Monthly Archives: February 2010

Trend Spotting Book Review: Let Them Eat Cake

By Simone | Published: February 27, 2010

Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses- as Well as the Classes by Pamela Danziger explores the world of luxury, and discusses some very interesting trends within the luxury industry itself. Cake is an excellent trend spotter read because it provides some very interesting insights on key groups of early adopters, and suggests consumer trends that are sure to have an impact in the years to come.

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Anti-Sedentary Office Furniture

By Simone | Published: February 26, 2010

With today’s alarmingly high obesity rates and newly published findings suggesting that sitting down all day can be deadly, one would think designers would be rolling out a ton of new products to help us avoid the slow death of sedentary office life.
Below are the products available now that offer alternatives to static office work. Some are simple, others ridiculous, and still more highly intriguing- but each configuration can be seen as an emerging trend- one of anti-sedentarianism amongst knowledge workers.

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Trendspotting Company Profile: Mudpie

By Simone | Published: February 25, 2010

Mudpie supports fashion professionals via trend intelligence and design resources. The company offers online subscription services, printed publications, and design consultancy.
The company delivers its products through five major sites: Mudpie, Mpdclick, Trendbooks, Denimhead, and its Consultancy site. Mudpie also offers products and services via its collaborative partner Denimhead; a fashion service specializing in denim and casual sportswear.

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On Asperger Syndrome and its Future Potential

By Simone | Published: February 18, 2010

There have been some interesting discussions about Aperger syndrome lately centering around the disorder’s position in society.  Due to increased awareness of the disorder and the empowerment of those who have it, more people are considering Asperger’s as an advantage rather than a curse. Increased Awareness Aspies have been gradually making their way into mainstream [...]

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Trend Spotting Book Review: Curious Customs

By Simone | Published: February 17, 2010

Curious Customs by Thaddeus Tuleja explores the background behind nearly three hundred different cultural practices and artifacts. Entries are grouped into sections such as etiquette, gestures and postures, transitions, foodways, and holidays. Most explanations are no more than a couple of paragraphs, but include information on origins, evolution, and cultural significance. Though it isn’t exactly [...]

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Trend Spotting Lesson 2: Fight Your Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex

By Simone | Published: February 16, 2010

According to trend spotter William Higham, effective trend forecasters must eliminate assumptive bias by believing the unbelievable and accepting the unacceptable. I think this open mindset is one of the key ways to develop that elusive special intuition that some people allude to when describing world class trend spotters.  Cayce Pollard, for example (a coolhunting [...]

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Trend Spotting Book Review: 2011: Trendspotting For The Next Decade

By Simone | Published: February 12, 2010

In an effort to get a general grasp of the overall trend forecasting industry, I have attempted to get my hands on and read every book I can that addresses trends, trend spotting, and trend forecasting.  Some books are highly formalized and research-based, others are more personalized and subjective.  2011: Trendspotting For The Next Decade [...]

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The Future of Cosmetic Surgery

By Simone | Published: February 11, 2010

A couple of days ago, I came across a clip on a girl in China who is getting plastic surgery to look just like Jessica Alba: Self-esteem and freakish ex-boyfriend issues aside, I think it’s interesting that this young woman is out to not only fix up her nose or skin, but to assume the [...]

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Trend Spotter Profile: Laura Feinstein

By Simone | Published: February 10, 2010

Laura Feinstein is a writer and multimedia artist living in Brooklyn, New York.  She does a broad range of work for various clients and has experience with copywriting, editing, writing, and marketing.  In 2009, Laura wrote a couple of trend spotting pieces for PSFK.  In our interview below, Laura elaborates on how she got started [...]

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Remix Culture & Loving Life

By Simone | Published: February 9, 2010

I have been brushing up on my Boing Boing lately, and came across this excellent discussion on the evolution of remix culture. Normative makes some excellent points, and draws interesting disdinctions.  He points out that these mashups and remixes have the power to alter “the way we relate to each other.  All of our social [...]

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