Accenture has released the Fjords Trends in 2018 report, the report which analysed the pressing forces acting internally and externally on organisations and society.
The annual report examines seven emergent trends expected to impact business, technology and design in the year ahead and suggests how organizations can navigate these currents and design for positive change.The trends are:
- Physical Fights Back: Digital has had the limelight long enough—there are two brand experience headliners now. The time has come to blend the digital with the physical.
- Computers Have Eyes: As well as comprehending our words, computers now understand images without any help from us. Imagine the exciting possibilities for next-generation digital services.
- Slaves to the Algorithm: How do you design a marketing strategy to win over the algorithms—immune to conventional branding efforts – that sit between brands and their customers?
- A Machine’s Search for Meaning: A.I. might change our jobs, but need not eliminate them. We can—and should—design our collaboration with the machines that will help us develop.
- In Transparency We Trust: Blockchain has the potential to create transparency that will clear the fog of Internet ambiguity, regain lost trust, and repair relationships with the public.
- The Ethics Economy: Organizations are feeling the heat to take stands on political and societal hot button issues, whether they want to or not. And consumers are speaking with their dollars, choosing brands that align with their core beliefs.
- Design Outside the Lines: Design’s rapid ascendancy and newfound respect within organizations is a win for all. But, in a world in which everyone thinks they’re a designer, today’s practitioners need to evolve—how they work, learn and differentiate themselves—if they are to continue having impact.
According to Design Director at Fjord in South Africa, Marcel Rossouw, the annual Fjord Trend Report for 2018 provides an invaluable view on how technologies and experiences are shaping the way we live and do business.
“In South Africa, Blockchain has the power to create transparency that will clear the fog of internet ambiguity, win back lost trust, and repair relationships with the customers. Considering the local economic and political climate, the technology could be a real game changer to regain control and promote transparency. Automation and the rise of AI are also forcing organisations in the African continent to design for a seismic shift in the workplace.” Rossouw said.
Global co-Lead, Fjord and Managing Director, Accenture Interactive, Baiju Shah, said: “We believe this edition of trends will provoke and inspire but, above all, provide actionable advice for organisations to prepare for the opportunities ahead.”
“Many of the thorny questions ahead of us revolve around human-machine interactions, the consequences of which will be profound for individuals, society and organizations of all kinds. As digital fades from being stand-alone to being embedded in our physical world, our relationships with everything around us will be redefined.” He said.
Fjord Trends 2018 draws upon the collective thinking of Fjord’s over 1,000 designers and developers around the world. The annual report is based on first-hand observations, evidenced-based research and client work. This year, for the first time, it also drew upon the individual insights and perspectives from 85 clients across five continents, whose views inspired the report.
Accenture Interactive helps the world’s leading brands transform their customer experiences across the entire customer journey. Through our connected offerings in design, marketing, content and commerce, we create new ways to win in today’s experience-led economy. Accenture Interactive is ranked the world’s largest digital agency in the latest Ad Age Agency Report.
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions—underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network—Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With more than 425,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives.
