Just read a three-page article over on the LATimes site called “Fads are so yesterday“. As an Industrial Designer, when I see these kinds of articles I figure they need to be read (kind of like how as a kid I learned how to sit still when the dentist gave me the “numb shot”). To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what to make of this one though. The piece makes this big distinction about how Trends are more important then Fads. Okay. I get the point. But is seeing the writing on the wall really that difficult? And isn’t identifying some Trends really just a kind of Fad sometimes? I mean, check out the end of the article where, among the “Macro Trends” (what the heck is a “macro trend”?), they include the following:

• “Conscious living” — increased social activism, community service, spiritual awakening, eco style, the organic boom.

• “Hot land values” — real estate craze, Middle America, Christian-themed entertainment, redneck humor.

• “Hip parenting” — stylish, Gen-X-driven baby brands, blogs and mags, kid-friendly rock shows, members-only clubs.

• “Curation nation” — mass customization craze, e.g., podcasting, TiVo, custom Nikes, Internet-driven interests, niches.

Let’s look at this brilliantly insightful list for a moment. The first, “Conscious living”, isn’t a trend afaic. It’s a natural evolution of a society in which basic needs and many – or even most – “wants” are met. Ever wonder why so many of the great thinkers in human history were well-to-do? It’s because they weren’t busy out hunting their meals! Things would be really different today if Newton had been picking apples as a laborer instead of lounging around the orchards getting beaned as an aristocrat. Y’know, one could almost attribute this so-called trend to Wal*Mart, where the latest buzz is on the sub-$400 laptops they’re rumored to be selling this coming holiday season. Heck, we might even see the eventual emergence of the “Wal*Mart School of Philosophy” – a surge in Western philosophical writings written on those cheap laptops and uploaded via free wireless connections. Now there’s a thought: a built-in branded cultural movement coming out of the Haight-Ashbury district!

The second on the list, “Hot land values”, is supposed to be a trend? Huh? Cripe. That’s nothing. Just watch people swarm overseas for beachfront property when the big terrorism scare finally subsides and Americans decide the relatively low prices are worth the risk of living in a foreign land (something many Europeans are already hip to). The tsunami that hit Thailand was one big real estate ad, afaic. Sad but true.

“Hip parenting”? What the hell is that? The realization that once again – after all the “Guide To…” and “How To…” parenting books the Boomers scooped off the shelves to figure out how to raise their kids (because they’ll be damned if they listen to their “Leave it to Beaver” parents) – parenting needs another new approach? How many more of these stupid parenting trends will children have to suffer? Enough already.

And finally my favorite: “Curation nation”. If any of these big Trend Ideas is a Fad, this one is it. Check almost any trendy magazine or website and you’ll see a proclamation about how customization is the new wave of the future. I’d agree. But where the hell were the experts when magazines like Metropolis carried articles on this trend years ago? Where were they when rapid-prototyping machines started making their way into corporate R&D departments years ago signaling this potential development? Damn. I should have sold my “Design Trends” presentation back in 2000 (which contained this and other trends) for a cool $20,000 a pop when I had the chance. I’ve missed the Trend Fad, I guess. Bummer.

via O’Reilly Radar