Lifestyle & Tech-nicolour

Hello and welcome to Dialogue.

In this piece, we explore latest trends in lifestyle design and consumer tech. From the rise of soft-tech to colourful personalisation, we outline the key opportunities for product brands in the coming year and beyond.

(4 minute read)

Soft-Tech, Quiet-Tech, the Google effect. Call it what you will, we feel we are now entering the second generation of the ‘domesticity of technology’.

First came the softening, humanising and crafting of consumer facing SMART-technology typified by Ivy Ross and her team at Google Design. Their vernacular of soft, textile clad forms, and the downplaying of previously overt expressions of performance tech is undeniably beautiful and wonderfully recognisable.

More recently we are witnessing the emergence of the new wave of lifestyle design. Led this time around by LG and Samsung, who are both crafting beautifully executed statement technology pieces. Where the statement is ‘graceful performance suited to life in the now’ and ‘tasteful additions’ to the curated home environment.

OBJET TV from LG is perhaps the epitome of this, whilst it leans on the tropes of theatre and painting as many have before (B&O in the 70’s), its execution perfectly epitomises the gentle domestic minimalism that many search for as part of a more tranquil modern relationship with tech.

Where next?

Invisibility and minimalism will always fight with impact and performance for tech brands, but we predict that many more will begin to lean to the former.

Expect the age old marketing gem of ‘personalisation’ to make a resurgence. With it comes new ways to infuse a more fluid, hybridised theme into our home decor. Expect to see colours designed to appeal to the mindful, sustainable, and youthful, bridging the gap between work and home.

Outside of the home, consumer tech is still firmly targeting Gen Z and their huge appetite for bold and colourful personalisation. Bold, gaudy, even purposefully discordant are the watch words for getting the look of now.

This craving for colour presents a huge opportunity for the big players in the industry. Google in contrast to Apple are owning this modern take on colour application. The former is desaturating brights, matching acids against near blacks, whilst Apple continues to explore the richer, full saturation they used to do so well.

Expect creative, and increasingly frequent, accessory releases by the big players within the industry. We anticipate a shift in ways to accessorise whilst increasing the longevity of core technology as the world backlashes against e-waste and brands seek to remain on the right side of the sustainability argument.

For the last twenty years we have created consumer experiences and category-defining products for global consumer brands and ambitious founders.

Our work is used to stimulate and provoke internal discussion; the North Star that shapes your future. We put great design into the hands of your consumers.