The fall season is usually when small businesses are already kicking into gear for the holiday shopping season. Figuring out design trends can feel like reading tea leaves – a total gamble! We have a few thoughts on trends, as it relates to creative small business product development. Read on for more!
When it comes to trends, small biz owners may swim with the current, against it, or simply watch from the river bank. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure type of scenario.
Trend is the basis of study for social scientists and economists alike. There’s social and cultural trends, fashion and design trends, and market and business trends. All of those areas deeply affect small businesses. Now, a small business creative can choose how to interact with trend. It is a personal choice, and one that should align with your interests, standards, and energy margin. We take no stances for (or against!) trend. We only wish to present some ideas in hopes of helping you determine how you would like to engage with trends as a small business owner.
(For the sake of our conversation, we are mostly going to be talking about trend as pertaining to design and culture.)
There’s the ‘on trend’ crew, the ‘no-trend’ folks, and the ‘trend-proof.’ And we think that the first step to navigating design trends is to determine your approach to trend itself.
On Trend
AKA – Fashionable, In Vogue, Current, Popular, Up-to-Date, Trendy
These could be brought about by viral internet moments, movie blockbusters, or upcoming fashion tastes. But trend is not quite as happenstance as consumer culture would have us think – there are trend forecasting databases that design firms and fashion houses pull from and contribute to. Then, we are influenced via culture, celebrity, magazines and publications, and content creators. The dawn of social media and TikTok has certainly changed the system of trend and made it even trickier to be sure what’s going to catch fire next!
For some small biz owners, paying attention to trends may be a fun and dynamic way to keep things fresh and relevant. These biz owners tend to not be drained by engaging in social media – in fact, they love it! Knowing what brand just launched which product, what movies are about to roll out, what the internet chatter is around fill-in-the-blank. For these happy few, incorporating current flavors into their businesses is creativity-boosting rocket fuel.
And where paying attention to trend can be a fun hobby for some, it can be very daunting for others. If you’d like to get some more laser-focused trend research tips, we’ll tackle that in the next section 🙂
No Trend
AKA – Nonconformist, Traditionalist, Individualist, Iconoclast, Anti-Trendsetter
Challenging conventional norms is not everyone’s role, or cup of tea! But those who fill this role are certainly needed in society – to offer a contrasting view, lifestyle, or way of being.
When it comes to small business ownership, there are folks out there who prefer to design and create products, spaces, experiences, and services that they enjoy, regardless of whether or not it is ‘on trend.’ These folks design for themselves – often intentionally ignoring what is fashionable or current. Sometimes these decisions are to make a statement, or sometimes it is just a function of what the business owner enjoys, with no other motive.
Many members of our Growth Guild may be plugged into social and cultural design trends, but may intentionally choose to go a different way. There are also some in this group that are fully uninterested in pop culture or in-vogue design. But, if it doesn’t inspire creativity, why pay it any mind?
Trend Proof
AKA – Timeless, Classic, Evergreen, Enduring, Unchanging
Is there such a thing as trend-proof design? We think so! There are timeless and classic styles that seem to endure. Industrial, classical, traditional, minimalist, farmhouse…these are all design styles that can shapeshift and adapt to different trends, while holding onto their authenticity. Think of Grandfather’s antique bar cabinet. Someone may pair it with trendy items that they swap out every 3-4 years, but the bar cabinet remains.
Building an entire business on trend can be fun and dynamic, but requires constant upkeep, retooling, and new products/designs. Having a base of timeless more ‘trend proof’ products/design may allow your brand to maintain momentum without the up and down fluctuation of design trend.
Of course, we think that craftsmanship, quality materials, and customer care will endure the onslaught of trend.
Bottom line: have a focus on these things, play with trend (or not) and build a business that is authentic to you. The key to navigating trends (or handling the pressure to keep up with them) is to determine your approach to them. There are many small creative businesses out there that are successful without engaging in design trends.
Trend Research & Resources
As mentioned in the previous section, trends are far less happenstance than we think! There are a number of trend forecasting databases out there that provide a robust prediction of upcoming trends. Unless you are a luxury fashion designer, a magazine editor, or willing to pay big money to subscribe to a trend consultancy – you are left to read the tea leaves yourself. And that can be daunting and confounding!
We have compiled a list of free trend resources, made available to our Growth Guild subscribers! Get the newsletter here. Our free monthly dispatch covers lots of topics for the thriving of creative small businesses.
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