New report outlines the key developments to watch in 2018

Technology is certainly the changing the world we live in, with the ubiquitous use of smartphones and widespread internet access standing as just two examples.

While at times it may seem like the biggest shifts are behind us, we could be standing at the beginning of a curve that shoots straight up into the stratosphere.

In a new report by Accenture, the research firm covers seven emergent trends expected to impact design, business and technology this year. Accenture notes that rapid technology advancement is changing the world, with artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies leading to both optimism and concern for the future.

“Each of our 2018 trends is born out of a fundamental tension – be it a shift, a collision or a parting of ways,” Mark Curtis, co-founder and chief client officer of Fjord explains.

“Digital versus physical, human versus machine, centralised versus decentralised, speed versus craft, automation versus control, traceability versus anonymity. Winners in 2018 will be those who best navigate these tensions and seize the opportunity to collectively design the world we’ll be living in.”

You can read the full report at the link below, but here are the seven trends expected to “shape the next generation of experiences”:

Physical Fights Back: Digital has had the limelight long enough – there are two brand experience headliners now. The time has come to blend the digital with the physical.

Computers Have Eyes: As well as comprehending our words, computers now understand images without any help from us. Imagine the exciting possibilities for next-generation digital services.

Slaves to the Algorithm: How do you design a marketing strategy to win over the algorithms – immune to conventional branding efforts – that sit between brands and their customers?

A Machine’s Search for Meaning: AI might change our jobs, but need not eliminate them. We can – and should – design our collaboration with the machines that will help us develop.

In Transparency We Trust: Blockchain has the potential to create transparency that will clear the fog of Internet ambiguity, regain lost trust, and repair relationships with the public.

The Ethics Economy: Organisations are feeling the heat to take stands on political and societal hot button issues, whether they want to or not. And consumers are speaking with their dollars, choosing brands that align with their core beliefs.

Design Outside the Lines: Design’s rapid ascendency and newfound respect within organisations is a win for all. But, in a world in which everyone thinks they’re a designer, today’s practitioners need to evolve – how they work, learn and differentiate themselves – if they are to continue having impact.

Fjord Trends (Link to full report)

Story by: Trends