• by Cheryl Swanson , December 10, 2007

We look out upon a 5- to-10-year time horizon to allow clients the ability to use trend insights to optimize their brands. Today's story is going to be in the 10-year time horizon, focusing on the large cultural shifts that will impact lifestyles in the next 10 years.

For the last decade or more our senses have been working overtime, trying to cope with the onslaught of data in the Survival of the Fastest era. Even though we self-censor 85% of incoming stimuli, we are still overloaded and sleep deprived. While we've survived, and succeeded, in the early years of the information age, we've spent most of our time trying to catch up. Now we need to reconnect to our humanity if we hope to thrive in the emerging "Imaginational Era."

Three key themes will define the coming Imaginational Era: Fantasy as Fuel, The Genetics of Aesthetics, and Expansion and Discovery.

Our fast lives are forcing us to redefine our personal and collective tempos, as we embrace spontaneity, creativity and daydreaming as antidotes to technology's sensory overload. A recent Harvard study shows that our minds may wander during routine tasks because daydreaming is the brain's normal state, rather than a distraction. Daydreaming is not just beneficial, it is necessary.

So how do we get back to the daydream state? By managing the technology that fueled the past 10 years and allowing our imaginations to fuel the next 10.

My teen niece, who was the paragon of one-handed, no-looking texting last year, was not texting this summer. When asked why, she said she'd rather talk to her friends or actually see them in person.

We are not going to get rid of technology, but we are going to start asserting our own control over it to begin to thrive... After a decade plus of fantasy and medievalism in areas like gaming, entertainment (Harry Potter), etc....the territory is being leveraged to target adults, all of which reconnects us with our primal stories, where good and evil are clearly drawn and wonder and imagination are central themes.

Despite the imbalance in Federal art ($160 million annually) to war ($720 million a daily in Iraq) funding, artists at the fringe of the culture are creating a narrative of rejuvenation, renewal and thriving that we are collectively starting to hear. As humans, we all want to be asked, to be emboldened to do something beyond our own lives, for the country and the planet. We're starting to listen.

So rather than technology flattening our senses, we're using it to ignite our creativity. For example, Lever House has commissioned Damien Hirst to create what has become a controversial, thought provoking installation in homage to many modern artists, in its all-glass lobby where it can be seen by all 24 hours a day. The goal was to celebrate art, create social commentary and reinforce the building's stature in the city and as a landmark in its own right.

Le Meridien is been repositioning as a lifestyle brand with a focus on art and design. Each hotel will have a cultural concierge and cards with information about nearby cultural events. Key cards, designed by artists around the world, are considered collectible. Art exhibits and lectures will be hosted, so that "when a person leaves the hotel, they have a feeling that their life has been enhanced and grown."

Private Sector Science on the Rise

Respect for science, and a need for discovery is burgeoning, again from the private sector, not the government, which will come to fruition in the next decade, allowing us to THRIVE and helping us sustain life long into the future.

The kids who saw the moon landing, and dreamed of a life in space, have grown up, made money, and taken matters into their own hands, i.e., Galactic Suite, and Virgin Galactic, while TV channels like Discovery, National Geographic and The Science Channel are experiencing record high ratings among elusive 25- to-54-year-old males.

"Outer space exploration is not just a fun or sci-fi subject. The human population is growing by 2% a year, increasing 10-fold every century as it strains the earth's ability to cope. With earthly water resources at record lows, scientists are looking to harvest the vast amounts of hydrogen from Mars, which could be converted to drinking water."

With everyone fighting for oil resources, scientists see the moon as a source of fuel for the planet's energy needs--Helium 3, a rare isotope, might be converted to clean fusion energy.

Beyond laptops, pods and palms

In the midst of all this turmoil, we need to recalibrate our collective rhythms and reconnect with our inherent human-ness to thrive in the next decade and beyond. To do this our relationship with technology must evolve. We must start to put parameters on addictive usage and begin to use technology to optimize our lives and to liberate our creativity, rather than "live fast." Professionally we need to transition our cultures from "surviving to thriving" by insisting, without exception, that we take time to be human.

We need to think beyond our laptops, pods and palms, to literally get our head out of our hands and think beyond our daily lives. We must not fear the absurd and we no longer have the luxury to fear failure.

Culturally we need to embrace our inherent aesthetic sensibilities, whether it's music, painting or design. In a branding context this means design because through these media we realize our aspirations, wishes and desires. Art and design represent our dreams come to life, allowing us to reconnect with the person inside who imagines, who creates, who explores, who envisions planes that orbit the earth, fabrics that encapsulate the sounds of the human experience and discoveries of resources in place on-world and off!

It is imperative that we use our imaginations to steward the planet, its creatures and ourselves forward responsibly, boldly and with passion.

Swanson founded Toniq (www.Toniq.com) in 1999 after leading several design firms to world-class status with her emotions-based, visual approach to brand strategy development. At Toniq, she continues to evolve her strategic expertise by seeking new ways to connect with consumers. Swanson's years of trend tracking, design management and research have coalesced in a theory of "Brand Effervescence"an innovative approach to brand building. This image-based approach is a synthesis of cultural anthropology, consumer trends research, marketing and design, and a study of the psychology of symbolism and color.