The past year has forced us all to experiment with new solutions, places and experiences. We’ve had to change how we live, work, learn, shop and play. 

For creatives, the rule book has been completely ripped up as a result of the pandemic. Traditional planning cycles were thrown to the wind, usual touchpoints became almost completely non-viable, brands began collaborating with others more than ever before, and talent was, and continues to be, largely confined to remote environments.

But the challenges do not stop there. As we go forth in 2021, key shifts in the role of the designer will become increasingly apparent, as changing brand strategies, socio-political trends and consumer priorities affect the future of creative design. The pandemic shone a light on the fact we still live with systems that are sometimes broken and often unequal, and consequently unfit for the challenges of the 21st century. It’s made many of us reflect on our role in the world, the importance of communities and the realisation that our actions have an impact on systems much larger than us.

Each year, Accenture Interactive crowdsources key trends in business, technology and design for the coming year, from its global design network of over 2,000 designers and creatives in more than 40 locations, based on first-hand observations, evidenced-based research and client work. The 14^th annual Fjord Trends report highlights the challenges and opportunities that all organisations, including creatives, will likely face in 2021.

These trends consider how to strategise, from an operational as well as communication perspectives, how to meet constantly changing expectations, and how organistations can stretch their empathy, all while fighting for survival in a precarious economy.

Do it yourself innovation 

The everyday challenges brought on by the pandemic have inspired adaptability and innovation in all walks of life. We have seen this innovation blossom in a variety of forms, but the driving force behind it has been individual creativity.

We’ve seen tech and social platforms like Zoom and TikTok optimised for education, work, fitness and even social gatherings like virtual concerts. Creativity is shining through by people making the most of the tools they have at hand. The ‘life hack’ is no longer an amusing oddity of the internet, but a key part of transition to the new world that has rapidly developed over the last year.

And so, we have entered a new era of creative design, where brands must focus less on products and services as finished solutions, but instead provide the tools and platforms for individuals to create themselves. These platforms may come in the form of something like Shopify, which gives small and medium-sized businesses a way to sell to customers, or like the social gaming platform Roblox, which lets players design and trade for digital fashion items. The platform organisations provide shouldn’t be the final product, but a means of co-creation with those that manage to maximise its potential.

Interaction wanderlust 

The increased time online, exacerbated by the conditions of the pandemic, has created a situation where screen fatigue has become much more widespread. A large reason for this is the homogeneity of design caused by templates and operating systems that have dominated since the turn of the century. This lack of innovation can make ever-expanding screen time a chore.

To break the uniformity of current digital immersion, there is a pressure on designers to shake off standardised design languages and restrictive templates, and instead challenge what we have come to expect from our online experience. Content and audience interaction need to illicit greater excitement and joy to successfully stave off the growing fatigue.

To challenge and inspire audiences, brands have experimented with how they can reimagine engagement, turning viewers into participants or co-creators. The Spotify listening party plug-in is one example where users can host a virtual party with their friends by sharing a link, listening to and customising playlists together in real time. People are hungrier than ever for new, creative interactions, so designers and brands must explore the full breadth of entertainment platforms to understand how to vary engagement and achieve differentiation.

Empathy challenge 

The scrutiny surrounding brand engagement with wider societal issues is higher than ever before. That’s not to say the pandemic has been solely responsible for this changing attitude, but its wide-ranging effects have shone a light on many of the inequalities in modern society. This combined with greater visibility provided by online spaces and social media, as well as the re-energised Black Lives Matter movement, make brand values a key aspect of consumer consideration in 2021.

As such, businesses have to make more choices on narratives, where they stand, and how they approach topics in contemporary national and global discourse. ‘Design Thinking’ is no longer the simple way forward, as empathy is not conveyed simply by showing a degree of listening. Instead, empathy is demonstrated through behavioural choices and is, therefore, an ongoing exercise of not only crafting the reality, but working with communications teams to continually manage and enrich it.

Narratives around discrimination, morality and social justice have become especially divisive in the last decade with sides becoming entrenched in extreme viewpoints. Developing an understanding of who you are designing for has taken on new importance to effectively demonstrate empathy. Collaboration between designers and communication experts has consequently become key to shaping and enriching a narrative through a company standpoint.

In 2020, the transformation of who we are in the world, and questions around how we move through it, was unquestionable. As we embark upon 2021, it is clear we are on the horizon of vastly different territory and potential opportunities for the design industry. Attitudes have taken a dramatic shift in the wake of the last year’s world-changing events and designers have been galvanised into a period of rapid adaptation. Consumers are looking for exciting, new engagements to stimulate them as well as platforms to express their own creativity, while seeking empathetic businesses with clear values backed-up by actions.