LaFutura 2013 in Amsterdam
Posted: May 21, 2013 Filed under: Researching trends | Tags: Futuring, Iamsterdam, LaFutura, Road Trip to Inniovation, The Future Navigator, TrendONE Leave a comment »NOW NEW NEXT
On November 11th 2013 researchers, innovators and creators will gather in Amsterdam for the co-working unconference LaFutura. The goal of this meeting is to map the business of trend research and future insights in order to create a framework for this new industry. The theme of this event is ‘NOW NEW NEXT Building the future industry’.
People from all disciplines working with trends and the future are invited, from trend researchers to scenario planners and from concept developers to innovation managers. Our starting point is a map called ‘The Future Navigator’, described by Delia Dumitrescu in the book ‘Road Trip to Innovation’. This will be a day full of insights and challenges on the future of this rising new industry.
LaFutura
LaFutura is a network and an annual one-day gathering of futurists, innovators and trendspotters from all over the world, to exchange insights with the aim to grow the trend and futures industry. LaFutura has been organized three times before, in Berlin, New York and Helsinki, where it brought together over 100 experts involved in trends and innovation. The event is organized on a non-profit basis and was initiated by TrendONE.
Amsterdam 2013
Amsterdam is the place to be in 2013, a year in which the city looks back at its great history and at the same time builds on the future of their citizens and visitors. The city celebrates memorable events like 400 years of world famous canals, the re-opening of the Rijksmuseum and the inauguration of a new king.
The organizing team is a local network of professional trend researchers, strategic thinkers and concept developers gathered by Amsterdam based trend studio Trendslator. Join us and share your intelligence and intuition, thoughts and ideas for a common purpose. Save the date and stay tuned!
Erica Bol, Djenny Brugmans, Siang-Lan Go and Hilde Roothart
The Future Navigator
Posted: May 15, 2013 Filed under: Researching trends | Tags: Delia Dumitrescu, Road Trip to Innovation Leave a comment »Framework for the innovation industry
The Future Navigator is a generic and dynamic map that acts like a framework for the innovation industry, showing how its diverse approaches interrelate. It was gradually filled with the innovation approaches presented in Road Trip to Innovation in order to start a conversation regarding their meaning and purpose. It can be looked at as a chess table. Anybody who has additional information and strong motivations can modify it. The idea of the Future Navigator acting as a framework is to design a space where everybody from the innovation industry can find their place.
I drew two axes and assigned values: think-act (from low involvement with the client to high involvement) and watch-interpret (from the market to the consumer). If you follow the map clockwise from left to right you will notice that it starts with impulses and ends with processes and goes from a short-term to long-term look into the future. In an innovation project, the axes don’t need to be followed in any one particular sequence. Alternatively, each approach could be a standalone activity.
Watch is about researching, looking for signals and trends.
Think of their meaning for today’s society, their interdependence and impact in general.
Interpret refers to extracting meanings and insights from a research process and eventually applying it for building a new product or service strategy. Defining the information in a context.
Act is the implementation, the concrete steps that have already been defined, through various research methods: who, when, where, how.
Three years ago I started my road trip to find out what innovation is made of and I never stopped since. Creating the Future Navigator was to understand the differences between innovation approaches. I believe now, it is time to explore their overlaps and LaFutura is a great place to do so. All those innovation methodologies and companies out there didn’t fully understand yet that they are no competitors. They are complementary and aim for the same targets. They should start talking, mingling and exploring their overlaps to create holistic innovation approachs and courageous collaborations, to break boundaries and create the future together.
Delia Dumitrescu
www.roadtriptoinnovation.com, www.lafutura.de
Hotel con Corazón
Posted: August 27, 2011 Filed under: Market trends Leave a comment »Hotel con Corazón in Nicaragua is not just a hotel; it is a hotel with a heart. This means that the hotel, in its unique way, is contributing to the sustainable development of Nicaragua, by investing in education and employment. With the hotel as the inspiring heart. Marcel Zuidhof and Onno Oostveen, two Dutch guys with ‘big hearts,’ established Hotel con Corazon in 2006. With extended experience gained in the international business world, they left the Netherlands to make their dreams come true in Nicaragua. One and a half years later, Hotel con Corazon is now greeting its first guests.
Onno and Marcel did not achieve this all by themselves. They have an enormous network of energetic helpers and faithful supporters, both in the Netherlands as well as Nicaragua. The initial capital was raised through fundraising efforts of numerous ‘amigos’ in the Netherlands in combination with big public and private sponsors such as Wilde Ganzen (Wild Geese), the Dutch National Commission for Sustainable Development (NCDO) and Carlson Wagonlit Travel. And during the construction phase of the hotel no less than 36 friends came to roll up their sleeves and pitched in.
Blush. Design in full color
Posted: June 30, 2011 Filed under: Researching trends | Tags: Scholten and Baijings, Stedelijk museum of Den Bosch Leave a comment »
Colorful process
When you enter the exhibition area of the Stedelijk museum of Den Bosch you walk through a tunnel of color. The exhibition “Blush. Design in full color. “The first museum survey of the designer Scholten and Baijings. The Dutch design duo has been making products together for eleven years with a classy finish, enchanting colors and subtle use of materials. This ranges from tableware, cushions, and rugs up to tables and chairs. The focus of the exhibition lies in the way the duo works. They are a duo that likes to work well thinking. ” A method in which there is more room for surprises, which creates new results. Besides the products, there are also models and prototypes to on display. So you see how from a piece of cardboard and strips of tape you can create a dinner set. In a corner called ‘D-constructed ” you can see which parts of the product makes the design. They see their products as a sort of building kit. It is not just only their idea. The whole process and the people who are involved get attention. The duo strikes a bridge between designer, craftsmen and manufacturer. This gives their products a fine balance between design and usability. In a time where there is more room for color and design, Scholten Baijings products fall into place. Reason enough for an overview and a look behind the scenes.
www.sm-s.nl
Everybody Electric
Posted: June 30, 2011 Filed under: Researching trends | Tags: Everybody Electric, NEMO Leave a comment »
The younger the better
A science center, that is enjoyable and understandable, NEMO in Amsterdam has one. The name refers to a kind of no man’s land, a place where visitors can crawl into the skin of scientists, technologists and technicians. Not only in there skin but also in there jacket. There is a lab where in a white coat with glasses you can do real experiments. The NEMO is not only fun and educational for children. Adults can also learn something. Especially the temporary exhibition “All Electric” is important for young and old. The oil supply is running out, and CO2 emissions have to decrease significantly. The traffic is a big problem. The solution? All Electric! Experiments with electric vehicles go back many years. The importance of it has only just accrued. The NEMO is perfect place to bring this awareness. For older visitors, it is a great opportunity to quietly learn about the possibilities. For example, the Nissan Leaf displayed, an electric family car that was declared Car of the Year 2011. The young visitors learn that a car or scooter can go into a power outlet. They are the future. There is an interactive way to explain what a smart grid is. A smart electricity grid that will be needed all day to distribute the electricity. A day at NEMO makes you see the importance of science and technology. Perhaps the youngest will realize the same and we will see them back in the lab wearing a bigger jacket though.
www.e-nemo.nl
Bike share schemes shift into high gear
Posted: June 17, 2011 Filed under: Market trends | Tags: Bike-Share, Cycle-hire operators Leave a comment »
Sharing bikes
Around the world, cycle-hire operators are rolling out bicycles that were tucked away for the cold and rainy months. Hundreds of new bikes and docking stations will join existing fleets, while many more cities, from Kailua to Tel Aviv to the Big Apple are joining the bike-sharing wave for the first time.The idea is simple: Charge a nominal fee to give people all the benefits of cycling without the hassle of bike ownership. It’s an old idea, but the concept of a bicycle fleet for shared use has undergone a very modern makeover in recent years. Today’s bikes are often equipped with GPS devices for tracking. Free and coin-deposit systems have given way to solar-powered, computerized docking stations designed to deter theft and afford easy installation. Users often can reserve a bicycle with a few taps on a smart phone, unlock a bike with the swipe of a smart card that links up with the local metro, and even track calories burned while pedaling. The number of bike-sharing services in 10 European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, has leapt to about 400, up from “only a few” a decade ago.
Source: www.nationalgeographic.com, June 7, 2011
Arnhem introduces Amber
Posted: June 17, 2011 Filed under: Researching trends | Tags: Arnhem Mode Biennale Leave a comment »
Arnhem Fashion Biennale
This June Arnhem is all about the Arhnem Fashion Biennale. The host is named Amber. Amber is fashion and fashion is Amber. Just as unpredictable, uninhibited and whimsical as fashion. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes ugly, sometimes beautiful in its ugliness. Fashion is very versatile, like women. That is why artistic director JOFF chose the name Amber for this edition of the Arhnem Fashion Biennale. Fashion becomes a person, a good way to explain the diversity within this field. It´s clear that fashion is not just about buying clothes. The main exhibition takes you into the world of Amber, in all her aspects. In addition to clothing there is also room for design, photography, film, audio and products, seen from a fashion perspective. There is work by Prada, Jil Sander and Klavers of Angels, but also BLESS, Martin Margiela and Iris van Herpen. The works are not just simply on exhibit. Everything is put down in a carefully designed system, which empowers the design. A painted path leads you through the old factory hall and lets you hear, feel and see what fashion is all about. This exhibition is the main activity and worthwhile, but not the only thing there is to do. There are lectures, workshops and various initiatives throughout the city. Amber lives in Arnhem ,till July third.
www.arnhemmodebiennale.com
