Cecile Poignant connects the dots in tech, art, design, food and fashion to find the signal in the noise. "The future is more active, engaged and sustainable. There is no Planet B!"

Future + Design + Society + Action + Technology + Sustainability

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TRANSIT LOUNGE RADIO @ LOGIN 2018

Trend Forecaster / Brand Strategist

Cécile Poignant is a contemporary lifestyle specialist and an expert in trend forecasting. She is the co-founder and editor of Trend Tablet, and a consultant for many international brands working with interior, food, luxury, travel, and retail. Poignant is also the founder of TRENDxCHANGE, a new type of international Trend Gatherings. Cécile teaches Innovation & Trend Forecasting at Parsons Paris, ESCP Europe and American University of Paris.

[Edited Transcript]

My job is to find out what signals make sense, to be very curious about everything, what's happening in tech in art in design in fashion and then to connect all the dots. To better understand what's going to be important in terms of trends, and then to help start-ups or major international companies to imagine the future, imagine products and deal with innovation. For many different sectors, from cars to make-up to perfume to kitchen appliances, to food business. You need to look in various fields, of course I'm looking at a lot of things happening in design school, art school, new talents, also international fair like Salone Internazionale in Milan.

So I'm going to professional fairs but also reading a lot, going to events, speaking to people, browsing the web, travelling a lot. But it never stops, even when I'm shopping for groceries for dinner, I look in people's baskets, what are they going to buy? So it's all the time, and everywhere, real life, web life, and everything.

JR: How do you decide what is important and what will continue as a trend?

CP: To find out what is important, it's a real job. My job is really to find the meaning in the noise. To find the signal in the noise. And there is a lot of noise, or lives really are very noisy. You need to connect the dots, if something is happening just once on the other side of the world, it's not a trend. You have to be seeing different signals in different places, maybe you read a book, and see an exhibition then you speak to someone – these dots are connecting. And you need to really trust your intuition.

JR: What things coming up now would be interesting to watch?

CP: A kind of counter-balance, trusting a large part of the web and technology, the industry. I think it's time to maybe go back to - we had in food 30 years ago a movement, slow food – maybe we need a slow web. A more ethic, slower web, so we have less pressure.

I would say the key words about technology and innovation, it's mainly about sustainability, that is going to be a need, and it's going to be a large topic for all the years to come. There is no planet B. Trust is super important, and the real sense of community. For me it's those three words that are going to be important in the future.

I think the slow web is needed because we need to be more active, and more engaged also with who we are, where we want to go, and what we want our future to be. For me the future is more active and sustainable.

TRANSIT LOUNGE RADIO @ LOGIN 2018

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