One of the greatest impediments faced by trend spotters is that laypeople tend to assume they are one and the same.
History repeats itself, and trend researchers can gain a great deal of insight from looking at historical artifacts, practices, architecture, art, and landmarks. Though reading history books and visiting museums yields valuable insights, photography can aid research and trend reports by providing powerful visual impact.
Arguably the most prominent and mainstream form of trend photography, the enjoyment of fashion photography is by no means limited to forecasting firms, designers, and marketers. Rather, fashion photography has become a beloved art form enjoyed by mass markets the world over.
Product-based photography is an excellent means by which trend researchers can discover and disseminate new and interesting products. CScout Japan (a subset of CScout, an international trend forecasting consultancy) regularly shares photographs of new Japanese products in its blog posts and trend reports. As these particular product features indicate, certain geographic areas see new products long before they are internationally released. Photographing these products as they first make their way into a cutting-edge market makes it easier for trend consultants to share information on product innovation with interested clients in foreign markets.
Interviews comprise yet another subset of ethnography that can uncover invaluable information on new trends and significant developments. While most interviews are documented in written, audio, or video form, photographs can add significant depth and palatability to a written transcript, which is the most likely form of an interview as it would be included in a trend report.
As trend spotting is such an elusive and constantly evolving form, it is difficult to pin under a single definition. In the twentieth century, it was first positioned as a strategic tool to be used in time of war, and then, by governments. Trend spotting subsequently entered a more flowery period of fashion forecasting during [...]
Another subset of ethnography, garbology is the study of human behavioral patterns via observation of waste. A visual analysis of human detritus can reveal not only patterns of eating, working, travel, and leisure, but also a wealth of details regarding local infrastructure, packaging, waste management, and cultural values.
Now that we have a general layout of the industry, it would be helpful to consider its different forces of competition- specifically suppliers, buyers, substitutes, and complementors, and potential entrants.
The other day, one of my awesome friends shared with me a hilarious YouTube preview-parody involving slow murder executed via spoon. When I went back to watch the clip this afternoon, I found that there were a bunch of additional parodies floating out there, some of which are below: So apparently spoon murder is a [...]
Human observation, one of the larger subsets of ethnographic research, can be greatly augmented by photography. In the context of trend spotting, photography can reveal new behavior, innovative solutions, and creative practices as seen in the field.