Today we explore ‘Digitally Authentic’, the final key trend we have recognised that’s grown from the global events of 2020 into 2021/2022.
Never has a generation been so connected by not connecting at all.
The lines between authentic emotional relationships and artificially rendered realities are being redrawn by our human need for connection, understanding and meaning. Our ability to connect has almost made the isolation bearable.
Staggering advances in technology are fundamentally changing the way we live, work and relate to each other. This new chapter of human development, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, is now, truly, here.
2020 was a year that bloomed with digital energy, with so many of us exercising together online, having video conferences, hangouts with friends and collaborating remotely.
Cyberspace will make human life inclusive rather than displacing people. - Vineet Kumar, Cyber Peace Foundation
This need for remote connection gave many people, businesses and even industries the final boost they needed to invest in digital enablement. There has been a widespread realisation that technological advances can help us rather than hold us back.
Genuine connection is becoming a reality as people and businesses gain access to technology that they can use to reach out to each other across the globe.
While technological innovations are set in motion by people, people, in turn, are being changed by technological innovations. They are also impacting the world of design.
We see it in digital surrealism, in the work of multidisciplinary artists like Leif Podhajsky and Blake Kathryn, in immersive experiences like HoloVista that explore our relationship with technology, in short films like Hyper-Reality. ‘Digitally authentic’ is a theme that features an ethereal colour palette full of fragile blues, gentle purples and blushing pinks.
This change reaches far across industries, even into interior design, architectural engineering, and product design. Virtual reality, augmented reality and advanced 3D rendering techniques make imagined ideas tangible.
Using photorealistic rendering, designers can bring their interior design proposals to life for their prospective customers. Furniture manufacturers can build prototypes and experiment digitally in ways that would have been costly or cumbersome even a few years ago.
We are harnessing these technological advances in our own industry, never losing sight of the fact these advances are here to support us all by enabling authentic connection and enhanced creativity.
Thank you for following our trends journey. Explore the other two trends on our site: