“More you” is the catchphrase for the launch of the Windows 8 ad campaign, and it captures a trend that has been strengthening over the last year. The ability to speedily share aspects of our lives with friends and strangers through sites like Facebook, Circles, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram allows us to define and broadcast an image of ourselves that is intended for public consumption. Our start screen, our playlists and our choice of apps makes a strong and intentional statement about who we are and how we’d like to be perceived. Our uniqueness is cause for celebration.
The trend toward personalized medicine has similar roots. More and more, we are willing to share our DNA to allow a highly focused and personalized regimen of care for any illness or potential illness. Additionally, we can follow people’s progress through treatment regimens on blogs and web-based support groups. The more personal the information, the more unique, the better. Customization and self absorption are now available to all, and no longer a luxury for the few.
This emphasis on public self-expression will filter strongly into the A/E/C industry in 2013. Look for the following five trends to emerge:
- Clients will want designs that strengthen and define their identity. More projects will start with the client’s narrative of what they stand for and how their culture needs to be reflected in their facilities. This will take precedence over the functional description of their needs.
- Clients will customize their design and construction teams. More projects will skip the interview and RFP stage and instead will be negotiated with a custom tailored team of architects, engineers and builders, known to have the ability to produce the image that exists in the minds eye of the client.
- Builders will form alliances with designers to redefine their capabilities. It will become increasingly important for builders to demonstrate their uniqueness and to be in tune with the unconventional drive of their client base. They will focus on the ability to deliver the design intent and seek endorsement from design professionals.
- Firms will self-publish on design-oriented websites to stay fresh and current. The long process of being published in traditional media creates a lag between current thinking and public perception. More firms will gain their fame through the web and social media.
- Design will become edgier and more innovative. By definition, the trend toward customization and self-expression will require designers to take more risks, experiment with more materials and to reconsider the most basic aspects of design. This should spark a new wave of design innovation.
It is fascinating to see the creative potential that technology has tapped into. The world’s newest comedic, musical and athletic talent is being fostered and discovered in real time as content is “liked”, shared, followed and tagged. We can find far more relevant and entertaining ideas now than ever before. Before you know it, the built environment is going to take on this fresh and personal approach to. We’ll see “more you” in the coming year.
Mark Reed, AIA is a principal at Lab Life. Science. Architecture, Inc., a Boston-based design firm.