for personal projects
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Nuno P:
> Design: Human-centered design will continue to proliferate across different industries and to change products, services … and organizations as a whole.
2.2 Purpose-driven organizations will confirm their appetency for better results through more engaged teams and clients. Purposeful approaches will link with design-thinking and will infiltrate all levels and departments of the organizations
> Society: Donald Trump will win US elections again. And again with a minority of votes, relying on his support from states where votes count more.
1.2 People will find new ways of living and we’ll see the first hints on how to solve the new housing crisis that is occurring in the denser cities of the world.
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Daniel:
> Design: Design for/in the outdoors; there’s an increasing interest in designing environments, which has been shown already in new collections for outdoor environments but by interior-focused brands. For example, Muuto just created a new line of exterior furniture, even String shelves for outdoors. This is a consequence of a tendency that the market has been looking for, which is a merge of both indoor and outdoors design.
> Society: Consumer behavior; there’s a rising movement of the current consumer, searching for something that balances the digital with the analog life — creating strategies towards the reduction of online time and permanence.
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André:
> Design: More Helvetica; less colors.
> Society: Third world war.