Wanderlust Automotive 2010

If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

- Ferris Buelleranderlust

2010 North American International Auto Show

We love to wander, and we love direction. What matters to us is at the periphery and at the center. Wanderlust is our campaign to find inspiration in everything around us, no matter how small or subtle. We believe that if you look closely, every detail has its place, its potential. In the end, everything matters.

Wanderlust aspires to be more than the collection of cool stuff you can typically find in your RSS feed each morning. Rather, we curate and organize our collection into the most meaningful set of ideas, objects, environments, and experiences. Unlike hefty powerpoint documents touting broad, often intangible, macro trends, we start small and work our way out. Through this process, we know from the start that the opportunities we identify will be actionable and useful to our work. Because our Wanderings are already manifesting themselves in tangible ways, we’re inspired to adapt and reapply them to new projects.

When We Wander...

2http://kascope.com/

We believe that small details can lead to big ideas. To find those details, Wanderlust begins it’s process by studying trends in the most forward-thinking industries. We love the inspiration they provide and the level of access they offer. We then extract the higher level meaning behind each of the trends we identify. Not all patterns grow into deeply rooted trends, and not all trends impact all businesses. However, we see all of our observations as opportunity and inspiration.

...We Always Come Back

Wanderlust: 2010 Auto Show 3

We asked Kaleidoscope’s Karl Ludeman to tell us a little more about his experiences this year at the auto show in Detroit

What inspired you to make this volume of Wanderlust?

We like to go places and see things and think about why they are that way. Hopefully we’ll inspire ourselves and get others to think about things a little differently. Plus, it’s fun.

How did the trends you identified change from this year to last?

Covering the auto show is new ground for us this year. We initially approached it as separate entity from the furniture trends book. While there are some trends unique to auto, most interesting were the similarities that began to emerge. Some trends were very aesthetically similar, while some were born out of the same consumer trend but expressed themselves in very different ways. You’ll see the results in part two of both books.

What do you hope people will take away from looking through this document?

Looking for trends will only give you a snapshot of right now, the immediate present. But understanding the root causes behind a given trend can give you insight into what drives people to choose one experience over another. What are the root causes for the choices today’s consumers are making?

Anxiety and self-determination, which actually are not mutually exclusive as they would seem, but each driven by the other. It’s a vicious, beautiful, and ultimately very productive cycle.

part one:

wanderings

part two: applications

61622

STRONG, SILENT(strawng, ‘sahy-luhnt) A man of action who is reserved. Someone who is assertive but not talkative.

RETROSEXUAL(‘re-troh ‘sek-shoo-uhl)Embraces classic pop culture. Retrosexual is the love of the traditional life style of the 1940’s to the 1960’s

CYBORG(‘sahy-bawrg) A living being whose powers are enhanced by computer implants.

We look to the work of designers globally for inspiration and understanding. From our observations at the North American International Auto Show, three key patterns emerge:


CYborGCyborg (‘sahy-bawrg) n. orig. Science Fiction

1. A living being whose powers are enhanced by computer implants. 2. A social acceptance that electric = earth friendly.


Seeing Patterns Mathematic patterns inspired by nature.



Moody Lighting Traditional light features come alive with pattern.



Mercurial Lights Expressive, emotional lines carry over from sketches to final concepts.




Visible AlternativeDoes alternative fuel lead to alternative design?INFoMAP

us

japan korea

europe

Basic

the

cars

you know go green

exper Advanced

Expert

2010 2011AlternativeFuel Cars

designed with som

ething new

in mind

updated details and tweaked profiles inspired

by new

technology

redefining the car inside and

out

fuel

efficie

nt hybrid versions of existing models

breaking the mold

*alternative fuel car list from hybridcarscom

Asian Automakers

US Automakers

European Automakers


Vents and Layers


Retrosexual (‘re-troh ‘sek-shoo-uhl) adj. orig. english slang

1. Embraces classic pop culture. 2. The love of the traditional life style of the 1940’s to the 1960’s.

RETROSEXUAL

Wanderlust: 2010 Auto Show 17RETROSEXUAL Vintage Details, High Tech Execution

A slow but steady evolution of the classics.


The car has become…an article of dress without which we feel uncertain, unclad, and incomplete. -Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media, 1964



Heritage IndustryAsia creates a legacy of its own.PREDICTIoN

While the US and Germany call upon strong histories in tough times, newer Asian manufacturers are forced to look forward. Could hybrids and electrics be the Asian heritage vehicles of the future?

It’s no coincidence that referential nods to a more confident time remain prevalent into what was supposed to be the age of the flying car. American consumers are comforted in chaotic times by the muscle or status cars of their parents.

Japanese and Korean automakers have been taking a different approach. Toyota’s release of the hybrid Prius in 1997, while not a full electric, marked a line in the sand on alternative fuel that American manufacturers had been dancing around for over a 100 years. The first “successful” electric vehicle was built in the US in 1891. Let’s just say it wasn’t a linear process from here to the Volt.

Fast forward to 2010. The eco-friendly trend has blurred with complex geopolitical issues and a simple need to spend less on fuel. These socioeconomic factors combined with the tech cultural brand of the countries that bring us Samsung and Sony are creating a perfect storm of demand and credibility for Asian automakers to own the alternative fuel market. Could the 2010’s be the golden (or should I say silicone?) age for Asian automakers? I’ll let you know in 2040, when I anticipate the re-release of the Prius. (I really hope that covered wheel comes back!)


Wheel Appeal


Strong, SilentStrong, Silent (strawg-’sahy-luhnt) orig. english phrase

1. A man of action who is reserved. 2 .Someone who is assertive but not talkative.


Luxury is in the Details Clean, uninterrupted surfaces accented with micro-patterns and texture.


Subtle CMF Matte and satin finishes as high end. Barely-there pops of color.


May I Be Blunt? “Pedestrian Safe” chopped off profiles and chunkier proportions.



Will pedestrian safety laws kill the beautiful car?

-Matthew Phenix for Wired.com

Design improvements could prevent 8% of all pedestrian fatalities and 21% of serious injuries.

-UK Transport Research Laboratory


2011 autos are pulling design cues from hybrids to stay current. Except for that whole size thing...

People are moving back to the cities. Gas prices and allocation remain controversial. Consumers are back to basics. Hummer is dead. Your mom just bought a Prius.

Seems like the perfect time for a flood of “only what I need” efficient cost and eco-friendly cars filling the showrooms. What we seem to be finding is a field of new cars that look and feel like hybrids, except for their size. Some called the SUV a fad, others called electric a flash in the pan. It looks like both will be with us for a while and now they’ve begun to collide. As the SUV tries to reinvent its reputation as a crossover, watch the copy/pasting unfold.

Where’s my Smart Car?Ctrl+VoPINIoN


Glass That Back Up!

Now it’s time to put it all together. We’ve done the deep dive during part one, and now it’s time to step back and see how everything fits together, where patterns overlap, and how they might affect the world we live in and the work we do.

Trends raise our awareness of the social and cultural changes that are constantly occurring around us. Use the predictions and observations in this section to discover new ways to address consumer needs and to design new products, services or experiences. At Kaleidoscope, we expect Wanderlust trends to inspire action. Built from tangible examples that can be easily reapplied, each connection made in this section is designed for easy access. Feel free to modify or evolve the ideas to best fit your needs.

We’re constantly referencing our past work to see where patterns have held steady, transformed, or died off. The content in this section references past editions of Wanderlust, so if you’d like a copy, let us know.


31

37 34

32

41

FORECASTERPredictions for how trends impact key industries.

CALL TO ACTIONWhat are you waiting for?

BLENDERWhere transportation and furniture worlds collide.

TRACkERSee how the Wanderlust observations have sustained, evolved, or faded over time.

part two:

applications

w

Our applications combine hours of observation and analysis over the past few years at multiple trade shows and events. Check out our past editions if you’d like to dive more deeply into the concepts.


See a trend here you’re not familiar with? Let us know and we’ll send you one of our previous editions.

FoLLoW THE LIGHT

MASH AESTHETICS

BACK To BAUHAUS

CoNCRETE JUNGLE

SUPPLY AND DESIGN

FLYTTER

CYBORG

NATUUR

DIY

DIREkT

le MONDE ANCIEN

RETROSEXUAL

STRONG, SILENT

2009ICFF, Salone

2010ICFF, Salone, NAIAS

1

2

3

4

56

7

8


Light continues to be a source of experimentation in design far beyond the lighting category. Affordable and effective lighting technologies enhance the animated, moving objects that make up Flytter.

Light technologies, in particular LEDs, have become more accessible and affordable. By applying light in unexpected features on cars, furniture, and other objects, designers bring their products to life in new ways.

Trends in sustainability continue into the auto show, with an emphasis on the short term. Hybrid and eco-friendly production cars indicate the urgency with which manufacturers are trying to provide solutions.

An evolution of 2009’s Supply & Design, Natuur adjusts the trend’s path slightly, incorporating realistic nature imagery and objects in a more serious tone.

Tired of last year’s pure form of rationality, the Direkt style of modern design incorporates subtle, idiosyncratic details to hold one’s attention, while not straying for classic Bauhaus roots.

While not immediately obvious, there is a connection between Concrete Jungle and Cyborg through the expressed importance of original, natural ingredients and components.

While transparency remains important across products and brands, there has been a shift away from knowing a product’s lifecycle towards using a more pure, unaltered product in the first place.

Nature remains a popular form of inspiration, with each year bringing new interpretations and variations on the theme.

Tracking Trends

Some patterns sustain over long periods of time, some die off quickly, and others morph into new ideas. Constantly refining our point of view, our observations are tracked over time. Along each path, markers indicate key influencers and motivators for each trend.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8


once filled to the brim with abstract metaphors intended to evoke emotions and strengthen strong bonds with users, the design world is moving away from poetry and moving towards prose. Gone are the gestures of plants and other living things in favor of the real thing. Coat racks aren’t inspired by tree branches; they literally look like them. Cars feature leafy fabrics, lamps, and interfaces. Taxidermy, perhaps the ultimate expression of literalism, appears to be everywhere.

It seems that the more our world advances technologically, the more it attempts to incorporate natural forms and signals. Last year, we identified the furniture trend Concrete Jungle, which introduces elements of nature into our uncompromisingly modern world. This year’s trend emerges out of many of the same reactions. Some consumers cope with the pace of technology and urbanity by surrounding themselves with reminders that simpler lifestyles still exist. others thrive on the pressures of modern life, using Reverse Abstraction as a humorous, ironic way to show self-awareness.

Reverse AbstractionA Blend of Natuur & Cyborg

BLENDER


Aware of their role in encouraging rapid consumption, Design’s internal struggle with this power has often resulted in products that are more simple, austere, long-lasting, and well-crafted. While this point of view remained uninteresting to many businesses, evolving consumer sophistication indicates a shift in priorities. Products with simple impressions and refined silhouettes in both automotive and furniture categories indicate a newfound interest in attracting consumers through curious simplicity. once they’ve begun to interact with a product, consumers find these products filled with interesting details to delight them.

For the mass consumer, access to everything is enabling people to be more discerning. Teens in oklahoma can now easily track denim trends in happening osaka. overloaded with information, people learn how to filter out pushy messaging and visual noise. Economic troubles force higher end shoppers to be more restrained as well, since their mass counterparts disapprove of any outward expression of wealth or advantage. Regardless of class or status, everyone desires indulgences, so they head off in search of something more subtle.

Differentiation is in the DetailsA Blend of Direkt & Strong/Silent

BLENDER


The postmodern design world constantly references its own history for inspiration. In the past years, one key decade or design movement triumphantly reemerges for a short time to rule over it’s tradeshow. However, we’re now seeing an explosion of experimentation with historical design. Everything from Victorian to Vuvuzela is appearing in the furniture world, while the automotive industry leans on redesigns of successful models from four different decades. Strangely enough, all these designs coexist pretty nicely, feeling less and less like nostalgia. Building on the Mash Aesthetics trend from 2009, our post-post-modern reality relies on the juxtaposition of once opposing elements for new sources of innovation.

The current approach is like firing a shotgun loaded with design cues from myriad eras and movements. We’ve seen mash culture in music and fashion for years, and now more mass-produced objects have adopted the trend. Entire cultures are now built around the pieces and parts of past generations. It’s important to remember that the vintage and retro themes are not always about an escape for modernity, not about nostalgia. This trend is for innovators looking forward, as they use their unprecedented access to style to find new solutions to new problems.

Mash to the FutureA Blend of Le Monde Ancien & Retrosexual

BLENDER


While the furniture and auto worlds look to the past for inspiration, new opportunities emerge in everyday consumer products through many of the same motivations. In a chaotic world, consumers respond to vintage and retro themed packaging as it reminds them of a simpler (and higher quality) time in their life. Brands use their heritage to reconnect with jaded consumers and provide peace of mind. By reverting to a simple message, many products cut through marketing hype and get to the core of consumer needs.

Designers can also look to the past for innovative ideas that will help products stand out at retail. old school ideas applied to modern times, often resurrected through technological advancements, have the potential to form something groundbreaking.

Simpler TimesRoot trend: Retrosexual

Can you tell which products are vintage and which ones are new? (We can’t either.)

FoRECAST


The more technology advances, the more people yearn to reconnect with the natural world. Bioelectronics is an emerging field, particularly in healthcare, but we see it’s application across all consumer electronics. Form following function, these electronics tend to mimic their inspiration found in nature. We see this explicitly in furniture and automobiles, and we expect to see this trend continue to creep into more aspects of our lives. The natural symbols are not a rejection of technology, it is technology and nature existing in paradoxical harmony.

Glossy black plastic is becoming antiquated, soon to be replaced with forms, textures, and colors that remind the consumer that nature provides the best color palette. Authenticity will be a key to success in this approach; a revival of beige-colored plastics won’t make the cut.

Image: kennymatic | Flickr

BioelectronicRoot trend: Natuur

FoRECAST


People have always enjoyed customizing their cars. Whether they apply a few crudely-placed stickers to the back windshield or replace every mechanical component with chrome-plated aftermarket parts, it seems like everyone wants to make the products they own more personal.

While customization grows in categories like footwear and consumer electronics, major automakers have yet to fully capitalize on this trend. Despite some efforts in this area, cars have become increasingly more complicated to repair or refine. Most automobiles cover up most of the working parts under the hood, discouraging self-maintenance. While this

has helped their service businesses, they may also be missing out on an important return to do-it-yourself resourcefulness.

Imagine if anyone could assemble a car without instructions. While proposals like this require a lot of investment, the auto industry aches for change. What if automakers created a plug and play system that allowed consumers to replace parts as easily as plugging a socket into the wall? Allowing consumers better and more intuitive access to their vehicles makes them more aware of the help they need to make their car perform at its very best.

The Car You Build YourselfRoot trend: DIY

FoRECAST


Not surprisingly, many healthcare product providers must prioritize other aspects of their business before design. The resulting products have historically been difficult to use and intimidating for patients. Leveraging design as a tool to improve recovery times and quality of care, the healthcare industry’s perspective on design is shifting. once technology optimizes certain processes and procedures, design becomes the key tool for businesses to differentiate their offering.

The Direkt trend will help emerging healthcare businesses jump the curve. on products, the clean, uninterrupted surfaces will emphasize the technology beneath while comforting patients through it’s modern appeal. Especially with capital equipment, applying the Direkt aesthetic will help products that need to retain a classic aesthetic for extended periods of time. In environments, the modern-but-idiosyncratic aesthetic reminds patients of their homes and aids recovery. Doctors will choose the tool that seems precise, durable, and free of excessive styling.

Direkt HealthRoot trend: Direkt

FoRECAST


At Kaleidoscope, we like trends that inspire ideas, but we love trends that inspire action. With each new project, we assess the cultural landscape to identify trends and brands that are a good match. A trend may represent an opportunity to express your brand in a new way. However, sometimes it is more authentic for a brand to be part of an anti-trend.

To fully understand each opportunity, we immerse ourselves in the trend. We gain empathy by designing and interacting with a space that represents our target. Most importantly, we don’t stop after we’ve achieved awareness. We generate tangible directions for how our insights will inform our current and future work.

The final step is to inspire teams, seeking both excitement and investment in an idea. Through visionary concept work, designers envision trends through the lens of a specific product or brand. Concepts can be quick cardboard models, life-like prototypes, or outlandish pieces solely for inspiration. Regardless, this step of creation is absolutely essential in making your ideas succeed. Good luck and have fun!

Trends should raise your awareness of the social and cultural changes happening around you. More importantly, they should inspire you to act. Use these trends to discover new ways to address consumer needs through new products, interactions, or experiences.

If You Don’t Use It, You’ll Lose ItOur call to action


Thank YouWe hope you enjoyed this book and found our observations valuable. If you have questions about Wanderlust, please contact us. We look forward to collaborating with you to bring these trends to life.

Katie [email protected]

This presentation is a collection of past and present work by designers around the world and does not intend to solely represent work by Kaleidoscope.


The refusal to rest content, the willingness to risk excess on behalf of one’s obsessions, is what distinguishes artists from entertainers, and what makes some artist adventurers on behalf of us all.

- John Updike

anderlust