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Future Forecast 2023 Report and Webinar

Future Forecast 2023 by The Future Laboratory

Following a tumultuous year, 2023 looks to celebrate the innovation that has continued to prevail, the innovators and innovations that disrupt sectors and the trends that provide them with the headwinds of change to do so.

At The Future Laboratory, we have been documenting wave after wave of disruption as innovators take on the challenges that are designed to make tomorrow different, but crucially, to make it better and more regenerative.

This year's Future Forecast 2023 collection features a PDF trend report and access to a 30-minute webinar. Within this, you’ll discover 50 cross-sector trends and innovations, a series of viewpoint interviews, 10 industry disruptors and the directions to monitor according to The Future Laboratory’s analysts.

Prepare for 365 more days of innovation, regeneration and inspiration – let the Future Forecast 2023 help you to understand and maximise the sector opportunities that lie ahead.

Face the future

LS:N Global members can access the Future Forecast 2023 PDF trend report and 30-minute webinar for free. Non-members can purchase the collection on The Future Laboratory shop

CT scanning start-up Lumafield champions a new era of manufacturing transparency

Lumafield. Branding by Play, US

US – Touted as a breakthrough in manufacturing transparency and diagnostics, X-ray CT scanning start-up Lumafield has been rebranded in a bid to convey trust and capture technology’s wonder.

We are increasingly reliant on ever more complex products, tools, electronics and equipment, and the manufacturing industry remains one of our greatest challenges – especially as there is an urgent need to diagnose problems faster and more efficiently. San Francisco-based Lumafield essentially democratises access to a key engineering technology – CT scanning – which allows engineers to see inside products without taking them apart. It combines hardware and software solutions and AI-powered deep learning with the ambition to become a universal debugger for a range of physical products and technologies.

The firm has partnered with design and branding studio Play to create an identity promoting understanding and engendering trust in the products and tools we use every day – but also capturing the essence of Lumafield’s character as a soulful futurist and a charismatic disruptor.

Strategic opportunity

Although a manufacturing tool, Lumafield’s new identity offers lessons for consumer-facing tech brands. Side-step traditional corporate identities in favour of humanising tech and making it more characterful, capturing its beauty – in this case, CT scans – and potential

McDonald's launches a new on-the-go food station concept

Texas – Accelerating ease and convenience is a new on-the-go McDonald’s food station concept by design studio UXUS, aimed at catering for changing customer service needs.

Located just outside Fort Worth, the restaurant concept has three new features aimed at improving speed and accuracy of orders. The inside of the restaurant features a delivery room for couriers, while outside the restaurant there are multiple parking spaces dedicated to kerbside collection, as well as designated delivery driver spaces.

Alongside these features, The Order Ahead Lane allows customers who have used the McDonald’s app to receive their orders via a food and beverage conveyor belt located in a separate lane, skipping the traditional Drive Thru queue. ‘The technology in this restaurant not only allows us to serve our customers in new, innovative ways, it gives our restaurant team the ability to concentrate more on order speed and accuracy, which makes the experience more enjoyable for everyone,’ explains Keith Vanecek, the franchisee operating the test restaurant.

With supply chains continuing to be disrupted and a growing need for brands to cater for Accelerating Convenience, McDonald’s showcases how using technology can improve the customer experience and build brand loyalty.

McDonald’s, US

Strategic opportunity

Flexible and agile brands will be offering curated and seamless experiences wherever consumers are. How can dining concepts be more agile, seamless and effective in response to future demands and needs?

Fast fashion may suffer from a consumer about-turn on throwaway style

Same Same but Different by Sofia Ilmonen

Global – The mood of buyers is shifting. According to The State of Fashion report from McKinsey & Co and The Business of Fashion, 65% of shoppers plan to purchase more long-lasting, high-quality items.

‘Consumer attitudes are changing in the wake of the pandemic, as many embrace a ‘less is more’ approach,’ says the annual report, which also reveals that consumers consider newness to be one of the least important factors in making purchases.

The report also details how new EU regulations are aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the fast fashion industry by increasing garment durability – and forcing a rethink of throwaway culture.

The consultancy warned that an inherent switch is essential, with companies needing to move from volume-driven to inventories with higher margins, which could reduce warehouse stock or unsold items slated for landfill. It cited case studies from Reebok, which finalises products based on consumer votes, to Louis Vuitton, which is increasing its made-to-order business. The change in tactics is meant to reduce the stock that ends up on shelves or shipped to the dump.

We explore ways in which garment life can be extended in Convertible clothing market and Demand-led Design.

Strategic opportunity

Explore opportunities for co-creation to develop products that consumers have an emotional investment in, while also baking durability into product design