iF Design’s 2024 Trend Report and Conference
Comprehensive insight into transformative design gleaned from over 10,000 entries to the organization’s annual design award
The iF Design Trend Report 2024 is a valuable resource for understanding how design is adapting to the rapidly changing landscapes of technology, society and the environment. Created in collaboration with The Future:Project in Frankfurt, the report offers a cross-disciplinary perspective on design trends and their interplay with key technological and societal transformations. This year’s report (available for free until 19 July 2024) is organized around six major themes shaping our future: Human Digitality, Conscious Economy, Eco Transition, Glocalization, Mindshift Revolution and Co-Society. To complement the report, iF Design held their first ever Trend Conference in Berlin this past April, the day after their iF DESIGN AWARD NIGHT gala.
The Trend Report’s design is both functional and highly visual—an interactive PDF that allows readers to navigate non-linearly between different sections. Each of the identified trends are clearly defined and supported by data, insights and case studies. The use of sidebars and footers for navigation make it easy to access relevant information quickly.
What sets this iF Design Trend Report apart is its extensive coverage and interdisciplinary approach. The process included analysis across diverse industries, combining expert perspectives with findings from the iF DESIGN AWARD which received 10,800 entries from 72 countries. This extensive dataset provides a rich reflection of current developments in the design world, which was then analyzed with experts from various countries including Austria, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
To celebrate the launch of the report and bring its insights to life, iF Design organized their first-ever Trend Conference the morning after the award show in Berlin. Hosted by Lisa Gralnek, US Managing Director and Global Head of Sustainability + Impact at iF Design, five engaging speakers presented recent research and work, touching upon the themes in the Trend Report.
Anne-Liese Prem discussed “The Future of Branding in the Metaverse,” exploring how brands could evolve in the latest emerging digital landscape. Her presentation aligned with the Trend Report’s Human Digitality section, exploring how design humanizes technology, making digital interactions more intuitive and emotionally engaging by fostering community within various virtual worlds of the metaverse. These trends highlight the increasing importance of creating user-friendly and emotionally resonant technological experiences, and Prem contextualized them within digitally rendered virtual worlds.
Bridging Human Digitality to Conscious Economy, two sections of the report, Ziyuan Zhu presented “Humanizing AI in Design,” focusing on integrating AI as a collaborator in the design process and exploring AI embedded in physical objects ranging from the Tamagotchi of the 1990s to this year’s hot-new-thing, the Rabbit. Zhu brought to life the importance of tone of voice, mannerisms and unpredictability as elements that can make an AI more relatable. She also points out how the rise of AI technologies is reshaping work environments, making them more efficient and adaptable—a clear example of the The Conscious Economy which focuses on the shift from a performance-oriented society to one that values creativity, health, sustainability and collaboration.
Nadine Clarke and Richard Trigg from Tangent London spoke about “The Green Interface: Digital Design with Sustainability in Mind,” addressing how sustainable UX principles can reduce the carbon footprint of digital products and services. The duo offered best practices and a list of tools, like Eco Grader, to quickly evaluate and optimize the energy consumption of any website. Their talk aligned with the Eco Transition section of the Trend Report which focuses on how design can drive climate action and sustainability through three major tasks: design for circularity, design for climate adaptation and design for regeneration.
Giulia Frittoli from Bjarke Ingels Group gave a talk called “Social Nature—Designing Cities for People and the Planet,” emphasizing the integration of nature and urban spaces through a deep case study of the firm’s Gelephu Mindfulness City project in Bhutan. Their masterplan for the ground-up creation of a new city embodying Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness index and commitment to remain a carbon-negative country epitomizes the intersection of the report’s remaining three sections: Glocalization, Mindshift Revolution and Co-Society. Glocalization examines how design can bridge the gap between global and local contexts, emphasizing the importance of cultural interpretation in brand design and the creation of products that resonate with local identities while maintaining global relevance. The Mindshift Revolution section explores how design is supporting new approaches to wellbeing through the creation of environments and products that promote mental and physical health, such as ergonomic workplaces and spaces that foster creativity and collaboration, and Co-Society focuses on how design can enhance public spaces and contribute to community well-being.
The iF Design Trend Report 2024 provides a comprehensive and insightful look into the current and future landscape of design, dominated by AI and environmentalism. By addressing the six major transformations the report not only highlights the challenges facing designers today—it offers practical examples and strategies for leveraging these trends to create impactful products, projects and services. For designers and industry experts this report serves as an essential guide for navigating the complexities of a rapidly changing world and shaping a future that is both innovative and sustainable. Download your free copy here.
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