As 2012 comes to a close, what will be the trends to watch out for in the year? Simon Griffin, Director of Design at research-led design firm, Etre, takes a look a 10 trends to put into your plans for 2013…
1. More input methods
If 2012 was about touch, next year will be about gestures and voice.
2. Smarter things to come – design for ‘ubiquitous computing’
Smart phones, toys and appliances are already here but these are just the start. Technology will be embedded into more things in 2013 from clothes to watches to utensils to glasses (and perhaps even, our bodies), and these objects will become increasingly smarter.
3. More fragmentation = a more inclusive approach
The digital landscape has shattered into a million little pieces. Not so long ago, we only had to design for a handful of browsers running on a handful of operating systems installed on a handful of devices. Now, in terms of devices alone, we have to consider desktops, laptops, ultrabooks, notebooks, e-readers, tablets, tablet-laptop hybrids, mini tablets, smartphones, smartphone-tablet hybrids, feature phones and more.
4. Social media are fragmenting too
It’s not just the digital landscape that is fragmenting; the social media landscape is fragmenting too. Mass adoption of sites like Facebook and Twitter has meant that the signal that once existed within has been drowned out by noise. As a result, users are beginning to migrate to niche (that is, more personal, more relevant) services.
5. Media fragmentation continues
Media are fragmenting too. In the not so distant past, companies reached out to us via print, radio, television, internet, mobile and in-store (in person). Nowadays, in the mobile space alone, they can reach us via web, voice, email, SMS, MMS, apps, instant messaging and more (on our phones, tablets, laptops and e-readers).
6. Some consolidation – HTML5
Next year won’t be solely about fragmentation; there will be consolidation in some areas too. HTML5, for example, will start to turn the browser into the main application development environment (replacing the desktop in this role).
7. More mobile in 2013
Mobile is rapidly overtaking all other forms of media consumption. It’s where we spend most of our time and where we will spend even more time in 2013 as 4G takes hold and our phones evolve to become wallets (with the arrival of mobile payment technology proper), keys, health consultants and more.
8. Better data (Not big data)
Collecting data is easy. Extracting insight from it is hard. Many of the companies that we’ve spoken to in 2012 were/are overwhelmed by big data. In the past, most datasets were structured and thus relatively easy to inventory, cleanse, aggregate, manage and mine. Today, many are unstructured—such as the freeform, fast-moving conversations that occur on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter—and thus much harder to work with.
9. The Quantified Self
Smarter gadgets and cheaper data storage are allowing us to capture more of our lives. And as a result, we’re becoming more and more interested in measuring our lives—from “miles jogged” to “hours slept” to “calories consumed”. Analysis of these data can lead to interesting insights about how we work, rest and play. But such analysis is tricky, and many of us don’t have the patience to sift through all the noise to find the signal.
10. Better personalisation – could this lead to isolation?
Businesses have long tailored their websites around our interests. Mass adoption of mobile devices over the last few years has taken this a step further, allowing businesses to tailor their services around our location too. One negative side-effect of such tight personalisation is that we’ll increasingly find ourselves “trapped in the filter bubble”.
By Simon Griffin
Director of Design
Etre
www.etre.com