Tonight I’m gonna design stuff like it’s 1969…

…or so to paraphrase the artist formerly (and subsequently) known as Prince. So the turning of the year, and thoughts turn to design activity in 2007. What will be the stylistic zeitgeist (or shitegeist as Colin Fox puts it) of the coming year, who will dictate the prevailing trends, and who will follow? Or who cares? A definite resolution for 07 is to be more critical/analytical of trendsetting design styles and get back to the idea of good content + clarity and boldness of intent = good design, (not that an eye on contemporary design mannerisms isn’t occasionally useful). If this fails then I plan to revert my design methods to the honest days of 1969, when advertising was â??advertisingâ?? and all you needed was; product shot, logo and a paragraph explaining what the product was and where you could get it. Integrated brand communication strategy? Never heard of it…

So with all this trendsetting in mind, I guess it’s time for our predictions for 2007:

Technology
Another gargantuan effort will be made to introduce ID cards, followed fairly swiftly by the criminal ability to defraud, copy and crack these super-encrypted pieces of 21st century tech-detritus. “If you’ve got nothing to hide then you’ve got nothing to fear” – Fine, if that’s how the government want to play it – anyone fancy uncensored live video feeds from all meetings conducted at 10 Downing Street?

Brands
Do, do, â??doâ??.

Environment
Tradeable carbon allowances will be introduced, which will be good news for me and my bike, though that massive fire I lit, the day after boxing day, may have set me back a little.

Telecommunications
Already witnessed as an emerging phenomena in 2006, we will see an increasing number of Neds (Chavs, Hoodies, Townies, Kevs, Charvers, Steeks, Spides, Bazzas, Yarcos, Ratboys, Skangers, Scutters, Janners, Stigs, Scallies, Hood Rats…) walking at high speed, in a slightly agitated manner, through our city centres, using their mobile phones to play happy hardcore tunes through the tiny speakers on the phone, thus rendering an already troublesome musical genre completely abhorant.

Law and Order
Following a sustained and intensive period of lobbying by myself, the government will re-introduce capital punishment in the UK, for use solely in cases of people who allow their dogs to foul on paths and then don’t clear it up. The realisation will hit home that, as a deterant in high profile crimes such as murder the death penalty is ineffective, as to carry out such a crime you need either be in a state of mental or emotional turmoil, or so bent on wreaking carnage that such a deterant would be the last thing on your mind, whereas in the cases of low level crime and social nusiances, the threat of execution could be highly effective.