Identifying
design trends
What are emerging design trends? To answer this question, nine student researchers from Brigham
Young University attended the 2017 Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, Netherlands, with an openended
mission to take photographs of exhibited projects. After they returned, some 300 pictures were
classifi ed into the nine trends explored here. This project allows students to frame their own work
within emerging design trends. By Hannah Lutz, Hannah Cardall, Michaela Hill and Bryan Howell
Socially
engaged
Using social
values to engage
in solutions of a
political nature
Example: Alissa
Reeves’ IV Walk (pictured below):
Humanises the essential task of holding
an intravenous drip bag by installing it in
a backpack (www.is.gd/hadaxi
hadaxi)
Productionconscious
Rede ning
production
materials, where
they come from
and how they are
acquired in an anti-mass production
movement
Example: The Travel Agency turns used
glassware into new lamps
Design for
agency
Creating technology
to de-standardise
or customise the
user’s experience
with artefacts
Example: Kristaps Polïtis’s Printstrument
uses 3D printing to combine a series of
modules into unique musical instruments
(www.is.gd/emusig)
Connective
Designing with the
intent to connect
humanity in ways
that promote
emotional and
cultural poignancy
Example: Atelier NL’s collection of local
sands from around the world is used to
make glassware (www.is.gd/osulus)
Material
Innovation
Rede ning material
use, using ‘waste’
for new production
of high-quality items
for everyday use
in ways that bring out the material’s
natural abilities
Example:
Billie van Kawijk’s intestine
handbag (shown below;
www.is.gd/cinififi )
16
www.ied.org.uk
/hadaxi
/emusig)
/osulus)
/cinififi
/www.ied.org.uk