Trend Analysis

Why

Catch up with novel developments before your competitors do.

How

Use reports by trend watchers as they summarize major trends in almost any area. Some trends may be short term (a hype), while others may have a long-term future. Make sense of trends based on their underlying data, for example: consumer behaviour, demographics, and technological developments. Relate these trends to your own design challenge.

Ingredients

• Understand & bookmark Gartner’s hype-cycle.

• Kickstarter as your homepage.

• Sense of how things change over time, depending on underlying causes.

• An ability to separate hypes from structural changes.

Practice

A trend analysis is often used to discover more about the novelty and timeliness of a design. Some companies employ trend spotters in their strategic planning cycle; they are given time to bring in and analyse new developments.