Design Trends According to Jack

Head on over to Event Design Magazine's website this month and you'll be treated to a transcript of one of the "most well-received and on-point conversations" given at the magazine's annual Event Design Summit ever. Jack Rouse of Jack Rouse Associates, an experiential design firm, was asked to peer into his crystal ball and predict trends for the event and experiential design industry.

So what did he have to say? In a nutshell, he sees that design may be more "conservative, understated, and non-flamboyant," but that there is still a place for green design. Design in the future will involve getting into the minds of clients and creating solutions that not only make sense from a branding standpoint but also a business standpoint. Designers will also have to find a way to relate to consumers' changed attitudes as this downturn may have people making permanent changes to how they spend their leisure time.

You can check out the rest of Jack's predictions here.

Mr. Rouse definitely makes some valid points. Consumers are changing in response to this messy situation. They're reevaluating their spending, trading down in some instances and stopping completely in others. In a sense, they are developing new shopping habits and tastes. Even when the economy bounces back, it may be a while before the old habits reemerge -- if they ever do. As designers and suppliers to the industry, we'll have to remain flexible and understand that things may not quite return to "business as usual" as there may be a whole new "usual" by then.