Everyone thought 2016 was bad. That was before 2017. Over the past year, we learned Russia used social media ads to meddle in our election. Our data was stolen from Equifax, Yahoo, and Uber. It felt like virtually every man in a position of power was revealed to be a total dirtbag. The list goes on.
In the design industry, there is some good news. Many designers are taking their own roles in the events of 2017 to heart–and many of them have big plans to make 2018 a better year. We talked to everyone from systems thinkers and industrial designers to AI specialists, political activists, and chocolatiers, and asked each of them to name the trends and forces they think will shape the coming year.
Not only did they offer us a slew of industry shifts to watch out for; all of them shared that they feel an urge to make 2018 a better year than the last. In their plans, you’ll hear the optimism and self-reflection that only a year like 2017 could inspire.