THE SPROUT

a holistic methodology to manage innovation

and create value in the 21st century

Laureano Mon - Maurizio River Serena

The Sprout
A holistic methodology to manage
innovation and create value in the 21st century

Laureano Mon & Maurizio River Serena

Translator: Victoria Boano

Copy Editor: Krystal Brown,
St. Bride’s Literary Group, USA

Graphic Designer: Nagham M. Kamel

a holistic methodology to
Illustrations: Gregg manage innovation and create
Pictures: Shutterstock value in the 21st century

Edited by The Sprout Studio

Paris, 2018

www.thesproutstudio.net

The Sprout : a holistic methodology to manage innovation and create value in the
21st century / Laureano Mon ; Maurizio Serena. - 1a ed . - Ciudad Autónoma de
Buenos Aires : Laureano Mon, 2018.
Digital book, PDF

Digital File: download

ISBN 978-987-42-7009-2

1. Market Research. 2. Business. 3. Innovations. I. Serena, Maurizio II. Título

CDD 658.8
 I. INTRODUCTION - 06
Innovation amongst disruption, divergence and tension --------------------------- 08 09
Companies and the Human, Citizen and Consumer Triad ------------------------------ 12
The challenge of managing change and continuity -----------------------------------17
A new work philosophy ---------------------------------------------------------------- -22
23

II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES - 24

1/ Hacking the status quo to imagine new possible futures -------------------------30 30
2/ Betting on radical innovations -------------------------------------------------------36
36
3/ Persons first, consumers second ---------------------------------------------------44
4/ Proposing visions: the transition from follower to leader ------------------------54
5/ Developing a holistic perspective of innovation: 360° strategies -------------- 62 64
6/ Making innovation profitable -------------------------------------------------------6870
7/ Creating transdisciplinary consensus ----------------------------------------------80 76

III. 360° INNOVATION: THE VALUE SPHERE - 82

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY - 94
The path to innovation: 4 phases and 4 tools -----------------------------------------98 98 104
Examples guide -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 100

IV. 1. INVESTIGATION 102 108

A/ Crystallization of the Future Prism’s vertices --------------------------------------106
112

B/ Social trends research method: -----------------------------------------------------110

116
Observation and analysis of social trends
Social trends three-step method
C/ Defining the innovation perimeter: design criteria ------------------------------ 172
178

D/ Future Prism construction: future scenario: --------------------------------------196

190
Enhancing our critical perspective

IV. 2. INTERPRETATION 226

220
Interpretation of the future: vision, concept and meaning
Creativity for radical innovation

IV. 3. DESIGN 230

236
Development of a Value Sphere: an innovative 360° strategy

IV. 4. PROJECTION 236

242
Formulating a plan of action: Seeding Innovation System

CONTENTS
THE SPROUT EFFECT - 246
APPENDIX - 250
ABOUT THE AUTHORS - 300
BIBLIOGRAPHY - 302
I. INTRODUCTION

INNOVATION AMONGST
DISRUPTION, DIVERGENCE
AND TENSION
Market plurality demands
close attention to achieve
sustained trajectory toward
success.
Today, technological disruption,
divergence of consumer habits and
constant tension are drastically affecting
the nature and dynamics of the global
market. Within this context, innovation
calls for a high dose of intelligence in
order to deal with the complexity of
an inherently risky and upredictable
activity without going astray. A company
must critically review its business
model, and brand identity along with
design, production, distribution, and
communication systems or risk being
out of step with their competitors.
Companies are under tremendous
performance pressure due to the
larger number of players continuously
developing innovations in order to
catch public attention. The competition
for market leadership is tough: teams
are required to permanently think
and rethink their strategies from new
perspectives.
This is an incredible time for
innovation. The convergence
revolutionary technologies (artificial
intelligence, cloud computing,
virtual reality, augmented reality,
nanotechnology, Big Data, blockchain,
robotization, and the Internet of Things,
among others), new analytical and
creative tools, an enormous stream
of information readily available, in
conjunction with increasingly diverse,
proactive and inquisitive audiences,
open the door to the exploration
of novel horizons of action. In this
scenario, the chance of reinventing
traditional industries and creating
others, while generating extraordinary
market opportunities, is achievable.
However, the demand to produce
cost-effective innovations - that is,
new developments with the lowest
margin of error and the highest return
on investment - in a dynamic market
requires the optimization of resources
and the choice between incremental
or radical innovations. Managing the
balance between change and continuity
is the biggest challenge. The lack of
guidelines to guarantee success turns
the decision-making process into a
hellish experience. Given this situation,
the key is to gather reliable information
and to define prospective horizons
so that decisions can be made with
a minimal margin of error. Adopting
innovation as a practice calls for teams
with a powerful long-term analytical
of
vision that can help identify trends
and changes that will be significant in
society and find innovative solutions to
the constant challenges posed by the
marketplace.
Broadly speaking, we can
distinguish three variables that are
woven together in a complex way in
the contemporary scene. First of all, we
are at a transitional moment between
business models by both a technological
leap, as well as, modifications that have
affected the core of our sociocultural
values causing the emergence
and consolidation of alternative
perspectives such as horizontal
economy, networked action, shared
ownership, collaborative creation, and
bespoke manufacturing. These changes
have led to a redefinition of the frontier
between consumer and company.
These unprecedented experiences
can turn users into partners or even
I. INTRODUCTION 9
into domestic producers of their own horizon of the standard user. Social roles
strategic resources. The adoption are being reconfigured and breaking the
of advanced manufacturing systems traditional binary thinking that assigned
has inspired restructured production specific tasks to men and women,
processes using new parameters allowing us to imagine a new cultural
(modular, distributed, flexible, intelligent, configuration. In addition, extended life
hyperconnected, analog-virtual- expectancy and changes in daily habits,
digital), generating a reorganization have led to breaking the determinism
of global production chains. Finally, associated with consumer behavior in
the fusion of the analog, digital terms of age groups boosting demand
and virtual dimensions is diversification.
transforming all distribution ''companies Lastly, companies operate
and communication systems operate in in contexts plagued with
into multidimensional and constant social, political,
immersive experiences.
contexts legal, environmental, cultural
The second variable plagued with and/or economic crises that
is the impossibility of clearly constant crises leave little room for naivety.
classifying consumers in that leave In the face of these crises,
standard categories such a sensitive, informed and
little room for
as age, gender, and socio- hyperconnected public
economic level because
naivety'' has emerged, a public their finger on the pulse of the street
people shape their individual aware of its influence and to adapt and focus their strategies. As
and collective identities through willing to use its firepower to suit a result of the impossibility to strictly
diversity, hybridity, and dynamism. its demands, desires, and impulses. define consumers, brands must create
Similarly, the incorporation of emerging Companies must clearly define and unprecedented channels and messages
markets into the global market, with communicate the values they stand for to convey empathy with their audience
massive audiences with new demands to capture different audiences across making values, emotions, and meanings
and dissimilar cultures, is changing the the spectrum - constantly keeping more relevant.

I. INTRODUCTION 11

COMPANIES AND THE
‘HUMAN BEING-CITIZEN-
CONSUMER’ TRIAD
It is evident that a company’s
actions in the marketplace are
not only about establishing
a commercial link with
individuals. These actions occur
in a complex and indivisible
network of social, symbolic and
economic relationships.
A company´s actions are directed
at people crossed by multiple interests
and roles - sometimes in conflict with one
another - shaped by the relationships that
humans establish with society and the
market. Far from being unidimensional,
people are defined by three facets:
Human Being, Citizen and Consumer.
Each facet of this triad implies a specific
bond and logic that shapes actions and
choices based on specific needs, desires
and fears. The perception of value in a
consumer experience will be mediated
by the search for meaning, emotions,
and benefits. A brand’s challenge is to
create proposals that will integrate - in a
balanced way - the elements of the Triad
in order to express maximum empathy to
people.
The Human Being facet represents
the individual’s connection with their
own nature; biological, cognitive and
emotional factors are predominant.
For example, an individual can relate
to a consumer’s experience from the
perspective of needs, desires, and fears
associated with identity, self-expression,
libido and aesthetic enjoyment. Design
studio Atelier Volvox created Stofftiere
(2010), a line of re-purposed stuffed
animals that have a second life by
reversing their fabric and exposing
their interior seams and opaque textile
surface. The studio proposed a critical
reflection on the mandate of optimistic
and superficial beauty (embodied by the
traditional colored teddies) and paved the
way to explore an alternative aesthetic
which emphasizing the complexities that
remained unobserved in both objects and
human nature. Also, the experimental
pop up environment No Noise (2013),
created by the department store
Selfridges, sought to connect deeply
with persons by stripping down the
consumer experience of any marketing
and trademark noise. It offered customers
a relaxing space, highlighting emotion as
the main communication strategy, and
gave them the opportunity to choose
products for their true qualities. In fact,
the garments did not have any brand
logos on them. In this case, empathy was
established by the exploration of human
traits, aiming for a deep and relevant
connection with people.
The Citizen facet refers to
the person in relation to others and,
therefore, to the type and quality of
bond established with the community.
Here needs, desires, and fears marked
by social, environmental, cultural and
symbolic factors acquire relevance. A
person’s choice in a consumer experience
will be influenced both by their idea of
community - what it is and what it should
be - and by the objective characteristics
of the company's bond with society. The
values and actions of a brand towards the
environment will have a direct impact on
the connection between the brand and
the individual. The project Refurbeasts
(2015), by designer Lisa Louwers,
challenges the public to think about
consumer behaviors that are harmful
to Nature by offering a service: people
can send their fur coats - purchased or
inherited - to have them reassembled
as a sculpture that looks like the "beast"
I. INTRODUCTION 13
that was killed to create the original brand identification. All of these factors
garment. The sculpture is then placed at are involved in the transaction of goods
the sender’s home as a way of redeeming and services between individuals and
their negative consumer behavior. The
companies. Elements that explore in
fashion project The IOU Project (2011)
depth the human being or society are
anchors its proposal on social and
not taken into account here: the brand or
environmental sustainability: it generates
product itself is what is relevant. A limited
a virtuous chain of value between
Indian textile artisans, European edition teddy bear designed by Karl
clothing manufacturers and individual Lagerfeld (2013) for Steiff - 2,550 teddy
consumers who purchase bears sold at USD 1,400
the items from the IOU’s ''the difficulty each - was part of a strategy
website - they are not sold in
for companies to exploit the designer's
physical stores - with explicit
traceability: a photograph
is detecting iconic potential by
addressing the consumers'
and the name and surname changes that can
identification with the
of both the craftsman and be imperceptible luxury brand. On the other interact in a complex way influencing
the manufacturer that
to the untrained hand, Ikea's On the Move actions and choices, it is possible to
gave life to the product are
featured along each item.
eyes'' (2014) line, - consisting of observe what facet is prioritized noting
that it is dynamic and will guide the needs,
Once the purchase process is completed, lightweight and compact furniture, easy
desires, and fears of the individual. This
the buyers can add their photo and thus to carry in public transportation - sought
is why using that facet’s particular logic
complete the virtuous circle. to respond to the needs of urban youths
in the construction of meaning in market
Lastly, the Consumer facet refers that live temporarily in different locations strategies ensures a greater degree of
to a person's link to the marketplace and who do not have the money to hire a connection and empathy with people.
and involves economic, commercial and moving company. The difficulty for companies is detecting
functional factors, as well as intangible Although these three facets changes that can be imperceptible to the
factors such as status, aspiration and – Human Being, Citizen, Consumer - untrained eye.

I. INTRODUCTION 15
HUMAN BEING, CITIZEN
AND CONSUMER TRIAD

chose to focus on products with some

THE CHALLENGE OF design at a cheap price (H&M, Topshop,
MANAGING CHANGE AND Zara, Uniqlo), while others preferred
CONTINUITY to focus solely on the exclusive luxury
FAMILY
MEMORY market with higher added value. GAP
CO-EXISTENCE
INSTITUTIONS Observation, analysis and made a mistake and kept the formula
RELATIONSHIPS
EXPRESSION
innovation seem like simple that had given it success in the 90s: basic
COMMUNITY
enough tasks. However, they are clothing at mid-range prices. GAP failed
NATION
CITIZEN RITUALS
complex and require companies to interpret the customers' growing
INDENTITY to have some margin for demand for meaning and differentiation,
POWER
PRODUCTION
LIBIDO
maneuver in order to manage and the desire to use fashion as a
the delicate balance between means of living out meaninful stories.
BRANDS LOVE

ENVIRONMENT
change and continuity. Understanding this, other brands - such
HUMAN
WORK
as Starbucks, Zara and Apple - bet on
CONSUMER There are many examples of stores located in upcoming areas within
BEHAVIOR
DESIRES
BENEFITS
great brands that have not been able cities. Some of these stores created a
MARKETPLACE HABITS DEMAND to identify social change and react with dialogue with the local community and
STATUS
EMOTIONS appropriate strategies. The GAP and became part of the urban transformation
AMBITION Kodak cases are a good example of that was underway. Instead of doing this,
PURCHASING POWER BEAUTY this. The first company failed to read GAP held on to its strategy of stores in
correctly the changes in the United the huge and impersonal shopping malls
States market in the early 2000s. on the outskirts of cities, that could
Among them was the growing need not offer a captivating experience. The
of customers for differentiation, which consequence of these two mistakes led
generated greater demand for designer GAP to an organizational, economic and
clothing at accesible prices. The fashion identity crisis, and to the closure of 175
system responded to this by moving out of their 675 US stores in 2015.
toward the extremes: some companies Kodak also failed to recognize the

I. INTRODUCTION 17
 within stores where runners could meet.
These spaces also fostered continued
training and outdoor activities, as well
as provided consultations with experts
so customers could choose the best
products for their sporting activities.
Little by little, Nike-sponsored running
teams gained visibility in the cities,
changes in attitudes toward technology where the company could have made a amplifying the brand message through
and emerging values and meanings. By significant difference. an unconventional communication
disregarding the idea of developing Alternatively, we can find brands strategy. In the years that followed, and
digital cameras for the general public that were able to read context properly as the experience expanded throughout
early on, the company hobbled its and perceive the upcoming changes, the globe, other services were added to
ability to make a successful transition consequently proposing strategies and the open and free Run Clubs: the Nike+
from analog to digital, which led them experiences that successfully responded Training Club Live was launched, an
to a huge market loss. The paradox here to the new behaviors and, simultaneously, app which acted as a virtual consultant,
is that Kodak invented influenced the future of measured its users’ performance and
the first digital camera the marketplace. Nike and suggested other outdoor activities.
in 1975 but decided
''perceive the its Run Club illustrates Finally, in 2014, Nike launched Nike+
against commercializing upcoming changes that it is possible to offer Live App, a platform developed in
this technology for fear of to propose experiences that can partnership with Apple to dial up the
damaging its film business
strategies that connect with people's customization of the experience to suit
and decreasing their functional, emotional and all levels of runners and to offer a more
short-term profitability.
successfully meaningful requirements holistic training program. In this way,
This decision would shut respond to new and, even go beyond not only did the company go beyond
down any possibility of behaviors'' these, in order to create marketing their products - which not only
success in the future new horizons of action. continues to evolve in terms of design,
for the company. Kodak went from At the beginning of the 21st century, functionality, and technology, but also
90% ownership of the market in the Nike detected the public’s emerging adds an experience that helps establish
80s and 90s, to bankruptcy in 2012. interest in fitness, amateur sports a close connection with customers.
Despite having developed a disruptive such as running, as well as the birth Another example of a company
technology, Kodak did not interpret of micro-communities around shared that knew how to read social changes
correctly the public’s growing interest interests and the reappropriation of correctly and proposed an innovative
in creating stories through photography, cities as recreational spaces. The Nike market strategy is The Impossible Project.
in the use of simple technologies, and Run Clubs began in the United States This company, created in 2008 by André
in customizing experiences, a territory in 2002, and quickly became a space Bosman (a former employee at Polaroid)

I. INTRODUCTION 19
and Florian Kaps (former director of the 600, the SX-70 and the Image/Spectra,
International Lomographic Society) was and in 2016 they launched the I-1, the
aiming to regain the magic of instant first digital camera for the instant analog
photography in a digital world. Bosman format, with excellent optics, an LED
and Kaps detected a growing interest in ring flash, USB rechargeable batteries
photography, visible in the exponential and Bluetooth connectivity to connect
growth of the digital format the camera to a smartphone
thanks to smartphones, and a to modify its technical and
desire to turn daily snapshots "create creative settings. Finally,
into stories. When Polaroid powerful in 2017, The Impossible
announced the end of visions that Project acquired Polaroid.
production of their analog Their greatest achievement
film, in 2007, the pair bought
will change the is that, instead of betting
the company’s last factory and rules of the on the nostalgia of instant
acquired a license to produce game and, by photography in order to
30 types of instant analog the same token, attract the older demographic
film for traditional cameras who had used Polaroid in the
such as the SX70 or the 600
influence past, they took advantage of
the future of outdated technology and
a Polaroid picture film to watch a
that had become obsolete. In
2013, they created the Instant society and the gave it a new meaning for meaningful image magically appear on
Lab, a portable developing marketplace'' a new group of people. The it.
laboratory compatible with company spotted the desire The need for a lucid analysis
iPhone (and later compatible to produce content and of context and a systemic look into
with other operative systems) that stories in digital natives. They observed innovation is the way to go for companies
transforms digital images into classic that these are people who are fond of if they want to create powerful visions
instant photos. Furthermore, they photography, young people between that will change the rules of the game
started producing some of the traditional the ages of 16 and 25 who had never and, by the same token, influence the
Polaroid cameras again, the Polaroid lived the analogic experience of shaking future of society and the marketplace.

I. INTRODUCTION 21

A NEW WORK PHILOSOPHY
A new economic, technological
and social panorama calls for
an original work methodology.
The Sprout is a set of principles,
tools, and methods that,
systematically applied, helps
companies develop 360°
innovative strategies.
In order to innovate, The Sprout
integrates in a practical, simple and
effective manner all stages of the
process, that is, from trend research and
construction of future scenarios to the
design of powerful and original market
offerings. The goal is to provide a new
work philosophy that will generate radical
innovation and will take companies to the
front of the pack in the marketplace. Based
on the belief that innovation should be the
result of a collective and interdisciplinary
process within an organization, The
Sprout methodology combines design,
research, management and marketing
areas of an organization through exercises
that facilitate team interaction to achieve
measurable results.
The Sprout comes in handy to
manage the challenges of innovation in
the 21st century. It is based on seven
fundamental principles that include: (1)
Hacking the status quo to imagine new
horizons of action; (2) Developing a holistic
perspective of innovation by integrating
the different aspects of a company; (3)
Trusting in radical innovations that will
conception of value to develop 360°
change the rules of the game; (4) Thinking
innovative strategies (the Value Sphere
about people instead of consumers;
and the Seeding Innovation System).
(5) Proposing powerful visions that will
Who can use this methodology?
influence the future; (6) Applying collective
Any team member of any organization,
and transdisciplinary work process to
independent of their corporate size or
build strong inner consensus on the path
individual role. The Sprout is practical and
that should be taken; and, (7) Making the
it is designed to be applied continuously,
practice of innovation profitable. These helping the professionals who use it to
principles are the basis for the set of develop the ability to observe their context;
methods and tools that The Sprout puts analyze concepts; translate information
into practice. They are inspired by design into future scenarios; and, create
and innovation methodologies from the innovative strategies. The emergence of
last decades (Critical Design, Strategic disruptive innovation should not be an
Design, Design-Driven Innovation) but are exceptional event in a company’s work
adapted, evolved and fused together with dynamics but a daily exercise that enables
our particular research method of social the analytic vision and the creative
trends (an original tool to build scenarios resolution of the challenges presented by
- the Future Prism) and a new systemic the marketplace.
I. INTRODUCTION 23
II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL
PRINCIPLES
THEORETICAL BASIS
AND PRACTICAL
OBJECTIVES OF THE
SPROUT METHODOLOGY

The Sprout is a holistic and

multidisciplinary method to
guide radically innovative and
collaborative processes. This
transversal method combines
a company’s management,
research, creativity, and
marketing areas.

The method’s core principles have

been designed to encourage organizations
to take an active role as agents of change
at society’s and marketplace’s forefront,
leaving behind passive attitudes to
become business leaders. At the same
time, our method goes beyond incremental
innovation to unveil truly disruptive
products, services, and experiences that
will change the rules of the game.
In order to achieve that goal, which
may appear ambitious at first glance, it is
necessary to adapt the organization’s work
system to innovation processes within
the company. Innovative strategy cannot
emerge from traditional practices. On the
contrary, The Sprout method presents a
series of principles and tools focused on
boosting critical thinking, encouraging new
transdisciplinary dialogues, accelerating
creativity, developing novel perspectives,
building internal consensus, planning
original visions and deploying innovative
solutions to harness success in the 21st-
century marketplace.

II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 27

 THE 7 PRINCIPLES
of The Sprout methodology are:

HACKING THE STATUS QUO TO

1 IMAGINE NEW POSSIBLE FUTURES

BETTING ON RADICAL
2 INNOVATIONS

PEOPLE FIRST, CONSUMERS

3 SECOND

PROPOSING VISIONS: THE TRANSITION

4 FROM FOLLOWER TO LEADER

DEVELOPING A HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE

5 OF INNOVATION: 360° STRATEGIES

MAKING INNOVATION
6
PROFITABLE

CREATING TRANSDISCIPLINARY
7
CONSENSUS

II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 29

 1

HACKING THE
The practice of critical thinking a collective performance that expressed
should lead us to demystify reality, to communal disagreements and tensions.
challenge any established solutions After conducting a workshop in the

STATUS QUO
and any legitimized rules and roles. The
truly novel innovation can only be born
out of a rebellious attitude toward the
establishment, out of curiosity about
city of Birmingham where members
of the public wrote down everything
that annoyed them, the duo wrote a
song that would later be interpreted by

TO IMAGINE
unchartered territories, the local choir in a public
and out of boldness to performance. In 2006, they
walk new paths. "the truly novel issued an open invitation
innovation can

NEW
Hacking the status to anyone to organize
quo in society, the only be born out their own choir: more than
marketplace and design is, 140 choirs have sprung
of a rebellious
then, a fundamental step up around the world. Lack
attitude toward
POSSIBLE
in the innovation process. of intimate relationships,
It involves identifying and establishment, urban pollution, excessive
reflecting on the economic, and out of competition, precarious

FUTURES
social, political, cultural, boldness to walk employment, tech issues
legal and environmental and rising prices, among
issues in which individuals
new paths'' many others, are critical
are immersed. This also messages that globally
implies recognizing that tensions are an emerge as songs.
immense source of creativity. In 2005, Companies must stop burying
Finnish artists Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen their head in the sand and start
The possibility of imagining futures is in direct relation to our
and Tellervo Kalleinen decided to recognizing society's tensions and
ability to think about the present from a socially and culturally
transform the metaphorical sense of asymmetries, as well as the complexity
critical perspective.
the word "valituskuoro", which literally of the human experience, the good and
translates as "chorus of complaints", into the bad, desires and fears, strengths

II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 31

 “BUT ISN’T IT ART?

We expect art to be shocking,

extreme. Critical Design is closer to
the everyday, that’s where its power
to disturb comes from. Too weird,
and weaknesses. Seeing the reality design as a critical tool of the prevailing it’s dismissed as art. Too normal, it’s
of a market sector results in a more social values and design ideology), effortlessly assimilated. It suggests
honest and sincere attitude when Critical Design challenges the status
the everyday could be different.
designing strategies to solve relevant quo, the established meanings and
issues such as climate change, social preconceptions about how we live, That things could change”.
inequality, institutionalized violence, how we use objects and how we Critical Design Manifesto, A. Dunne & F. Raby, 2007.
humanitarian crises and racial and connect with other people and our
cultural discrimination. environment through them. Critical
The Sprout method finds Design focuses on artifact mediation
inspiration in the speculative in our daily lives and fosters a critical
perspective of Critical Design, view of society, culture, and
us to think in different terms. Executing
which assumes a proactive consumption. It also focuses
approach to critically reflect "find stimuli on the communication of
those operations, as well as observing
what has been done by other critical
on social dynamics, normative to smash provocative ideas rather
designers, makes it possible for us
practices and dominant our mental than the development of
to find stimuli to smash our mental
discourses with a strong mass consumption products
complacency'' complacency, caused by our staying
dose of irony, intelligence, and functional services and
within cultural paradigms. An example
and humor. This intellectual it uses commercial design of innovation that challenges current
and creative approach is nurtured by mechanisms to question society and societal ettiquete is the Poo Lunch Box,
a mix of disciplines such as conceptual trigger reflections on ethical, social designed by Anthony Dunne and Fiona
art, industrial design, and social theory. and technological issues. By bringing Raby in 2009. It is a double-function
It is useful for innovators because it attention to social issues, Critical lunch box: it is food storage and used
allows them to develop a lucid and Design opens the debate about possible to later store the child's excrement,
skeptical approach to their data and futures. which is processed and used to
sets the stage for the next phases of Decontextualization, provocation, generate renewable energy. The idea
the creative process. transgression, ambiguity play, is based on the new biogas production
Just like the Radical Design complexity exploration, dystopia systems developed in the United
movement in the 60s and 70s (using creation: useful exercises that enable Kingdom from dehyrated poultry

II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 33

waste (DPW) that can power homes. The
designers imagined that this procedure
could also be applied to human waste,
which would mean realigning how people
relate to toileting and redesigning not only
transport containers but also bathrooms.
Is that our future? The possibilities are
endless.

II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 35

 2
BETTING ON Effectiveness of the research is
directly associated with a team's ability
to observe, recognize and reflect about
RADICAL people's behavior, habits, rituals, identities,
and relationships. Likewise, the ability
to explore without naivety or prejudice
INNOVATIONS
people’s tensions, non-conformities and
discomforts with their environmental,
community and object settings, emerges
as an important requirement since they
can become opportunities for innovation.
However, these initial conditions should
not limit our ability to play with radically
innovative proposals. In this sense,
The Sprout method aims to thoroughly
investigate society in order to transcend
it with new ideas.
It is necessary to clarify here
what tools will be useful to achieve our
objective to encourage companies to
develop original visions for the future
that can be translated into profitable
market strategies.
But what does radical innovation
mean? According to professors Donald
A deep dive research into society is a sine qua non for the success of
any innovation process. A. Norman and Roberto Verganti,
there are two innovation categories
for products or services: incremental
innovation, characterized by generating
improvements within a given framework;
and radical innovation, which aims at
changing the framework itself. Moving
toward the latter type of innovation
involves changing our objective and,
therefore, our methods, in order to stop
doing what has already been done and
to start doing what nobody else has
ever done before (Norman and Verganti,
2012).
What stimulates the emergence of
radical innovation? Scientific research can
generate radical technological advances
by completely changing an industry,
as well as generating unprecedented
market opportunities. An example of
this is the invention in 1971 by INTEL of
the 4004, the first microprocessor chip
that would revolutionize the computer
industry and inaugurate the information
and telecommunications era. Radical
innovation can also emerge from a
design process developed by a company,
which involves other aspects besides
technology, such as the generation of
new meanings associated with products
and services, thereby opening alternative
II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 37

markets. Airbnb’s concept serves as
example. This company proposed a new
travel experience: to enhance people's
desire to feel like locals by providing a
service that allows users to live in private
homes temporarily, establishing bonds
of friendship and trust with strangers.
The possibility of accessing an authentic
cultural experience at an affordable price
through an easy-to-operate platform
for hosts and guests is also an
important concept. In addition,
Airbnb made it possible
to change the nature of
“consumers" themselves, who
become suppliers, diversifying
and expanding the market.
A company can
radically alter the meaning of
an experience with a novel
proposal and, at the same time, introduce
new technology, achieving what Verganti
calls a "technological epiphany"; that is, a
great disruption. Summit ID, a company
founded by Scott Summit, changed
the way of conceiving and designing
prostheses. The designer
the stigma associated with prostheses
(traditionally designed from a purely
functional perspective and with an
aesthetic tending to hide the disability)
and created a service that made them
unique and different, adapted to the
needs and personality of each patient.
Instead of trying to define prostheses
users as a generalized customer group,
each prostheses expresses and addresses
personal differences. To achieve this,
Summit ID incorporated 3D
image-capture and modeling
"investigate technology, as well as a wide
society in range of materials such as
order to leather, nylon, and metal.
transcend Incremental improvements,
on the other hand, as well as
it with new
adaptations, can be found in
ideas'' the marketplace and in the
demands voiced by consumers,
processed via methodologies like User-
Centered Design. An example of this
can be found with cycling helmets.
Over the years, such helmets have
seen their functionality and ergonomics
improved with the use of new materials
modified and technologies but have remained
otherwise unchanged in terms of
meaning. In 2011, this monotonous
landscape was disturbed by a radical
innovation: designers Anna Haupt and
Terese Alstin developed Hövding, the
first helmet for urban cyclists based on
airbag technology. It is shaped like a
collar - making it look more like a fashion
accessory than a protection element -
and is deployed and transformed into an
inflatable helmet in case of collision.
The perspective of User-Centered
or Human-Centered Design (Norman and
Draper, 1986; Norman, 1998) is based
on the analysis of user needs in order to
find new technologies or update creative
languages that will satisfactorily respond
to those needs. The innovation process
is driven by insight provided by the
marketplace and consumers. Functional
or symbolic solutions are always framed
within the current cultural and market
paradigm - since both researchers and
designers are immersed in it - and they
reinforce a stable consumer profile
(Norman and Verganti, 2012). The
dynamics of User-Centered Design
consists of an iterative research cycle
(where both behavioral observation and
interviews with users take center stage)
and an ideation phase followed by rapid
prototyping and testing. This cycle is
a continuous learning process and is
repeated as many times as necessary in
order to achieve optimal solutions - in
terms of costs and time - that materialize
in functional products easily understood
II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 39
 the beginning, these radical innovations
did not analyze consumer needs with
marketing methodologies; they were
part of a vision of what the future
could be (although it was necessary for
those companies to consider people’s
needs in order to generate incremental
by users. States. Ford’s vision, coupled with the innovations in subsequent products and
Beginning the innovation process technological and organizational advances services).
at user demand generates several of the production chain, stimulated the Radical innovation, unlike
questions: (1) How far can improvements emergence of an innovative product that incremental innovation, has the potential

resulting from this innovation process
go? (2) Is it possible to hack the present
and stay within the current socio-cultural
and market paradigm? and,
(3) How much potential
can such innovations have
in a highly competitive
and dynamic market? Let’s
think about some cases of
products and services that
have significantly modified
habits, relationships, and
future demand. Henry Ford's
introduction of the Model T
in 1908 changed people's
mobility habits dramatically
by making cars more
accessible to individuals. This
invention boosted the growth of the
automobile industry and fostered the
development of other industries, such as,
transportation infrastructure, because it
was suddenly necessary to build roads
and highways throughout the United
had not been initially demanded by users
but that would be quickly adopted by
them. Ford’s famous words still resonate
today: "If I had asked people
what they wanted, they
"radical
would have said: ‘A faster
innovation has horse’". Another example:
the potential consider the profound
for multiplying changes caused by the
its effects over social network Facebook
in the way people relate
time unleashing to each other, as well as in
a ripple effect of their daily habits (just think
transformative of the first thing you usually
processes in the do when you wake up) and
how it opened the path for
offer''
the emergence of other
social networks and related
experiences. These changes have also
transformed the way brands and people
interact: a direct, horizontal dialogue has
taken center stage. Again, the original
ideas for these new services and products
did not come from a marketing study. In
for multiplying its effects over time and
for acquiring long-term projection by
encouraging the emergence of new
products, services and experiences (from
the same company or from competitors)
derived from that initial idea, unleashing
a ripple effect of transformative
processes in every product, sector and
discipline. However, both forms of
innovation are useful, necessary and
complementary. Incremental innovation
is required to transform a radical idea
into an acceptable form for a wider
audience than just its early adopters
(critical mass). Molecular gastronomy,
which laid the foundations for a culinary
revolution, originated in 1988 thanks to
the research of chemist Hervé This and
physicist Nicholas Kurti, who applied
scientific principles to the kitchen.
Described by them as "the scientific
exploration of culinary transformations
and phenomena", molecular gastronomy
was based on the study of the physical-
chemical properties of food.

II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 41

 new cultural and market paradigms.
"radical innovations open Incremental innovation extracts the
up new meanings, generate full potential of a new idea (Norman
unprecedented dialogues and Verganti, 2012). The first iPhone,
between disciplines, launched in 2007, was revolutionary
encourage creativity, and because it embodied a series of
create new cultural and functional innovations and meanings
market paradigms'' that transformed life and work habits,
making them more flexible, creative

The scientists applied specific processes and dynamic. Technically, the iPhone
- using chemical elements and laboratory incorporated, for the first time, touch
tools - to achieve certain properties and technology to operate its system, a
generate particular transformations, better digital camera, greater efficiency in
playing with flavors, scents, textures, Internet connectivity, content-creation
and consistencies. Later, renowned tools, synchronicity with the iTunes
chefs Ferran Adrià (El Bulli), Thomas platform and the possibility of installing
Keller (The French Laundry) and Heston apps to find new uses for the device. At
Blumenthal (The Fat Duck) took some market level, this innovation influenced
of these scientific-culinary principles not only the field of communication,
and infused them into their work, which became more digital, interactive,
multiplying the effects of the initial and horizontal, but also distribution,
innovation and consolidating what some since it promoted m-commerce while
call a multisensory, deconstructivist or boosting e-commerce at the same time.
experimental cuisine. Each new version of the iPhone resulted Therefore, doing what nobody
Radical innovation opens up new in performance improvements without has done is an attitude that teams must
meanings, generates unprecedented modifying the initial meaning associated adopt in order to see past the obvious to
dialogues between disciplines, with the product: a phone that is more develop strategies that will change both
encourages creativity, and creates than a phone, a mini mobile computer. the nature of supply and demand.

II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 43

 3

PEOPLE
The focus of research should not economically interact with other people,
be at the micro level - that emphasizes other communities or other settings.
specific individuals and their demands - In Argentina, in 2015, ‘Ni Una

FIRST,
but a macro perspective that considers Menos’ (Not one woman less) was
the nature of social dynamics, the a massive, spontaneous feminist
construction of relationships between movement that organized to protest
people, the community and its against violence against women. The

CONSUMERS
environment (including the marketplace), protest was encouraged initially on
along with its potential for change. social media by activists, journalists
The starting point here and intellectuals in the face

SECOND
is seeing people as perfomers of the increasing number of
of social actions; that is,
"the starting femicides in the country. The
actions with meaning for point here is movement sought to make the
those who carry them out and seeing people issue visible with a massive
actions that are reinforced or as perfomers street protest - an estimate of
modified in relation to others 200,000 people participated -
of social
(Weber, 1920). Our attention which was later replicated all
should focus on wherever actions'' over the world. The movement
those phenomena generate not only managed to make
new dynamics in society. This means femicide (a worrisome issue in Argentina:
that our interest will not be in observing in 2017, a man will murder a woman
private and individual behavior that does every 18 hours) occupy a prominent
The Sprout method thinks of persons instead of users or consumers. not generate an effect in their context place in the public agenda but also
The first step in any innovation process that seeks to generate but in those behaviors that create open up a public discussion on issues
differentiated, meaningful and empathetic propositions is to truly social interactions. Therefore, products, such as wage inequality, misogynistic
understand the emotions, tensions, fears and desires that saturate services, and experiences - consumption media discourse, and patriarchal cultural
social relations.
itself - represents another medium that practices. This phenomenon also
people use to socially, symbolically and promoted a set of values that greatly

II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 45

influenced the marketplace, particularly
brand communication strategies. Brands
were forced to pivot, as they received
harsh criticism when their campaigns
encouraged stereotyped views
women. On March 8, 2015, International
Women's Day, the Argentine subsidiary
of L’Oréal called off its social media
campaign ‘#MeSientoMujerCuando’
(#IFeelLikeAWomanWhen)
receiving a flood of criticism
spreading messages such as "I feel like a
woman when I spend two hours putting
my makeup on before a date with my
husband”. In a few hours, a boycott against
the brand and a counter-campaign called
#TuiteoComoLoreal (#TwittingLikeLoreal)
were launched to share messages like
‘#IFeelLikeAWomanWhen I’m harassed
when walking alone at night’
‘#IFeelLikeAWomanWhen they pay me
less than men for equal work'.
of
values such as participation, non- only daddy would have known about the
violence, and multiculturalism. However, power of #Pepsi”-, the ad was canceled
after the ad resulted in a banalization of and the company issued an apology.
for activism: a famous model is moved by In certain situations, it may be
a street protest - a crowd composed of relevant to analyze people’s behavior in
cheerful young people from different detail, which implies observing external
cultures - and decides to quit her job to behavior - language, gestures, actions,
participate in the protest, and then, in a and attitude - guided by principles such
friendly gesture, gives a police as causality, motivation and
officer a can of Pepsi. The ad’s
"it is purpose. It is a difficult task
shallowness could have gone but necessary to ask questions
unnoticed at another time in
necessary to and generate hypotheses
or
history, but the context of ask questions about why people perform
dissemination had changed: about why (or refrain from performing)

A brand that did pay attention

since 2013, the United States people particular actions. Would
has been crossed by a wave you get into a car that is
to its context but did not interpret it perform
of police violence against programmed to kill you? The
correctly, and therefore was unsuccessful
the black community, which particular Moral Machine developed by
in its communication strategy, was Pepsi.
In early 2017, the company noticed the resulted in massive protests actions'' the Massachusetts Institute

growing presence of young people on the
streets of the United States after President
Donald Trump’s winning the election, a
presence materialized in protests against
his anti-immigrant, homophobic, sexist
and violent discourse. Faced with this
phenomenon, Pepsi sought to empathize
with people with its advertisement ‘Live
Bolder, Live Louder’, which expressed
throughout the country under
the slogan "Black Lives Matter”. At the
same time, Trump's aggressive discourse
posed a real danger to minorities like the
LGBTQ community and immigrants. After
the immense negative response from the
public - including powerful social media
messages like the tweet by Berenice King,
daughter of Martin Luther King Jr, “If
of Technology (MIT) is an
online platform that collects information
about human perspective on the moral
decisions taken by smart machines,
like autonomous vehicles. The study
exposes people, as external observers,
to various dilemmas where a driver-
less car facing a collision situation
must select the lesser of two evils,

II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 47


"the act of consuming, as
well as the relationship
between individuals and
the marketplace, is a
subjective sociocultural
experience with wide social
implications''
such as choosing between killing two
passengers or five pedestrians. People
choose what decision is most acceptable
to them, and that pattern of behavior
will be hypothetically applied to future
autonomous cars.
We might think that persons would
not be able to anticipate possible radical
changes in the meaning of products. The
truth is that they unconciously reveal
anticipated change when expressing
themselves in an interview or a focus
group (tools employed by marketing and
User-Centered Design). However, by
sharpening our observation and analysis
skills, we can detect unconscious, non-
articulate signals (concerns, desires,
tensions, alternative ideas) in people,
signals present in different areas and in
heterogeneous forms that manifest a
propensity toward certain changes. This
propensity goes far beyond a specific
functional, psychological or symbolic
demand. It is imprinted in the complex
fabric of society and calls for lucid
observation, analysis, and interpretation
in order to decode those signs.
Social dynamics are the horizon
of our research, and consumption is
considered a system of meaning (Barthes,
1993, Milanesio, 2014). The act of
consuming, as well as the relationship
between individuals and the marketplace,
is a subjective sociocultural experience
with wide social implications. The choice
of products and services expresses
consumer (individual and collective)
values, belongings, taste, and identities.
Those choices are dependant on the
validation (or not) of certain production
systems and market logic. This goes
beyond social and environmental
conditions of manufacture, as shown by
Patagonia when it decided to close all
its stores on the day of the 2016 United
States presidential election to encourage
employees and consumers to vote for
candidates fighting climate change.
The consumer experience is
a complex relationship between the
individual, society, and the marketplace,
a connection that needs to be carefully
analyzed. First, we must investigate
the affective, emotional and cognitive
aspects that are put into play, interacting
and complementing each other, in the
instant when people face a decision
associated with the consumption of a
product, service and/or experience. In
his book Emotional Design: Why We
Love (or Hate) Everyday Things (2005),
Norman contemplates the nature of the
visceral, behavioral and reflexive needs
that correspond to each aspect of a
product (we can also apply it to the field
of services and experiences): aesthetics,
functionality, and meaning.
Visceral needs are driven by instinct
and senses, from the most earthly
(biological) needs like hunger, thirst, and
sex to those connected to the appearance
and design of objects (colors, materials,
and shapes). Decisions are made quickly
through external stimuli and are classified
on simple and general parameters: I like it
or I do not, good or bad, safe or insecure.
Affectivity is generated at this level.
Physical characteristics are of the utmost
importance and are strongly connected
to senses. Therefore, visceral needs are
better met when a person’s first reaction
to a product is "I want it" before asking
themselves about functionality, cost or
II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 49

the need to have it. The global success
of the Havaianas flip flops came when,
at a time of crisis in 1993, the company
decided to reposition the product and
functionality, comprehensibility, usability
and physical sensation. The sensory
experience of touching, manipulating
and testing the object aids the decision
Lastly, reflexive needs are those
related to the message, to the meaning
that the product brings to the culture, as
well to a person’s identity. This could be
represented by a stimulus that triggers
specific memories - in a positive way -
or a message that helps people express
something about themselves, helping
them define and communicate what
they are to others. Prestige, perception
of differentiation and exclusivity play an

abandon its purely utilitarian sense (until process. If a proposal fails to include
then the brand was associated with the those attributes, the marketplace will
lower classes for its affordable not be compassionate. The first
prices) to replace it with the step is, then, to understand
idea of a fashionable accessory "the what people need and how they
with attractive design, greater consumer will use products. Born in 2002,
variety of colors, prints and experience Crocs clogs were the answer to
combinations, associating a need: a comfortable, clean
is a complex
Havaianas with the idea of a and light footwear, built with
summer holiday shoe aimed at a relationship Croslite closed-cell resin, an
wider audience. In this way, the between the antimicrobial material. Inspired
company managed to transform individual, by orthopedic clogs, the Crocs
flip-flops into a desirable object
society, were first adopted by sailors
for millions of people despite and water sports lovers, then
the fact that its morphological
and the gained popularity among
design and materials did not marketplace'' doctors, gardeners, and cooks.
vary significantly. Finally, they began to be used
Behavioral needs are mediated by by the general public almost exclusively
a level of reflection that acts as action because of their functionality. Since its
controller. External sensory stimuli and launch, and despite being labeled as "ugly"
appearance have no relevance and and "unsightly" by fashion referents, they
the products’ utility and functionality have become a massive success: more
are evaluated. The four components than 300 million pairs have been sold
of behavioral design are relevant here: around the world.
important role when it comes to reflexive
needs. The Dr. Martens 1460 boots
were initially created to solve a problem:
make more comfortable shoes. Klaus
Martens redesigned the military boot
using flexible leather and air-cushioned
rubber soles. The first Dr. Martens
boots went on sale on April 1, 1960:
they were made with cherry red nappa
leather and had eight holes. They were
popular among postmen, policemen and
factory workers. However, in the 60s
and 70s, they became popular among
British punk and rock musicians, such
as The Who, The Sex Pistols, and The
Clash. In the following decades, the use
of Dr. Martens percolated to other youth
world subcultures and continued to be
associated with a rebellious attitude.
Currently, the success of the traditional
1460 model - which has not undergone
any substantial variations in its design - is
due to its continued association with that
history of music and rebellion, reinforcing
its buyers’ identities.

II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 51

 Creating meaning can be a
formulary process. For example, The
company Alessi evaluates new products
using the key parameters of Sensation,
Memory, Imagination (SMI), as well as
Communication and Language (CL),
complementary to peripheral parameters
such as function and sale price. According
to Alberto Alessi, ‘SMI’ ¨expresses the
degree to which people say, "Oh, what
a beautiful object," which represents the
creation of a relationship between the
object and the individual; while CL is the
use that people can make of an object
in order to communicate with other
people. By this we mean that objects
have become the main channel through
which we convey our values, status,
and personality to others¨ (Sintumuang,
2016). The basis for the strategy
design process today is to differentiate
experiences through values and meaning
attribution in an open dialogue between
people, society and the marketplace.
To observe, analyze and interpret
social actions and facts calls for a
qualitative method that integrates and
connects both tangible and intangible
factors. It also calls for a perspective that
addresses individuals in socio-cultural,
technological and economic models,
perceiving the opportunities for change.

II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 53

 4

PROPOSING
While incremental innovations approach that " aims at radical change in
improve our performance, radical the emotional and symbolic content of
innovations make it easier for us to products. It brings changes in products'

VISIONS: THE
change our status. To achieve this, we
must be willing to develop a completely
different vision that will set us apart from
the competition, to propose original 360°
meanings and languages coupled with
the comprehensive socio-cultural and
technological changes" (Verganti, 2008).
To achieve this, companies need to

TRANSITION
strategies - that involve the integration of develop powerful visions of new possible
business model, brand identity, products, languages and meanings that could be
services, communication, disseminated in coming years.

FROM
distribution, partnerships, and
process management - and new
meanings to enable a different
take on those aspects.
While these radical ideas can be
"radical polished by user requirements,
innovations the truth is that their origin
make it easier and essence are not based on

FOLLOWER TO for us to
Faced with the notion specific demands but seek to go
that the market should respond further by changing the rules of
change our
specifically to consumer the game, creating new needs
status''

LEADER
demands (a perspective
fostered by both traditional
marketing and User-Centered Design),
Roberto Verganti developed
alternative perspective on innovation
and design management, with the goal
of achieving disruptive innovation that
Being a market leader requires not only being a good player but also reaches beyond market demand. Based
having the ability to completely change the market panorama and
on substantial research on the innovative
propose new opportunities, rules, and roles.
dynamics of Italian companies, Verganti
developed a Design-Driven Innovation
and answers (solutions).
Companies need to develop
visions for the future and make radical
an proposals to people, creating new
markets. The Blue Oceans described by
Kim W. Chan and Renée A. Mauborgne
as uncontested market spaces - where it
is possible to create supply and demand -,
and which entail opportunities for highly
profitable growth (Chan and Mauborgne,
2005) must be navigated with a deliberate

II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 55


course set for innovation. Leaders and experience personalization. In addition,
teams from companies such as Apple, it exerted great influence in other
Swatch, BMW, Alessi, Facebook, Kartell, industries that soon began to prioritize
Tesla, Intel, Artemide and Airbnb, have the development of services that give
been able to anticipate trends by feeling access to products instead of marketing
l'air du temps, as the French say, or, in the products themselves.
the German expression, the Zeitgeist, In this sense, design culture
setting their course toward the future provides tools to understand "the state
without attaching themselves too closely of things" from a critical perspective. It
to marketing and consumer also fosters the development
studies. Netflix changed the "creating of a constructive attitude that
market when it decided to a radical proposes values and visions
create an online entertainment
innovation to strengthen the dialogue
system accessible to users for a between diverse actors, and
monthly fee, giving rise to the
through a thus achieve an agreement on
on-demand business model, change in what to do and how to get it.
which prioritizes flexible access meaning'' In this collaborative process,
to diversity rather than product design must not only help solve
ownership. Initially created to offer problems but also create new content,
unlimited on-demand rental of movies working as a producer of meaning
sent by mail for a monthly fee, in 2007 the (Manzini, 2014).
company decided to bet on a streaming Creating radical innovation
platform that would allow instant viewing through a change in meaning requires,
of movies and TV shows through any first of all, research with room for
Internet-connected device. This decision observing, analyzing and understanding
would transform the audiovisual industry general sociocultural transformations
and open new possibilities for content and the variables that nurture them.
generation, advertising, and user Additionally, understanding the meaning
“Creativity doesn’t come out of
nowhere, but it is actually a pure
reflection of our knowledge”.
BRUNO MUNARI (1907-1998)
patterns that must be modified is
essential to assign a new meaning. The
real challenge is to generate a new
interpretation that is noteworthy to
people. In this process, design becomes
a sensemaking activity by assigning
meaning to things (Krippendorff, 1989,
Norman and Verganti, 2012).
The abilities to observe (see),
anticipate (foresee) and make others see
our vision are key in any radical innovation
process, according to researcher and
professor Francesco Zurlo. Seeing
(vedere) implies being actively attentive
to intangible aspects that involve
users, culture, and society, as well as to
market technical and material aspects,
developing a systemic and temporal
approach to problems. It requires training
the eye to notice what is not revealed,
focusing on the novel, the unique, the
strange. To foresee (prevedere) is the
capacity of critical anticipation of the
future, recognizing possible cultural
and social changes. The key here is to
accurately predict the meanings, values,
and concerns that might take center
stage in coming years,
II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 57

"the development of a value
proposition that will hold a
future offering and capture
people’s interest can be
derived from a powerful
vision, an innovative
concept, and meaning''
as well as the innovations that will
emerge from them, by drawing on stimuli
from different industries and research
areas, which requires the use of intuition
and the ability to transcend disciplines to
find new solutions. Finally, making others
see our vision (far vedere) is the most
relevant part of the strategy because
it involves communicating a vision by
creating a narrative that conveys our
ideas. The objective is to consistently
communicate the company’s perspective
and innovative proposal through an
exercise of contextualization, narration,
and traceability making what might
originally seem extravagant obvious and
logical (Zurlo, 2012).
The development of a value
proposition that will hold a future
offering and capture people’s interest
can be derived from a powerful vision
(which defines a company’s direction
and positioning in a future scenario),
an innovative concept (the project’s
guiding idea), and meaning. The notion
of vision, concept, and meaning includes
some elements of the notions of vision,
proposition, and motivation (Manzini,
2001) discussed by Professor Ezio
Manzini, about which he articulates
the scenarios created with the Design
Orienting Scenarios (DOS) method.
Manzini inserts the development of
these notions in the future scenarios
construction stage, which implies a
fusion of the research phase (objective)
with the creative phase (subjective). On
the other hand, in The Sprout method
the interpretation of the future scenario
- the Future Prism - is separated from the
research and scenario generation stages.
As we will see later, the emergence of
vision, concept, and meaning will result
in a strategic and creative interpretation
filtered by the brand’s identity. In other
words, given the same Future Prism,
different companies will make different
interpretations of it, generating dissimilar
strategies.
Observation, anticipation and
making others see our vision requires
interdisciplinary work as well as specific
tools. Developing a vision is also a
fundamental aspect of Strategic Design
(Zurlo, 1999), where the objective is
to design change-provoking strategies
for the marketplace and the society.
Strategic Design uses the construction
of future scenarios to visualize a horizon,
establishing a powerful perspective
and a strategic direction that can be
shared by all the actors involved in
the process. According to researcher
and professor Anna Meroni, "the way
a strategic designer transforms visions
into a plausible hypothesis is by building
scenarios" (Meroni, 2008), transforming
scenarios into shared visions informed by
analyzed information and intuition. These
visions keep people together around a
shared understanding of their situation
and the decisions that need to be made.
The road to radical innovation is dynamic,
at times uncertain and influenced by the
environment's response over time. This
is far from being a structured program:
strategy is influenced by continuous
changes. In this way, future scenarios
function as beacons amidst chaos.
Where does innovation come
from? Who shapes our vision of the
future? Just a company’s creative and
II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 59

strategic teams? Don’t people generate
innovations in their everyday lives?
Growing environmental, political, social,
cultural and economic activism cannot
be ignored. The 21st century presents a
those spaces by the local authorities. Self-
organized via social media, participants
showed up equipped with lights - candles,
flashlights, lighters and cell phones -
and enjoyed a few hours of communal
continuous exchange of knowledge and
ideas from various disciplines. Projects
such as Seeed Studios (2008), open
hardware for quick prototyping and low-
scale production, or MakerBot (2009), an
open hardware, easy-to-use printer, were
both developed in these creative spaces.
Being able to construct a

activism. In this way, they expressed prospective horizon to integrate and

real challenge, as it finds us in the middle
of a technological revolution (Pérez,
2009) with disruptive and expansive
implications; submerged in a sea of
political uncertainties that incubates
social activism; affected by multiple
economic tensions that reveal the
impact of liberalism and globalization;
awareness of the threat of climate
change; accepting the idea that the
world is not a safe place. In this context,
critical views emerge, alternative ways of
life and unprecedented business models
add disruption to market and society
dynamics. In this complex setting, people
create their own alternative strategies -
in a disjointed way - by taking advantage
of a fractured society and market. Grass-
roots movement Serenata Iluminada
(Enlightened Serenade) emerged in
Porto Alegre in 2012 with the objective
of occupying public spaces at night to
demand safety and the maintenance of
analyze the diversity of information
their collective vision about what the
regarding emerging social, cultural and
city should be like while, at the same
economic experiences is one of our
time, inaugurated an unprecedented
main challenges. The Sprout allows
way of generating change. Hackerspaces
development of future
emerged initially in Germany in 1995
scenarios by means of
and began to multiply spontaneously in
a qualitative method "future
Silicon Valley in the mid-2000s as spaces
where science and technology advocates
based on research and scenarios
could meet to share tools and knowledge
interpretation of facts function as
rather than statistics, while
in order to investigate new devices and
integrating and analyzing
beacons
applications - often based on established
tangible and intangible amidst chaos''
brands’ products - independently, factors, structured and
steering clear of economic needs and unstructured information. This gives
interests. Over time, these self-managed meaning to seemingly disjointed signals
and collaborative spaces began to spread of change. However, quantitative data
throughout the world, creating an informal may also be useful as a complement to
network of innovation made up of artists, qualitative factors. From these scenarios,
engineers, designers, programmers, companies can develop original
students, and anyone with an interest in interpretations of the future of society
technology. Individuals took the initiative to propose powerful visions and radically
to imagine the future of objects through innovative strategies that will turn them
an alternative work dynamics, with into market leaders.

II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 61

 5

DEVELOPING
The vision, values and brand think that innovation can be developed in
identity of a company should give isolation by a company’s single area, without
form to the proposition and be the raw any relation to other areas. It cannot be

A HOLISTIC
materials with which to design generated unilaterally without
all aspects of a company, participation and collaboration
"we are
including products, services, and from the management, research,
process management, as well as
heading development and marketing

PERSPECTIVE
distribution and communication. toward a teams. We are heading toward
Daily functioning of each horizon where a horizon where innovative
of these dimensions should innovative 360° strategies will drive radical

OF INNOVATION:
reinforce the brand’s message
and allow people to clearly
identify that universe in each
one of these dimensions. By
changes forward both in a
360° company’s offering and inner
strategies will dynamics. A holistic approach to
drive radical innovation is mandatory in order

360°
the same token, a company’s changes to achieve success in the 21st
interactions with other
forward both century. The idea of developing
actors and with its community a Value Sphere emerges. This
in a company’s

STRATEGIES
and the environment, should is a systemic conception of
also be representative of its offering the eight aspects of a strategy
vision, since it will directly affect and inner - brand identity, business
the brand’s public perception. dynamics'' model, products, services,
Ultimately, the business model communication, distribution,
should be consistent with the brand’s process management and partnerships.
discursive strategy. These aspects, jointly imagined and
Current market and social dynamics - marked by diverse issues and With increasingly complex designed, will offer people a superior
challenges - require the development of 360° integrated systems that economic, social, political, environmental, immersive experience.
express a company’s vision, values, and brand identity.
legal, cultural and technological In this sense, The Sprout method
requirements, it is no longer possible to adopts the perspective of Strategic

II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 63


"meaning and purpose
involve designing each of the
components: brand identity,
business services, model,
products, communication,
distribution, partnerships
and process management''
Design, which gives particular value to
the development of a business vision
as a starting point to create a coherent
offering in direct relation to current social
and environmental issues. This approach
has the clear intention of building bridges
between marketplace and society through
a method designed to produce radical
innovations that integrate fluidly and
modify their context proactively (Meroni,
2008).
Strategic Design proposes the
development of an organic and cohesive
system integrating products, services,
distribution and communication, through
a Product-Service System (PSS), in order
to create a differentiated offering. PSS
requires the identification, integration and
organization of tangible and intangible
components, as well as the design of
connections and dynamics between those
components to generate a differentiated
offering and create value for users (Zurlo
y Cautela, 2014; Zurlo, 2012; Manzini
and Vezzoli, 2003). A company must
have a vision of the future and the
offering (PSS) should be an expression
of a wider strategy that encourages
change in society. Strategic Design aims
at gathering information about issues to
promote changes in people's habits and
relationships - not to answer specific
demands from consumers. It has a
proactive perspective about the future
and seeks to move toward radical rather
than incremental innovation.
A holistic vision calls for other
components beyond the four proposed by
a traditional PSS. This need comes from the
way in which we currently build the value of
a radically innovative experience. Meaning
and purpose are not achieved easily at
a discourse level; it involves designing
each of the components and executing
simultaneous actions, integrating brand
identity, business model, products,
services, communication, distribution,
partnerships and process management.
These eight components must bring out
the company’s set of qualities and vision
and express coherently the meaning
implied in what we call the Value Sphere.
This facilitates the resonance between
people’s and company’s values and
creates an empathetic process based on
the proposal’s significance and relevance.
German company BMW’s 360°
strategy defines a prospective horizon for
2030 and intuits the future role of mobility,
forthcoming individual and
collective requirements
in urban life, as well as
"facilitate the
available technologies. resonance
In this future scenario, between
BMW predicts that people’s and
autonomy, sustainability,
security, connectivity,
company’s
and functionality will be values ''
fundamental factors. This
will be reflected in a series of concrete
changes: cars powered exclusively
by electricity with more efficient and
sustainable combustion systems;
autonomous vehicles capable of driving
without accidents improving car safety;
shared consumption practices; efficient
use of cars; preference for car access
rather than car ownership; cars connected
to a digital ecosystem which incorporate
artificial intelligence so as to improve
the management of information and
the customization of the experience. To
II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 65
respond to and, at the same time, deepen
these transformations, BMW is changing
its business model and plans to add a
wide range of services associated with
mobility, abandoning its traditional role
as vehicle supplier. BMW i is a holistic
approach to innovation: an ecosystem
composed of a network of power-
charging stations, parking space access
(both public and private), an on-demand
transport system (shared vehicles), and an
intelligent navigation tool that provides
real-time traffic information. To create other successful companies in the hopes
this ecosystem, BMW has developed of increasing their market share. However,
their own services, partnered with they will never be able to change their
other companies (for example, with SIXT status from followers to leaders.
for shared car service) and even with Far from a positivist and naive belief
individuals (to develop Parkatmyhouse, of being able to "design" the future in
a temporary parking service offered by socio-cultural terms, The Sprout method
regular people), in order to create a flexible seriously considers the possibility of
and efficient offering. influencing it. That is, anticipating social,
A question emerges: can a company economic and symbolic changes so as to
develop a Value Sphere without a vision? develop visions and strategies that can
The answer is yes, but it will probably give room to proactively play with these
have a short lifespan and, surely, it will transformations, enhancing some of their
not be very innovative. This is the case of variables, providing better interpretations,
a large number of companies that have and redesigning boundaries between
interesting propositions that mimicking people, community and companies.

II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 67

 6
MAKING
Minimizing the margin of error
when making strategic decisions calls
for useful and accurate data in a process
INNOVATION
that is characterized by high levels of
abstraction and uncertainty.
Although most companies want
to introduce radical innovations
PROFITABLE
successfully, it is extremely
challenging to do so. Both the
market and people’s tolerance
need to mature enough to
incorporate innovations
in products, services, and
experiences as well as in the
complex set of meanings
associated with them. It is
necessary to create in advance
a fertile ground that will allow a
progressive introduction of this
type of disruptive innovation.
A company can prepare
the ground with a strategy that
integrates three fundamental
operations: communicating the concept,
Our enthusiasm for developing future visions and applying innovative introducing the experience, and sowing
strategies does not make us lose sight of a fundamental requirement:
the seeds of desire. The construction
profitability.
of a support network (early adopters,
journalists, experts, opinion leaders,
among others) which can progressively
disseminate the meanings, emotions,
and benefits of the new offer is an
important first step. The mode, formats,
and the pace of innovation penetration
will depend both on the identity of the
brand and on the context’s
response. Supermarket chain
"it is necessary Coop (Italy) wanted to redefine
the shopping experience
to create in with radical innovations that
advance a would bring new meanings
to its stores. The company's
fertile ground objective was to incorporate
that will allow disruptive technologies (Big
Data, Internet of things,
a progressive robotization, augmented
introduction reality, sensors, electronic ink)
to improve access to relevant
of disruptive information that may change
innovations'' the way people relate to food.
This implies the incorporation of
interactive systems that inform
about origin, producers, and nutritional
properties to promote better consumer
habits. With this system, it would be
possible to recover the socialization that
existed in the old outdoor markets, where
II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 69
 directly working together. It is important
to recognize which of the concepts
other companies are working with can
generate acceptance for subsequent
radical innovations. The Fiat Mio (2010,
Brazil) was the first collaborative car in the
world and the first to be registered under
a Creative Commons license. The project
buyers could meet the producers, which presented the concept of digital solutions began in August 2009 with a website that
would now be done virtually. Improved that would radically change the shopping invited people to collaborate in the design
access to information could also help experience. At the end of 2016, Coop of a car for the future. More than 17,000
achieve a sustainable future based on opened an experimental store called participants from around the world
smarter decisions. Coop’s future vision "Supermarket of the Future", developed contributed more than 11,000 ideas
and strategy were presented for the first in collaboration with Carlo Ratti regarding topics such as ergonomics,
time in their pavilion called The Future Food Associati and Accenture, in the Bicocca safety, materials, and design, among
District (FFD) in the context of the 2015 neighborhood in Milan, to attract early others. All submissions were analyzed by
Expo Milano called "Feeding the Planet, adopters, opinion leaders and curious the company's engineers, who provided
Energy for Life". Coop individuals, expanding the feedback on their relevance as well as
worked in conjunction dissemination of the strategy on the results of the technical tests on
with MIT’s Senseable City
"communicating through word of mouth and the Fiat Mio blog. Groups of people
Lab, Carlo Ratti Associati, the concept, generating a new wave of were invited to design and manufacture
and Microsoft. During introducing the media coverage. Coop's plan centers in Brazil to talk face to face with
the six months of the experience, and is to develop other immersive the experts. Finally, the Fiat Mio Concept
exhibition, more than stores - although less
sowing the seeds Car was presented at the San Pablo Motor
1,700,000 people were disruptive so as to facilitate Show in 2010. Its main features were
able to experience the
of desire'' public acceptance - with compact design, sustainable engineering,
new proposal, providing, at the aid of analog and digital customizable upgrades and settings.
the same time, valuable insights to the resources, and continue introducing some This strategy allowed the introduction
company. This new immersive experience technologies progressively. Its traditional of innovative concepts - collaboration,
gained attention from the press: the stores have already incorporated high- shared ownership, sustainable mobility,
main aspects of the design concept and tech electronic labels that allow access customized engineering - to a large
strategy were publicized by mass media. to information in real time. number of people interested in the
In 2016, the concept of "Supermarket of The process of creating a fertile automotive industry and prepared the
the Future" was presented at Microsoft ground for radical innovation can be ground for what the cars of the future
Envision, one of the main communication generated collectively by different will be, even though Fiat might not be
platforms for innovative projects, which industry actors, even if they are not one of the companies that will take the

II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 71

lead in it.
Evaluating the possibility of
success of an innovative experience
requires the ability to measure society
and its assimilation capacity, as well
as a company’s ability to go to market
with a consistent business proposition.
The cases of Google’s Project Glass and
Snap Inc.’s Spectacles are very illustrative.
Project Glass is an augmented reality
visualization device designed in the
shape of a pair of eyeglasses by Google.
The device was presented for the first
time at the I / O conference in June 2012
and went on sale to users in the US on
May 15, 2014, at a price of US$ 1,500.
It displayed information in a smartphone-
like hands-free format, and wearers could
communicate with the Internet via natural
language voice commands. However,
the project was rushed to market.
Aesthetically, the minimalist design was
futuristic but unattractive, with technical
issues such as an impractical voice
interface and a low-autonomy battery
(4 hours). In addition, it raised privacy
and safety concerns because the camera
could be activated by the user without
the knowledge and consent of those
nearby, which generated enormous
distrust. In 2015, commercial sale was
suspended due to the cold reception
of consumers despite widespread press
coverage. A deficient analysis of "social
timing” as well as of people’s sensitivities,
coupled with a deficient product, assured
"evaluating the possibility
of success of an innovative
experience requires the
ability to measure society
and its assimilation
capacity, as well as a
company’s ability to go to
market with a consistent
business proposition''
failure. However, Project Glass continued
on an alternative path and developed
smart glasses for production processes
in medicine, agriculture, and logistics,
among others. In July 2017 Alphabet
released a new version of the smart
glasses called Google Glass Enterprise
Edition, designed for specific users. In
the case of Spectacles, the opposite was
true. The project was launched in 2017
by Snap Inc. and it consisted of a pair of
sunglasses with a built-in camera that
allows users to take pictures and record
videos - from 10 to 30 seconds in duration
- and then share them easily via Snapchat.
Connected via Bluetooth to the user’s
smartphone, it saves images directly on
the social network. Initially sold at US$
130, the glasses have a camera with a
115-degree lens that emulates human
field of vision; a battery with 24-hours
autonomy; and two LEDs, one internal
and one external, that warns the user and
the rest of the people that the Spectacles
are in recording mode. With a simple,
youthful and fashionable design, they
were distributed in vending machines
that popped up in secret locations only
for a certain time. Snap Inc. learned (we
assumed) from Google’s initial mistakes,
and Spectacles’ success was immediate,
as it simplified the product, made it
accessible, with a reasonable price and a
social meaning with which people could
connect.
The ability to understand cultural
and social changes, as well as to
interpret and anticipate the meanings
associated with products, services and
experiences, becomes a key factor in
the success of radical innovations and
their introduction into the marketplace.
In the mid-20th century, industrial
designer Raymond Loewy paid special
II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 73

attention to the cultural aspect of a
new product’s acceptability. He coined
the acronym M.A.Y.A. (Most Advanced
Yet Acceptable) to refer to the fact that
"adult public’s taste is not necessarily
ready to accept the logical
solutions to their requirements
if the solution implies too vast
a departure from what they
have been conditioned into
accepting as the norm" (Loewy,
2017). For example, Apple
launched a product called The
Newton Tablet in 1993. It was
an early device in the very
new PDA (Personal Digital
Assistant) category. It had a
manual recognition function
with its own operating system.
Prior to 1992, at the Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) in
Chicago, Apple Computer's
CEO, John Sculley, announced
that the Newton technology
had been tested, the user could even
order pizza in a tactile and remote way.
Although the proposition
unprecedented technology
are rebels or hackers of the status quo
with great capacity to influence others as
well as to mobilize them to support what
they believe is relevant. (Rao, 2009). For
example, technology lovers have been an
important asset for generating passion
around Apple flagship products such as
creation of new meanings associated the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad, with
with personal assistant devices, the people standing in line for as many as
product failed. Its high price and its 59 hours before the launch of a next
unfriendly interface were only one part generation Apple product.
of the commercial fiasco. The main Success is not always immediate
for radical innovation. It takes time to
reason why the Newton did
spread and be accepted. Users need to
not have the same success
"the ability to as its ‘son’ the iPad, launched
understand the new message and novel
understand in October 2014, almost 20
language, find new connections with their
socio-cultural context, explore symbolic
cultural and years later, was that the public
values and patterns of interaction with
social changes was not ready yet for the idea
the product or service. In other words,
of using a digital device to
becomes a manage calendar, notes and
in a similar way to radical technological
key factor in interpersonal communication,
innovations, which question the profound
changes in technological regimes (Latour,
the success along with other functions.
1987, Callon, 1991, Bijker and Law,
of radical In order to introduce radical
1994, Geels, 2004), radical innovation of
innovation and ensure its
innovations meanings questions profound changes
commercial success, one should in socio-cultural regimes. Therefore, one
and their first research new meanings possible path may require implementing
introduction associated with products multiple incremental innovation
into the within the cultural, social and projects associated with a strategy that
marketplace'' technological paradigm in progressively introduces disruptive
which one wishes to act. This changes in the meaning of products and
assures that it is possible to services (Verganti, 2008). The Sprout
later organize categories of users and method includes the Seeding Innovation
obtain support from a network of early System, a short, medium, and long
involved adopters of innovation, as Joe Tidd term plan to achieve radical innovation
and the argues (Tidd, 2010). These early adopters progressively.
II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 75
 7

CREATING
Organizations need to integrate and, thus fostering the development of
knowledge generated by their hybrid and unprecedented approaches.
management, research, scientific, Many of today’s most innovative

TRANSDISCI-
creative and marketing areas to create products and services are emerging,
collective decision-making processes. A for example, from the fusion of biology,
significant advance is the result of defiant engineering, and design. How can
work dynamics. An innovative those disciplines understand

PLINARY
vision has the potential to each other? Changing work
"in the face of
drive and align the efforts of processes to enhance creativity
various teams as long as they
uncertainty, it from a perspective that values
is necessary

CONSENSUS
all participate in the practice
of context observation,
information analysis and
projection and interpretation of
scenarios, building consensus
from the start about the 360°
strategy to be put into practice.
The Sprout is a method
to transverse and integrate
the creative, operational,
organizational and strategic
levels of a company through
a horizontal, flexible and collaborative
work process around an innovation
The 21st century demands not only new analytical and creative
project. This dynamic generates cross-
perspectives but also collective, horizontal and transdisciplinary
fertilization in the team’s daily work,
working methods.
feeding the interaction and synergy
between the logic of the different areas
diversity could be the key.
to establish Dealing with the unknown,
a collective constructing hypotheses and
making decisions is not a simple
consensus or conflict-free task. In the face
within the of uncertainty, it is necessary to
company establish a collective consensus
regarding the within the company regarding
the path to be taken. For this, it
path to be
is important that the first stage
taken'' of the innovation process, i.e.
research, includes all areas of the
company. The construction of economic,
social and technological diagnostics
promotes collective agreements around
mid and long-term creative and business
goals that embody a strategy’s vision,
concept and meaning. It is key here to

II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 77


"it is key here to change
the nature of the decision-
making process and
modify the traditional
management structure
from a vertical to a
horizontal model''
change the nature of the decision-making
process and modify the traditional
management structure from a vertical to
a horizontal model.
According to Design Management,
an innovative strategy must impact the
management and organization of the
company, imprinting new values and
relationships into the company's culture,
which is the most visible demonstration
of its identity (Borja de Mozota, 2003).
Organizational and management tools
must be adapted to new creative
challenges. An innovative strategy
cannot be born from old and obsolete
structures. Some of the technological
advances in the electronics industry
came from the INTEL laboratory,
where scientists invented the 4004
microprocessor chip that revolutionized
the computer industry at the beginning
of the 70s, enabling, in the following
decades, the emergence of disciplines
such as robotics, telecommunications,
and nanotechnology. However, this
radical innovation was not only the result
of the company's scientists’ talent but
also of the work philosophy implemented
by their leader, Robert Noyce, also
known as ‘Silicon Valley’s Mayor’. His
motto: “Innovation is everything."
Noyce created internal conditions
that allowed the engineering team to
think from innovative perspectives.
He established horizontal relationships
through a very simple organizational
structure with collaborative dynamics
and shared responsibilities among mid-
level managers of all areas, without any
hierarchical symbols like "luxury suites",
offices or special car parking spaces for
executives. There were open workspaces
that encouraged physical contact and
collaboration, with a direct and fluid
interaction between Seniors and Juniors
in regular work meetings where everyone
could propose and debate ideas, even
challenge leaders like Noyce himself. This
business philosophy based on teamwork,
collaboration between disciplines and the
creation of horizontal links to generate
real innovations was the one that spread
like wildfire throughout Silicon Valley and
influenced companies like Apple, Google,
eBay, Yahoo, Theranos, and Airbnb.
From the perspective of multicultural
management (Taylor and Blake, 1991), it
is necessary to enhance diversity in the
cultural and training backgrounds of the
company's teams since it could become a
competitive advantage not only in creative
terms but also organizationally, adding
different perspectives to the decision-
making process. However, this represents a
challenge, since managing diversity requires
leadership and methods that facilitate the
emergence of heterogeneous views that
will translate into a viable strategy.
Complexity increases when
we consider the difficulty of the task
because companies seek to respond
to the market and society’s growing
demand for consistent visions that can
unite efforts internally (organization) and
externally (network of partners/actors)
in order to generate concrete results.
Today, formulating such a vision requires
integrating perspectives, functions, and
logics of the different areas of a company. It
is a process of active negotiation regarding
the strategy, which involves generating
consensus and legitimacy for the path
II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 79
 "formulating such a
vision requires integrating
perspectives, functions,
and logics of the different
areas of a company:
a process of active
negotiation which involves
generating consensus and
legitimacy for the path to
be taken''
that will be undertaken right from the
start, and facilitating the subsequent
communication of the strategy to the
rest of the organization.
The Sprout works in the stage
of strategy formulation and ideation. It
helps to define a tactical direction for the
development of a competitive advantage.
It is a method that places strong emphasis
on qualitative research to support the
strategic decision-making process of
managers and designers. Based on
multidisciplinarity and cross-fertilization,
it facilitates the understanding and
integration of management and design
cultures.
The implementation of The
Sprout method within a company is
highly dependant on the degree of
activism, or rather, on the propensity
of the management areas to internally
promote changes in the paradigm. An
initial consensus between different levels
and areas of the company regarding
the need to modify the work process
for the formulation of strategies is a
sine qua non for The Sprout method to
work. Based on collective, horizontal
and multidisciplinary work, it requires
participation and active dialogue
between professionals and experts to
arrive at successful results. Even though
we understand that these values are not
usually widespread in organizations -
regardless of their size -, The Sprout can
help positively incorporate and grow an
innovation culture.
II. 7 METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 81
III. 360° INNOVATION:
THE VALUE SPHERE

A HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE
OF INNOVATION
The outcome of an innovation
process must be a 360°
strategy. In this sense, both
the research and the creative
phases should not make us
lose sight of our objective: the
development of a Value Sphere
modeling a 360° strategy
applicable to a specific market
from a medium to long-term
perspective.
A holistic perspective of innovation
outlines a system that includes the
integrated and organic combination
of products, services, distribution, and
communication - traditionally known
as the Product Service System (PSS)
- as well as, brand identity; process
management; partnerships; and, business
model. The challenge is to design 360°
strategies that integrate, functionally
and conceptually, different aspects of a
company and express both vision and
identity, crystallizing its market strategy after Zara, producing between 550
coherently as a whole. The Value Sphere, and 600 million garments each year.
then, is the systemic embodiment of H&M announced that its goal for 2030
the eight aspects of a strategy (brand is the use of 100% biodegradable or
identity, business model, products, recyclable materials, as well as becoming
services, communication, distribution, a 100% circular company at all levels
partnerships and process management), of the production chain by
which, if considered and designed as 2040. According to its 2016
a whole, offer people an outstanding sustainability report, the
"with the
immersive experience. company collected 16,000 Value Sphere,
With the Value Sphere, a company tons of used clothing in its a company
attracts individuals who interpret its stores, reduced its carbon attracts
proposed meaning and connect deeply dioxide emissions by 47%
individuals
with the experience. In order for this compared to 2015, and
to happen, there cannnot be any 96% of the electricity used
who interpret
disruptive elements interfering with the in its operations came from its proposed
interpretation of meaning. When one renewable energy sources. meaning and
of the eight aspects of the Sphere is However, the dichotomy connect deeply
not aligned cohesively with the rest, the within the brand’s sustainable
expression of meaning is distorted and discourse is the immense
with the
confusion results: the audience receives volume of garments that experience''
contradictory messages. This dilutes a it produces annually to
brand’s value and the effectiveness of feed uncritical mass consumption. The
its proposition straightaway. This is the users receive contradictory messages
case of H&M, one of the main players of sustainability and mass production
in the fast-fashion segment - although it around their experience that diminishes
calls itself an "affordable fashion" brand the brand’s credibility and dilutes its
-, the second largest player in the world value.
III. 360° INNOVATION: THE VALUE SPHERE 85
 BRAND The eight components
IDENTITY DISTRIBUTION
of a Value Sphere are:
1. BRAND IDENTITY
It is a brand’s DNA, a complex
construction consisting of its main values,
PRODUCTS attributes, the narrative associated with
PROCESS
MANAGEMENT its history and reputation. It allows users
VALUE
to associate a particular meaning with a
brand. The crystallization of these abstract
SPHERE® facets can be done through tangible
elements such as colors, iconic products,
visual symbols, and environments,
SERVICES BUSINESS among others. A brand’s identity makes
MODEL it possible to have a specific positioning
in the marketplace, becoming, then, the
starting point and the main filter for the
expression of a company's strategy and
its innovation project. However, brand
COMMUNICATION PARTNERSHIPS identity can and should evolve and adapt
both to future changes in society and
the marketplace and to the new vision
that can be developed when faced with
a prospective horizon. In this case, the
company may consider, for example,
changing some of its aspects to generate
brand extension and position itself
in new sectors (related or not - to its
original one), taking advantage of greater
opportunities as shown by the future
scenario.
2. BUSINESS MODEL
The Business model defines
the logic that the company will use in
order to make money. For this, it will
develop a specific set of products and/
or services, defining the way it will
reach its target market, establishing one
type of relationship with their users.
The model does not have to vary over
time as different innovative strategies
are developed. However, when faced
with a future scenario, it is necessary to
reflect on the advisability of changing
(or not) the business logic to maximize
market opportunities. In a transitional
moment between business models -
with the emergence of on-demand
service, a collaborative economy and
with consumers turned into companies’
producers and partners - this aspect
acquires great relevance and deserves
special attention when defining the new
Value Sphere.
3. PRODUCTS
Products constitute the supply of
goods when possession is transferred
III. 360° INNOVATION: THE VALUE SPHERE 87
to the buyer. Objects have a tangible
aspect (physical attributes) but they also
incorporate intangible attributes such as
functionality, aesthetic characteristics
and specific benefits. Products are also
vehicles to reinforce and express people’s
identity in resonance with a brand’s DNA.
4. SERVICES
Services are the part of the offer
but sale does not imply a transfer of
possession of a good: they come into
existence at the time of purchase and
consumption and are instantaneously
perishable. Services may not only
have an intangible component but
also incorporate tangible elements to
materialize them before people’s eyes.
Other services can be related directly
to the offered goods and are developed
before, during, or after the sale to
complement or replace the products,
contributing to the consolidation of a
complete experience.
5. PROCESS MANAGEMENT
Process management involves
any actions aimed at achieving the
specific objectives of a company at a
given time. It includes the development
of the technological, organizational and
knowledge systems necessary to ensure
the implementation and sustainability of a
Value Sphere over time. The structure and
internal management logic of a company
may not change over time, thus proving
to be relevant to lead the innovation
processes and the implementation of
new strategies. However, it is difficult
to imagine a radically innovative 360°
strategy that does not involve a change
in some aspects of the organization,
either to formulate the strategy or to
execute it. A company with a traditional
logic (vertical structure, fragmented,
reactive) can hardly come to devise and
implement a disruptive vision in the
current marketplace, which is crossed by
values that are horizontal, collaborative
and interdisciplinary. In a context of huge
technological and cultural changes, an
important part of devising any future
strategies will be the design of resources,
dynamics, and creative and productive
abilities.
6. PARTNERSHIPS
Partnerships involve identifying
potential partners and establishing
strategic alliances, as well as designing
the dynamics and quality of those
connections. The aim being to ensure
the development of the Value Sphere
components (access to new technology,
convergence with another industry, joint
research, creation of complementary
services, generation of a multiple
distribution system and development
of integrated communication, among
others). Currently, some of the most
innovative experiences were created
by unprecedented meetings between
industries and disciplines, creating more
new strategy.
complex partner networks and cross-
cutting collaboration and work dynamics.
8. DISTRIBUTION
Distribution involves all
7. COMMUNICATION environments and analog and/or
Communication involves all digital channels used by the company
actions tending to publicize and to distribute and present its products
promote the value of a 360° strategy, and services with the aim of promoting
establishing a two-way communication their sale. It refers to the design of the
flow (feedback) through various channels sale spaces to provide a complete brand
with different actors, whether internal or experience for users, whether they are
external to the organization. One of the buyers or people who can influence
external objectives will be the persuasion a potential audience. Currently, the
not only of possible users but also of consumer experiences are configured by
early adopters and opinion leaders multiple marketing systems that integrate
who influence the public regarding the and connect stores, e-commerce, and
proposition’s differential. Internally, the m-commerce. It is impossible to think of
main goal is to achieve consensus on the any of these channels in isolation.
III. 360° INNOVATION: THE VALUE SPHERE 89

"from the °360 strategy
perspective, a new Value
Sphere should integrate
naturally and cohesively
most of these eight
aspects, thus designing
an extraordinarily
comprehensive
proposition''
In order to achieve profitable
innovation, changes should not be
forced in those aspects that do not
require change, as these may retain
their usefulness and relevance in the
new strategy. In other words, a Value
Sphere can be radically innovative by
modifying only some of these aspects.
Freitag is a Swiss company created
in 1993 by graphic designers Markus
and Daniel Freitag around the concepts
of functionality and ecology. Its main raw
materials are recycled and repurposed
truck tarpaulins, seat belts, and bicycle
tires to create one-of-a-kind bags. Over
time, the company gave customers
the possibility of personalizing the
design of their products through the
F-CUT service on its website. From
the beginning, Freitag was associated
with a sustainable transport habit that
would become very relevant in cities:
the bicycle. The company created
a range of products that are easily
transportable. Its stores use recycled
industrial furniture, and its flagship
store in Zurich was built in 2006 from
eighteen recycled metal containers
that make up a modern tower. By
keeping total coherence between
components of its Value Sphere, Freitag
has evolved from the initial concept of
sustainability (embodied in the actions
of recycling and repurposing) to the
philosophy of circular economy. In
2014, the company presented a totally
biodegradable clothing line for men and
women, thanks to the innovation of
the F-ABRIC textile that decomposes
in two months if left in a compost. In
terms of process management, this
new plant fiber textile is produced
100% in Europe so the negative impact
of transportation is reduced. The
communication strategy of this new
line resorted, in an intelligent way, to
the figure of the founders’ grandmother
as the inspiring muse of the "art of
composting". In addition, extending
the idea of circularity, in 2017 the
company launched a new loan service,
starting with its F-512 backpack model,
ideal to go on vacation. Point five of
the brand's manifesto clearly supports
this move: "We prefer access instead
of ownership". Those who borrow the
backpack for three weeks must post
their photos on social networks under
the hashtag #GoneWithFreitag.
Disruptive innovation is not
limited to manufacturing products.
Businesses rooted in customer service,
should consider market trends by
seeing people’s desire to deepen their
differentiation by digging into their most
intimate nature and finding original
and unprecedented experiences. For
instance, the travel agency “Travel
Unwrapped” offers a radically innovative
service: designing trips based on a
person’s DNA. The service can be
requested from home: those interested
receive a kit to take a saliva sample that
will be sent to the agency's partner, DNA
Living, a company specialized in DNA
testing and analysis. The customer’s
genetic ancestry will be analyzed with
the advice of expert genealogists.
Based on a detailed report on the
customers’ descent, the travel agency
will propose a travel itinerary that
III. 360° INNOVATION: THE VALUE SPHERE 91
explores the cultural and geographical anchored in two considerations: the
links to ancestry. This Value Sphere generation of solar energy to supply
involves innovation both in the service its vehicles and the conversion of the
as well as in the process management "consumer" into a domestic producer of
components, proposing a new way of that renewable energy. For this reason,
designing touristic experiences and the company began designing products
generating alliances with other actors such as solar panels functionally and
to access sophisticated technologies aesthetically adaptable to private
the early 2000s showed that around
and information analysis homes as well as lithium
30% of traffic problems in the streets,
systems. "a Value batteries for the storage of
with their consequent impact on
For its part, Tesla is this energy. However, Tesla is
betting on a Value Sphere
Sphere can now betting on an even bigger
environmental pollution, occur when

that involves great innovation be radically change: it foresees that soon

in most of its components. innovative by people will be able to sell the
Founded in 2003, one of modifying only excess energy that they do
the company's principles is not consume in their home or
some of these
to accelerate the transition vehicle back to the company.
to sustainable transport.
aspects'' This implies a change in the
In consequence, one of its business model as well as in
biggest challenges was the progressive process management since it opens up
introduction of vehicles powered by new economic possibilities in alliance
renewable energy sources - from its first with users, who acquire an active role
model in 2006, the Roadster, to Model in the generation of this increasingly
3, launched in 2017 - influencing the strategic resource. well as fuel consumption, air pollution,
future of the automotive industry and Urban mobility and sustainability
of society itself. Tesla decided to move are issues that occupy first place when
toward the development of a sustainable it comes to concerns associated with
ecosystem of products and services life in cities. Studies conducted in
drivers are looking for parking space.
From this data, the start-up Tinynode,
based in the Swiss city of Lausanne,
developed an intelligent parking system
that, through sensors built in the street’s
asphalt, transmit real-time information
to an app on the drivers' smartphone
about the availability of parking spaces
in public and free areas. This system
improves the driving experience by
reducing non-productive time when
searching for a free parking spot, as
and stress. Here the Value Sphere not
only proposes an innovative service but
also calls for a strong alliance between
the company and the public sector.

III. 360° INNOVATION: THE VALUE SPHERE 93

IV. THE SPROUT
METHODOLOGY

THE SPROUT WORKS IN THE
FORMULATION AND IDEATION
PHASE OF A NEW VALUE
SPHERE
It is a qualitative, holistic, and
multidisciplinary methodology
that guides radical innovation
processes based on collective
efforts, transversally
integrating a company’s
management, research,
creativity, and marketing
areas.
The Sprout dynamic generates
cross-fertilization in a team’s daily
work, fostering interaction and synergy
between different disciplines. Therefore,
The Sprout is a useful tool to facilitate
the decision process concerning future
strategies.
The Sprout method proposes four
sequential phases from initial research
to the design of market strategies. The
methods and tools proposed in each step
are designed to stimulate critical analysis
and creative resolution to challenges. This
work process, when properly executed,
will generate a radically innovative Value
Sphere.
The initial phase involves context
research and consists of surveying and
analyzing those signals that anticipate
the future in 5, 7 or 10 years. This
facilitates the organization of information
on social, economic, technological and
creative trends to crystallize the vertices
of the future scenario. From there,
the innovation perimeter of the future
scenario is defined through design criteria
that project specific changes in consumer
behavior, values, aesthetic criteria,
technologies, functional, emotional and
identity demands. The Future Prism tool
allows the construction of an objective
scenario and creates a concrete image
of a possible future. The second phase
involves the company’s interpretation of
that future, developing the vision, the
concept and the meaning that will guide
the architecture of the new proposition.
The third phase includes the design
of an innovative Value Sphere, the fourth phase, to its long-term projection
360° expression of the strategy in the through the formulation of an action
marketplace, in order to advance, in the plan, the Seeding Innovation System.
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 97
THE PATH TO INNOVATION

PHASES TOOLS

CRYSTALLIZATION
of the Future Prism’s vertices A possible future scenario. Based on previous social, economic, and technological trends
1. DEFINING THE INNOVATION PERIMETER:
Design criteria
research, the building of a scenario is the foundation of a company’s decision-making process
allowing for the projection of a cohesive prospective horizon that will guide the company’s
INVESTIGATION FUTURE PRISM CONSTRUCTION: actions in the present, and also in the short, medium and long-term.
Future scenario FUTURE PRISM®

The vision is the direction that a company will take in the future. It establishes how a company

2.
INTERPRETATION will position itself in a 5, 7 and 10-years projected scenario, and it represents its Future Prism’s
of the future: interpretation through the filters of its values and brand identity. The concept is the guiding
INTERPRETATION Vision, Concept and Meaning idea for a company’s innovation strategy. The meaning establishes a value proposition in terms
VISION CONCEPT of tangible and intangibles elements to capture public’s attention.
MEANING

A 360° declination of the innovation strategy which expresses a company’s vision and identity
and embodies, as a whole, its market strategy. The Value Sphere is the systemic and integrated
3. DEVELOPMENT
of a Value Sphere: an innovative 360° strategy
representation of: brand identity, products, services, communication, distribution, partnerships,
process management and business model. These 8 facets of the Value Sphere will work jointly
DESIGN to offer a superlative immersive experience to the public.
VALUE SPHERE®

A roadmap containing main ideas and information about each of a Value Sphere®’s
4. SEEDING INNOVATION SYSTEM'S FORMULATION components with their 5, 7, and 10-years projections. The SIS integrates external context and
inner resources and assets in a dynamic of strengths and opportunities.
PROJECTION SEEDING INNOVATION
SYSTEM®

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 99

 EXAMPLES GUIDE
The Sprout details a step-by-step
methodology that companies, agencies
and organizations of diverse sectors
can apply. The book describes, with an
instructive purpose, several examples
of the application and usefulness of The
Sprout principles, tools and methods in
easily understood hypothetical cases.
MAIN CASE
Sector: Furniture and Kitchen Appliances.
Company: independent family business
with more than 100 years of history in
the manufacture of kitchen appliances
and furniture.
Brand values: Premium products,
durability, energy efficiency,
contemporary design and high
functionality.
Objective: to formulate an innovative
Value Sphere to guide the company's
strategy in the next 10 years, based on a
future scenario in the year 2027.
PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Social Trends Research Method
Crystallization of the local social trend
Transnaturalism.
Crystallization of the global social trend
Enriched Humans.
Crystallization of the global social trend
Autonomous Nodes.
Important: examples of technological and
economical trends are not included since
their crystallization is generated through
field-specific research.
Definition of the innovation perimeter:
design criteria
Design criteria based on the local social
trend Transnaturalism.
Design criteria based on the global social
trend Enriched Humans.
Design criteria based on the global social
trend Autonomous Nodes.
Design criteria based on technological
trends.
Design criteria based on economical
trends for the Furniture and Kitchen
Appliances sector.
Definition of Stimuli Cases.
Construction of the Future Prism
Design Criteria Compatibility and
Complementarity Chart.
Critical Design exercise about the future.
Construction of a future scenario in the
year 2027 for the Furniture and Kitchen
Appliances sector.
PHASE 2: INTERPRETATION
Definition of Vision, Concept and Meaning
based on the 2027 Future Prism for the
Furniture and Kitchen Appliances sector.
PHASE 3: DESIGN
Development of a new Value Sphere
based on Vision, Concept and Meaning
of the company.
PHASE 4: PROJECTION
Formulation of a Seeding Innovation System
projected to 5, 7 and 10 years from the
new Value Sphere of the company.
APPENDIX
To illustrate how a Future Prism can
be built for other sectors by simply Likewise, with the aim of illustrating how
changing the design criteria of the vertex different companies can make different
"Economical Sector Trends", the Appendix interpretations of the same Future Prism,
section details the construction of future the Appendix includes the definition of
scenarios in the year 2027 for the Urban Vision, Concept and Meaning for the
Transport sector (Case 2) and the Luxury 2027 future scenario by three companies
Fashion sector (Case 3). of the Luxury Fashion sector (Case 3) .
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 101
INITIAL PHASE:

Information about future changes - specific guidelines facilitating the

can be identified and arranged in subsequent development of innovative
medium to long-term trends to construct market strategies.
prospective horizons in order to make Context analysis is often confused
strategic decisions. This projection with the role played by coolhunters
exercise also requires incorporating (only observing ‘cool’ things that we
those factors that add unpredictability like or are interested in). However,
to our analysis, this task requires turning
such as new social the members of a team
events, environmental
"the current into true social analysts
phenomena, political context provides capable of identifying
events, economic the keys to get signals, analyzing
turbulence, scientific ahead of changes variables and projecting
discoveries and scenarios before tackling
technological disruptions
in behavior; of the the creative phase of a
that, although difficult creation of new project.
to foresee, can be meanings; and, The investigation of a
understood. The current of the emergence future context consists of

INVESTIGATION
context provides the keys collecting and analyzing
of consumer
to get ahead of changes in all the information
behavior; of the creation
demands'' that may be useful to
of new meanings; and, of project a scenario 5, 7
the emergence of consumer demands. or 10 years in the future. However,
“The Future is in the Air”. The Sprout methodology is based on the
It is necessary to apply a method that this information is not found all in
premise that it is possible to predict the future based on current
systematically transforms dispersed one place: a portion of it is organized,
signals and variables that are anticipating changes in society and the
and heterogeneous signals into trends structured and quantified in studies,
marketplace.
- a conceptual approach - and then data, and statistics; while an important
translates them into design criteria part is found in heterogeneous and

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 103

complex signals that involve intangible,
qualitative aspects that are difficult to
structure.
The key is to develop an
interdisciplinary perspective to address
data collection and information analysis.
Teams comprised of professionals with
varied social, technical and creative
backgrounds have many advantages in
this phase. The challenge for a company
that does not have a team with these
characteristics will be to generate
interactions between different areas of
the organization to form a kaleidoscope
of varied insights.

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 105

1. INVESTIGACIÓN
IV. 1. INVESTIGATION

CRYSTALLIZATION OF
THE FUTURE PRISM’S
VERTICES
The combination of structured
and unstructured, quantitative and
qualitative information is one of the
keys to generate an effective analysis
of the context and to consequently
project a clear future scenario. For this,
it is necessary to organize the enormous
universe of dispersed, heterogeneous
signals into different categories,
facilitating their processing, analysis, and
crystallization in the vertices (trends)
that will sustain the future scenario. The
vertices of our Future Prism scenario
(visually taking the form of a hexagon)
will be formed from global social, local
social, technological, and economic
sector trends, and stimuli cases. From
these vertices, the design criteria that
will outline and guide our future scenario
clearly emerge and define the innovation
perimeter. ing on what is most relevant to our objec-
The exercise of crystallizing the Fu- tive, avoiding anything that could hinder
ture Prism’s six vertices should propel us to the development of a clear and concrete
synthesize and prioritize trend data, focus- future scenario.

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 107

SOCIAL TRENDS
Social trends include main changes
detected through the emergence of
new ideas, concepts and patterns that
could generate future changes in social
behavior, consumer demand, and new
meanings. Presently, it is fundamental
to investigate social trends from a
global perspective - the world and/or
hemispheres as scenario - as well as from
a local perspective - focusing on a region,
country and/or city - to obtain a broad
panorama of upcoming transformations.
In this sense, a useful formula could be
to survey two global trends and one local
trend; although this may vary according
to the company’s market of interest. The
Sprout incorporates a specific method
of trend research based on systematized
steps that involve everything from the
survey of signals to the definition of the
design criteria that will define the Future
Prism and allow the construction of a
precise scenario.
TECHNOLOGICAL TRENDS ECONOMIC TRENDS STIMULI CASES
Technological trends express Economic trends include those To this analysis of social, technological
main advances in the company’s changes relevant to the industry and economic trends we should incorporate
industry that could modify people’s where the company works and/or a survey of stimuli cases. This survey can
social interactions and behaviors, acts upon: economic perspectives, give us a panorama on recent innovations
as well as different technical and modifications in manufacturing systems, and experimentations, support the
organizational aspects of production consumption evolution, new players, construction of our future scenario, and
systems and business models. In an age specific technological developments, stimulate the creative development of new
of profound technological disruptions, innovative materials, recent competitor strategies. We will find innovative projects
it is necessary to incorporate this strategies, and new business models. and the best case studies from different
dimension into our context study. Here it is fundamental to consider parts of the world that have extended
To detect these trends, one should quantitative market studies to project the horizon of what is possible and can
resort to information sources regarding the economic variables in connection inspire the company's team. It is important
scientific and technological advances, with a company’s activity with relative to survey different disciplines, industries
reading critically and transcending certainty, taking into account not only and sectors, leaving the project’s feasibility
(but not disregarding altogether) the sector directly involved but also (as perceived by the company) aside and
merely technical aspects to find what related sectors that could, in the future, only assessing their ability to think from an
has caused them (user demand, new influence its economic activity. unprecedented perspective.
emerging concepts, social innovations)
and their future impact. It is also
important to consider the thoughts
of technologists and social analysts
who focus on current technological
disruptions.
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 109
IV. 1 INVESTIGATION
B. SOCIAL
TRENDS
RESEARCH
METHOD The Sprout proposes a trend
research methodology developed
specifically to analyze the context and
detect those signals that anticipate
social changes. The basis for this
method relies on the thesis that the
present holds the key to the future in the
form of scattered, heterogeneous and
complex signals that must be collected,
connected, analyzed and projected.
However, it is necessary to develop
intelligent work that goes beyond
general social transformations, which
can be very varied and interesting, and
focuses on the factors that will generate
changes in social behaviors, on the
emergence of unprecedented demands
and on the creation of new meanings
that could have a relevant impact on
the market’s future dynamics.
Social behavior is the way
people relate to each other and to
their environment. It involves cultural,
economic, legal, political, environmental
"the present holds the key
to the future in the form of
scattered, heterogeneous
and complex signals
that must be collected,
connected, analyzed and
projected''
and social aspects. Demands are
the desires and requirements that
people formulate, consciously or
subconsciously, based on functional,
emotional and identity factors.
Meanings are the concepts, values, and
emotions that may arise in society and
in the marketplace. It is useful to also
think here about concerns, fears, and
tensions that could mediate future
social relationships.
Analyzing the social context is not
a simple task completed impromptu - it
requires specific training to transcend
the superficiality of the phenomena
in order to perceive the signals that
effectively anticipate the future, as
well as to analyze in depth their origin
and their possible evolution over time.
The real challenge is separating what
is simply an alternative concept of
fashion or a fad from what is genuinely
valuable information - due to its content
and projection potential to build our
scenario in 5, 7 or 10 years.
The nature of social phenomena
must also be considered because it will
reveal what type of research is required
at this stage. The first thing we need
to know is that social phenomena are
multidimensional: they affect different
spheres of our lives - cultural, economic,
environmental, political, technological,
legal - and acquire characteristics and
interactions that demand a holistic
interpretation to understand their scope
and implications over time. Secondly,
social phenomena have multiple causes,
there is no cause-effect linearity: for
each social event, different factors
must be analyzed from a broader
perspective, analyzing past, current
and future variables. Social phenomena
are relational; that is, they necessarily
involve interaction between people. If
we think about human nature, we can
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 111
 their social relationships and distinguish
their propensity to change socio-cultural
and market paradigms.
Both understanding power as the
possibility of imposing one's will upon
others, of influencing their decisions
(Weber, 1920), as well as considering that
it is the result of a strategically complex
situation in an inequitable and dynamic
assume that the analysis cannot begin connecting elements of the different
society, which determines a person’s
from simplicity. We must study carefully dimensions of social life. Likewise, a
greater or lesser influence (Foucault,
not only the dynamics of the actions socio-historical contextualization that
1976), will help us understand not only
but also their effect and feedback in links past and present causes to later
the relationships between individuals
the social context. The fourth aspect understand future evolution must also
but also some of the motivations behind
is the complexity of social phenomena, be produced. Finally, it is necessary
their actions. Power marks every level
never presented explicitly before us; to identify and analyze the elusive
we move in daily, from micro-spheres -
it is necessary to transcend social actors involved and the
such as our family, work and sentimental
superficiality to find real various ways their interests, ties - to the macro-spheres of political,
causes, involved actors and "investigate motivations, intentions, cultural and economic strategies. Through
produced effects, constantly and conflicts, and consensus consumption of products, services or
seeking to capture the understand intervene in the various experiences, the individual reinforces,
wealth of their implications. situations, processes, and
what factors consciously or subconsciously, his or
Finally, social phenomena are events. her own decision-making power and
dynamic, precisely because
mediate An important part of this influence in front of others. Recently,
they involve people and everyday task is to investigate and autonomy has emerged as a valuable
the evolving relationships relationships understand what factors feature in experiences: to give people the
established with each other.
between mediate everyday relationships possibility of designing and producing their
When we have generated an between individuals. Factors
analysis and interpretation
individuals'' such as identity construction,
own objects and/or resources at home
(additive manufacturing, urban agriculture
of a social fact, it will have the expression of libido, the systems, solar energy production, home
already changed in some aspect. exercise of power and the aesthetic ecosystems). This autonomy has become
As a result of all this, when we enjoyment are key to seeing dynamic very popular because it reinforces the
work with trend methodology and human interactions. Based on concepts desire of people to increase their degree
analyze social phenomena, we must such as power, libido, identity, and of market independence, in some cases
generate multi-causal explanations beauty we can understand many of by eliminating intermediaries, giving them
that account for the different variables people’s actions and choices, along the feeling of greater freedom when
that encompass social interactions, with the characteristics that shape choosing and, at the same time, reducing

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 113


access costs. Similarly, power relations
cross all social, cultural and economic
actors. For example, marketing
campaigns are specifically aimed at
influencing consumers' choice; their
effectiveness depends to a large extent
on the brand’s power, which in turn
depends on its performance in the
business world, its reputation, and
identity. When a company chooses the
protagonist for an advertising campaign,
it is also considering how to reinforce
that strategic situation of power, which
is associated with the condition of
power that the protagonist also enjoys.
If Angelina Jolie led in 2011 the Louis
Vuitton campaign barefoot, sitting on a
wooden boat, holding a bag with the
famous monogram of the French firm
photographed in the rugged and lush
landscape of Cambodia's Siem Reap
province, it was because of her ability
to influence millions of women. Jolie's
power comes from her particular
characteristics and roles, placing her
in a remarkable strategic situation:
she is a canonically beautiful woman,
has experienced professional success
as an actress, is the mother of seven
children, was married to a handsome
man, she is a style icon in the world of
fashion and carries out humanitarian
work for the United Nations. This
makes her desirable for a firm like LV,
which is associated with savoir-faire,
quality, history and exclusive luxury.
In this social dynamic, the person who
buys a product or service - charged
with the values of both the brand and
the ad's protagonist - seeks to reinforce
their capacity to influence others:
consumption becomes a complex
system of power.
Many of people’s social actions
can be explained by way of the
libido, that energy of impulses related
to emotional connections (Freud,
1921), and the search for affection
and acceptance. The constant need
to seduce others in order to satisfy
emotional desires, as well as today's
society’s permanent attraction (and
fascination) with sex, can be explained
through the concept of libido. It is no
coincidence that many brand strategies
seek to empathize with their audience
by referring to people's basic desires
(such as sex) connecting directly with
the most intimate aspects of human
nature. Ikea launched an ad campaign
in Spain in 2011, in a moment of a deep
drop in mass consumption resulting
from the 2008 economic crisis, which
featured several couples having sexual
relations under the slogan "It is not
richer who has the most, but the one
that needs the least." Faced with an
adverse context for home products,
Ikea decided to empathize with people
through a message of austerity that
highlighted a healthy and free practice:
sex. The growing sexualization of
the market comes not only from the
language of creatives but also from
people’s new practices, like the market
saturation of dating apps such as
Tinder, Grindr or 3nder, among others.
The logic of attention and selection
of these applications impacted the
way individuals consume products,
services, and experiences. In Tinder, for
example, the user has a menu where
they can view other nearby users who
are selected by algorithms based on
interests and people in common - with
Facebook as the source of information.
Users select or discard the "candidates"
by simply swiping left (no) or right (yes).
This dynamic highlights the sensation
that one can discard any profile because
there will always be a better profile in
a sea of infinite options. Simplicity,
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 115

"transcend the
superficiality of the
observed phenomena
in order to perceive the
signals that effectively
anticipate the future,
as well as to analyze in
depth their origin and their
possible evolution over
time''
speed, and primacy of image are the
criteria that dominate dating apps
when it comes to searching, comparing
and choosing. The link between people
and companies is being influenced by
this perspective, so purchase choices
are increasingly affected by users'
convenience, immediacy, fluidity, and
interests.
The construction of a social
and dynamic identity is another great
driver of social actions. Identity has,
on the one hand, a relational aspect
that defines an ‘us’ and a ‘them’ - in
fact, people are sometimes better at
scenes from everyday Parisian life in
different neighborhoods - many not
considered attractive to tourists -
showcasing the diversity of individuals
and micro-communities that give life to
the French capital.
Exploring the cultural richness
in which people are immersed, as
defining what, by contrast, they are not well as building identities through
-, and on the other, a historical and, products, services, and experiences,
therefore, dynamic aspect (Grimson, can be an important
2009). Consciously and subconsciously factor when designing
defining and reinforcing identity new propositions. In this
"power,
through peers, daily rituals, modes of sense, in 2015 Illy created libido,
expression, clothing, cultural tastes ‘Personal Blender’, a identity,
and habits of consumption is a daily concept of a digitally and beauty:
and permanent task. The creation operated espresso
concepts
and participation in multiple analog machine that allows users
that help us
and virtual micro communities is a to make their own brews
characteristic of the present day. In from nine types of beans understand
2016, Paris local government released from Brazil, Guatemala, many of
the promotional video "Paris, Je t'aime" Ethiopia, Colombia, Costa
people’s
in order to encourage tourists to visit Rica, India, Tanzania,
the city after the 2015 attacks. The Nicaragua and El Salvador,
actions and
commercial showed beautified scenes controlling the degree choices''
in emblematic places of the city, those of sweetness, bitterness,
for which it is recognized worldwide. and acidity. The expression of identity
However, this generated a negative acquires as much relevance as its
reaction from many Parisians who did construction: by communicating their
not feel identified with an image that sense of belonging, people reaffirm
they considered stereotyped to the their decisions and actions within the
extreme and not representative of the social fabric.
city’s enormous cultural diversity. In The analysis of identity aspects
response, creative duo Maxime Baudin cannot be done by reading visible
and Léo Bigiaoui launched the video and superficial features, but rather by
"Paris, on t'aime aussi", which exhibits exploring the complexities offered by
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 117

a globalized and interconnected world, intellectual property rights, something
with its consequent challenges. Bearing that caused a negative reaction in
in mind the concept of hybrid identities people who felt that the company was
(García Canclini, 1989) can be very useful meddling with the country’s traditions.
to decode those identities configured In the end, the company apologized
by multiple cultural references, the and desisted from any legal action.
Finally, beauty is also transformed
product of global interaction. In China,
people pay homage to their ancestors into a social action, given that it is a
during the Qingming (Tomb Sweeping) subjective experience influenced by
festivity. The Chinese socio-cultural structures
burn, in a funerary ritual, and, therefore, feasible to
different offerings like paper
"assess the be transformed over time.
replicas of objects that propensity of Asking what a person or
the deceased may need in socio-cultural group of people consider to
the hereafter: food, boxes and market be beautiful is fundamental
of cigarettes, clothing, to understanding their
paradigms to
and miniature homes, for actions, expressions, and
example. After the recent change" interactions with others,
boom in consumption and as well as their market
the arrival of international brands to choices. The commercial ‘Made by
the Chinese market, replicas of items Sweden’, developed by Volvo in 2015,
from Western firms have been added explored the melancholic beauty of
to the offerings: iPhones, McDonald's Nordic culture to empathize with
menus, Lamborghini cars, Rolex people who consume luxury cars in a
watches, handbags and Gucci shoes, different way. Musicalized with the
for example. In 2016, the Kering group, magnetic song "Vintersaga", the ad
owner of Gucci, instructed merchants sought to evoke the aesthetic universe
to stop selling cardboard fakes, claiming of Sweden's harsh and dark winter,
emphasizing the feeling of "vemod",
a word without direct translation that
represents the tender sadness or
melancholy mixed with a sensation of
hope that the Swedes experience during
the long winter months, a period that,
strangely enough, has great positive
impact on the country's creativity. In
fact, Sweden is a hotbed of innovative
brands such as Ikea, Absolut Vodka,
Ericsson, H&M, Acne, Electrolux, and
Volvo. Aesthetic enjoyment often sets
the emotions experienced by people
against the socio-cultural structures
of meaning, opening the field to
experimentation. Another example of
breaking negative associations to create
a disruptive product is the marketing of
BLK. BLK is a 100% natural mineral
water that is black and contains 77
minerals and fulvic acid that gives it its
color. This substance, obtained from a
spring in the Sandilands Forest Reserve
in Canada, also gives it the quality
of being an energizer but without
caffeine. Under the slogan "Enjoy the
dark side", the product challenges the
traditional aesthetic sense associated
with pure water - transparent, colorless,
crystalline - proposing an experience
that requires dissociating the "dubious"
color of water – it looks like petroleum -
from its taste - it tastes like pure water
- and its health benefits.
Understanding the complex
network of social relationships in which
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 119
people function will help us expose
their actions and their choices, as well
as give us a glimpse into their propensity
to change socio-cultural and market
paradigms. Identifying social trends will,
then, be the first task to be carried out
to generate, organize and systematize
the information that will become the
basis for three of the six vertices of our
Future Prism.

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 121

 values, behaviors, feelings, meanings,
OBSERVATION AND and desires in people. They generate

ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL concerns, triggering focus areas on

TRENDS issues and aspects not addressed

A social trend is a group of
connected ideas, concepts, and patterns
integrating social, legal, environmental,
technological, cultural and economic
aspects that develop over time and
previously, causing a change of
perspective to interpret reality, and
giving rise to meaning creation. One
starts to want something new, some
aspect of behavior is modified, a novel
concept is applied, one’s relationship

can generate changes in future social with the others and the environment

behaviors, demands, and meanings. changes.

What factors stimulate the At first, these transformations
emergence of social trends? Social emerge in a subconscious, dispersed,
of development; on the contrary, it
facts, disruptive technologies, spontaneous, and chaotic way, driven
has advances and setbacks, zigzagging
political changes, scientific findings, by multiple factors and causes that
paths, accelerations, and slowdowns.
economic crises, radical thoughts, interact in a complex and dynamic way.
An emerging trend interacts with
emerging business models, critical To capture these incipient changes that
cultural, social, economic, political, legal,
activism movements, environmental anticipate the emergence of a trend, environmental and technological, global
phenomena, development of new researchers must collect signals, which and local aspects that can stimulate or
areas of knowledge, unprecedented are no more than society’s conscious discourage it, and thus determine its
cultural interactions, transformations and unconscious manifestations and future evolution. According to these
in urban dynamics, novel aesthetics, expressions. Their job will be to observe, factors, a social trend can accelerate
creations of original products or relate and interpret those signals to its pace by becoming a mass trend
services, and emergence of unknown anticipate the future. relatively fast or, on the contrary, hinder
creative and projective disciplines, A social trend’s evolution is its development, taking decades before
among others. These factors have the neither linear nor unidimensional.It also we might be able to observe its impact
capacity to influence the emergence of does not maintain a sustained rhythm on a massive scale.

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 123

 Social trends rarely emerge by
surprise: there are always precedents
that explain the appearance. Nor is
it an event that dilutes quickly: it has
a long-term evolution. In this sense,
we can clearly identify three stages
in the life cycle of a social trend: (1)
outbreak, that moment when a group
of concepts, ideas, and patterns begins
TRENDS EVOLUTION
to emerge timidly through scattered
and observable signals in a handful
of people; (2) growth, when that set
of concepts, ideas, and patterns has
LIFE CYCLE
relatively expanded and a small group
of people - what is usually called ‘the
critical mass’ - has incorporated them
into some aspects of their lives; and
finally, (3) maturity, the stage at which
the mass appropriates the concepts,
ideas, and patterns that are by then
Maturity
considered normal. At this point of
a_ market saturation, the trend has already
Maturity
lost effectiveness as such because its
Growth
b_ Maturity Growth Maturity
Growth
Maturity
Growth
Growth
d_ c_
Outbreak
Outbreak
e_
Outbreak Outbreak
TIME
a_ 15 years, b_ 10 years, c_ 7 years, d_ 5 years, e_ 5 years
power of anticipation is zero.
The duration of a social trend’s
life cycle depends on the evolution
of its causes and variables. However,
we could say that a truly disruptive
trend takes no less than seven years to
emerge, mature and become flooded.
The analytical value of a trend lies in its
content and its power of anticipation, so
it is essential to detect it in its outbreak
stage, giving us time to process it,
build scenarios, develop innovative
strategies and reach the market before
our competitors with a Value Sphere
that connects and, at the same time,
influences people’s new requirements,
values, and sensibilities.
Trends do not disappear over time
but mutate according to their variables
and interaction with other trends.
Some of the aspects may intensify
while others may lose strength over
time. For this reason, it is necessary
to revisit and re-think trends every
six months, following their evolution
and periodically making corrections
regarding the future scenario. An
important fact to consider: in many
cases, one social trend can morph into
another.
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 125
EVOLUTION OF
SOCIAL CHANGES
From ecology (2000) to domestic
production (2017)
At the beginning of the 2000s,
climate change became relevant, impacting
a series of discourse actions that put peril
in the foreground. In the face of a palpable
threat, people reacted with preservation
instinct, which explains the emergence of
projects that invited people to "take refuge"
in homes in a protective context. Little by
little, Nature began to be incorporated
into urban areas. The concept of ecology,
present for several decades, began to be
redefined through different disciplines.
Reuse as a mechanism gained supporters as
a first step against excessive consumption.
The attitude of dominating, of "beating"
Nature - an approach popular throughout
much of humanity’s history and reinforced
in the last century - gave way to considering
Nature as a source of wisdom (2006). It
was no longer a question of breaking it, but
of taking advantage of its properties and
even imitating it. Concepts such as body
care, healthy nutrition, and improvement
of quality of life became relevant. By the
middle of the decade, ecology had given
way to the concept of sustainability, a more
comprehensive approach that integrated
social and cultural factors. Toward 2008,
the concept of sustainable ethics began
to join the sphere of organizations and
companies. Simultaneously, the demand
by consumers for information on product
traceability was increasing. The expansion
of social media since 2007, fostered the
attitude of disseminating and sharing data
about companies' manufacturing processes.
However, in 2009, the responsibility for
sustainability ceased to be viewed vertically
- something that had to come from the
top-down - to give rise to the tendency
of capillary responsibility, focusing on the
impact of people’s micro actions and the
chance to become factors of change. The
breakthrough of what was then called
conscious consumption was based on
these variables. By 2010, and boosted by
the impact of the 2008/2009 economic
crisis, the idea of local manufacturing
acquired a positive connotation and
fueled distrust of opaque production
conditions in remote countries. Honesty
and transparency began to gain relevance
in communication, companies began
to clearly expose their values, providing
consumers with more elements to make
their choices. A productive reconversion in
several industries to advance toward cleaner
technologies and processes began to take
place. Simultaneously, research projects
based on clean technologies, organic
processes and durable developments were
expanded. In 2015, some companies
went even further and set precise change
goals. Cities projected urban reconversions
to become ‘greener’ and sustainable. The
concept of autonomy permeated all areas.
During 2017, the role of consumers began
to change, radicalizing their role as factors
of change, acquiring the role of domestic
producers of strategic resources such as
energy, food, and water.
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 127
 A trend expands, deepens and
mutates through a dynamic process of
diffusion of new behaviors, concepts,
values, and concerns. The new ideas
emerge, at first, in daily actions of critical
individuals who are non-conformist,
curious and prone to embrace
alternative ideas. This handful of people
- that some analysts consider 1% of the
population - is characterized by cultural
heterogeneity, geographical dispersion,
and a preference for differentiation as a
mechanism of social acceptance. Their
decisions are not greatly influenced by
the media and they maintain relative
independence from mass consumption
dynamics. This does not mean that they
consciously seek to take new paths and
challenge the status quo, but that they
do so instinctively. They are those who
propose, in a disjointed and chaotic way,
new concepts, demands, and ingenious
behaviors.
Copywriters, critics, and
communicators will observe early any
disarticulated manifestations of alternative
ideas, and then they will amplify their
horizontal diffusion. In a dynamic and non-
linear process of resonance, resignification
and adaptation, a larger circle of people
will encounter these new concepts,
concerns, and behaviors. Social, cultural,
environmental, political, legal, technological
and economic factors may accelerate or
slow down the dissemination rate. In this
way, the nucleus of alternative ideas will
expand and multiply its effects provoking
early acceptance and adoption by the
second group of people (the critical
mass), relatively larger, and who, over
time, will no longer think that those
ideas are strange or frightening, and will
end up incorporating them slowly into
their life dynamics. In this second group,
differentiation is a variable that plays an
important role in the decision-making
process. This is the moment when a
greater number of experimental projects
and actions based on that corpus of
original concepts begin to emerge.
Finally, when the market notices the
trend and transforms it into innovative
strategies, it will begin the path toward
saturation through imitation by the mass
of consumers in a process of constant
adaptation and resignification.
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 129
RIPPLE EFFECT
SOCIAL TRENDS EXPANSION
AND CONVERGENCE
At any period of time, one can
observe the coexistence of multiple
social trends with different duration
and maturity, some impact on certain
aspects of people's lives, while others
converge to enhance their effects. In this
multiplicity of social trends, some will be
more relevant in conceptual terms and
in the depth of their impact, so they will
have greater analytical interest, while
others may be interesting to investigate
as a complement to the former.
Detecting future changes in social
behaviors, demands, and meanings
require moving analytically in very abstract
spheres, focusing on concepts, ideas, and
patterns that will crystallize in the long
term. It is predicting the future, having
the ability to see what others do not see
(see Chapter II. "The 7 Methodological
Principles"). The Trend Reach and Impact
Pyramid makes it easier to understand
how trends crystallize over time, from
emergence as a social phenomenon to
massive impact translated into micro
(seasonal) trends, via mid-term effects in
art and design. New values, behaviors,
feelings, concerns, meanings, and desires
emerge at the highest level, the more
abstract and long-term level, associated
with social dynamics. Starting from the
top of the pyramid (Social Phenomena)
we can identify an initial impact on
artistic expressions and critical design
explorations (Critical Design), creative
spheres where artists and designers
work with disruptive ideas, questioning
normality and proposing alternative
notions. Here we continue to handle a high
level of abstraction since we are dealing
with long-term trends with a projection
to of 7 to 10 or more years. The next
level consists of pioneering aesthetics
and functional experimentations. At this
level, we can visualize new concepts,
ideas and crystallized patterns with
more observable features, so that it is
possible to identify, in a more concrete
way, material, symbolic and functional
propositions. These phenomena, far
from being in line with mass taste,
seek to generate new experiences and
relations with the critical mass. These
trends have medium duration and
their influence lasts, approximately 5
years. Associated with these emerging
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 131
concepts, the most advanced brands
will develop innovative strategies linked
expressed through their Value Sphere.
Over time, these experiments will
be translated into products, services
and mass experiences as the market,
eager for new developments, will take
emerging concepts and translate them
into strategies for a broader audience. It
is important to note that, at this last level,
we are no longer talking so much about
trends with strong anticipatory power as
we are operating in the stages of maturity
and mass diffusion. Within three years,
at most, these trends will have lost their
strength. At the lowest level, we will have
micro-trends associated with specific
industries, such as fashion trends for
each season, with an impact that lasts no
longer than a year.

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 133

SOCIAL TREND REACH AND IMPACT PYRAMID

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 135


A THREE-STEP FIRST STEP: OBSERVING AND
METHOD FOR COLLECTING SIGNALS IN PHYSICAL
SOCIAL TRENDS AND VIRTUAL REALITY
This step is very important because
The detection and analysis of social it will determine whether the value of
the current information we have on our
trends is not a difficult process per se but
desks is sufficient to move forward in the
it does require a systematic methodology
analysis. If the data collected at this stage
to address the task’s complexity. By
is deficient, either in quantity or quality,
correctly performing the three steps
it will be impossible to obtain a trend
proposed by this method, it is possible to
that provides relevant inputs to build our
gauge trends at 5, 7 to 10 years.
future scenario. To begin the stage of
The three steps are:
observing and collecting signals, we must
ask very simple questions: are we good
1. Observing and collecting signals observers? What kind of observers are
in physical and virtual reality. we? What do we see when we observe?
2. Inferring concepts based on And, more importantly: what do we not
signals. see? It is necessary to be aware that
3.Elaborating an interpretation history, culture, and education shape the
of the relations between concepts and type of observation we carry out and
multidimensional explanations. that it is impossible to be 100% objective
observers. From then on, it is essential
Once these three steps have been to form multidisciplinary teams whose
completed, the next phase of The Sprout members are complementary in terms of
methodology will be to translate the capacity and type of observation. Teams
trend into design criteria to delimit the comprised of professionals from project,
innovation horizon of the future scenario. social, scientific, economic and creative
areas will have greater possibilities
of collecting an interesting corpus of
information as well as generating an in-
depth analysis of the collected signals.
Regardless of each member’s
specific education, there are certain
personal and professional requirements
to become an optimal signal hunter:
intuition to move on the streets and on
the Internet in search of signals; active
observation so as not to lose detail and
look at everything without prejudice;
openness to prioritize useful information
and not the ‘cool’ things that we like or
are interested in (coolhunter); curiosity to
enter new places and social circles; ability
to create audiovisual documentation of
signals; adaptability to instantly reorient
the investigation if necessary; and
knowledge to recognize which signals
are and are not innovative.
What is a signal? A contingent
expression where new needs, values,
desires and concerns that modify
behavior, demands and meanings in
a society are manifested (consciously
or subconsciously). How do signals
show up? In a dispersed way, with both
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 137
tangible and intangible characteristics, The complexity of the work is in
in different areas, with varied actors, in detecting common conceptual elements
different geographies. What can be a among diverse and contingent information
signal? Signals do not appear with the that are expressed in signals. How do we
same characteristics or formats or in recognize a signal? An observable signal
the same areas, but can will: somehow catch our
adopt various expressions: attention; it is something we
a product, a social event, "a signal is have never seen before; it
a song, a writing on a wall, a contingent implies something new; we
a conversation between
expression cannot decode it easily, but
A: No, but it is convenient to work with
people, a work of art, a text, a we intuit that it expresses
service, a space, a consumer
where new a potentially interesting
current signals that are not more than

experience, a news article, needs, values, concept. As we said earlier,

one year old. Consider, however, that
some very strong signals may be older
an urban intervention, a desires and an important requirement
and still be valid.
scene in a public space, an concerns that for trend research is the
Q: How do we re-check our collected
investigation, a testimony, a knowledge that observers
modify behavior, signals?
way of using a product, etc. must have to distinguish
All these heterogeneous demands and what is truly novel from
A: Asking team members and other
people about the novel aspect of that
and diverse expressions meanings in what is not.
signal. Determining if it is really new or if
communicate the a society are We must ask and we can find some link to another signal.
emergence of new needs,
manifested'' answer several questions An important requirement is that
values, desires and concerns about signals to understand we should not intellectualize this phase
that modify social behaviors their usefulness: of observing and collecting signals in
and relationships, stimulated by those Q: How many signals are required to physical and virtual reality but prioritize
factors mentioned above (social facts, build a social trend? their fluency (sometimes very chaotic
disruptive technologies, political changes, A: There is no mathematical model; but and dynamic), since the objective is to
scientific findings, economic crisis, radical the more we have, the better. collect and check the largest amount of
thoughts, new business models, etc.). Q: Do signals have a period of validity? information (signals) possible.

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 139

INFERENCE PROCESS OF CONCEPTS
SECOND STEP: INFERRING
CONCEPTS BASED ON SIGNALS
The method to study social
trends resembles the process of
semiosis explained by Peirce as the
knowledge process triggered when a
person perceives a sign (we will use the
term signals) and then infers a concept
and, through this mechanism, knows
something else (Peirce, 1987). In The
Sprout methodology, the mechanism is
similar: from context observation and
collection of heterogeneous signals
(mostly non-linguistic), there will follow a
stage of inferring concepts linked to these
signals, and finally search for relations
between these concepts, to look into the
causes of their emergence and generate
an interpretation that can help us predict
their future evolution.
An important aspect to consider
is that each culture establishes a
relationship between things and what
represents them; it creates its own
symbolic system, which implies that the
basis of interpretation varies in each
society (Peirce, 1987). In the same
action, people from different cultures
will find different meanings. The team
must be aware of these differences to
make relevant interpretations about the
observed signals.
So, the utility of collecting signals
is in the fact that it allows us to trigger
knowledge processes that allow the signal
hunter to learn more and, in this case,
anticipate the future. As in the semiotic
process, from each signal (sign) we can
infer one or several concepts, exercising
our ability to interpret meanings. Once
the signals are collected in the physical
and virtual context, the next step will be
to infer the concepts, seeking to attribute
one or more meanings to each sign. This
exercise is dependent on our structure
of interpretation, knowledge and ability
to associate concepts with signals.
We are seeking at all times to develop
diverse interpretations on the analyzed
information, escaping from our comfort
zone and exercising our critical capacity.
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 141

The only way we can relate signals to each
other is through concepts; otherwise, it
would be impossible to find links between
reality's signals due to their material and
expressive heterogeneity. Therefore, the
more concepts we can formulate at this
time, the richer our interpretation will be.
It is necessary to consider here that we
are not talking about a creative exercise
but an investigation, so it is not possible
to propose concepts that do not have
a direct and clear relationship with the
signal.
THIRD STEP: INTERPRETING THE
RELATIONS BETWEEN CONCEPTS
AND MULTIDIMENSIONAL
EXPLANATIONS
Once a universe of inferred
concepts is constructed, the next task
is to find relationships between these
similar and/or complementary concepts.
We are applying our signal relationships
to make a global interpretation of a group
of signals and discover the meaning of all
collected information to ultimately unveil
predicted future trends. We can exclaim
‘Eureka!’ when we have managed to find
meaning in all the scattered signals. A data
set can be associated with a large number
of concepts, and it is possible to select,
group and regroup signals again and again,
according to different interpretations.
There are no limits or formulas for this
application. It is a dynamic exercise
that will draw on the analytical capacity
of the multidisciplinary team and may
encourage the search for more signals
to modify, affirm or reject some of the
team’s initial interpretations. Finally, we
will be left with the interpretation that
coherently and consistently links signals
and concepts. This allows a glimpse of
changes in society’s future behaviors,
demands, and meanings. Until we reach
that moment, we only have provisional
connections and interpretations - but
not a definite trend. For this to happen,
we must find the reason behind the
emergence of the signals and concepts,
as well as predict their future trajectory.
To shape a trend, it is essential to
move from the descriptive phase to the
explanatory phase, providing reason and
precedent for the emergence of a group
of signals and concepts. It is essential to
generate solid relationships and associate
variables that respond, at least, to the
following questions: Why did this arise
now and not before? What conditions
were necessary for the signal appearance?
Is this surprising (it almost never is) or
was there a condition that anticipated
it? Is it the evolution of a previous
trend? What social, environmental,
legal, economic and cultural aspects are
involved in these concepts? What are the
new values, needs, concerns and desires
associated with those concepts? What
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 143

will the changes be in society’s behaviors,
demands, and meanings? What factors
will ease the future evolution of these
transformations?
The exercise of constructing
explanatory relations is not easy since
it requires our analytical capacity to
identify variables. We must also be able
to propose a hypothesis that allows us
to interpret our information reasonably.
A very simple technique to transcend
the superficiality of facts to focus is
to ask ‘why’ five times: before each
partial explanation you have to ask
again why, systematically elucidating
reasons, causes, and effects. Likewise, it
is important to question our hypothesis
by asking if there is an alternative
interpretation that could also explain
the emergence of these signals and
concepts validly. It is fundamental here
to distinguish between what we would
like a trend to be (that is, the projection
of our desire on how the future should
be) and what it really is by incorporating
negative aspects that might not be to
our liking. Again, it is about being trend
analysts (signal hunters), not coolhunters.
MULTIDIMENSIONAL EXPLANATIONS
In short, it is necessary to describe
those changes in behaviors, demands
and meanings that we will observe in
the future, associated with a logical
explanation based on present and future
factors. In practical terms, our proposition
or phrase should contain a first part
where we describe what transformations
will happen - with information on who,
what, where, and how - and a second part
where we explicit the why; that is, what
variables are causing the emergence
of that particular transformation in the
present and the factors that will mark its
future evolution.
Once we have completed this
analytical path, we can sketch social
trends that integrate concepts, ideas
and signals woven together with their
explanatory variables. It can be very
useful to apply three defined keywords
that synthesize main concepts, ideas,
and patterns. It is also important to
choose a provocative name with solid
communication and trajectory to label
the social trend described.
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 145
SOCIAL TRENDS RESEARCH METHOD

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 147

PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Social Trends Research Method

EXAMPLE
Crystallization of the Future Prism’s Social Trends

LOCAL SOCIAL TREND

TRANSNATURALISM

ECONOMIC SECTOR TRENDS GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND

KITCHEN EQUIPMENT & APPLIANCES ENRICHED HUMANS

FUTURE
PRISM ®
GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND
AUTONOMOUS NODES STIMULI
CASES

TECHNOLOGICAL
TRENDS

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 149

PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Social Trends Research Method

EXAMPLE
Crystallization of the local social trend (Paris)
Transnaturalism

COLLECTED SIGNALS

HOW TO CATCH THE UNIVERSE IN A

BIO URNS M6B2 TOWER OF BIODIVERSITY FOG POINT VODKA
SPIDER'S WEB

Biodegradable urns to reincarnate in a tree + Maison Édouard François Art installation by Tomás Saraceno Drink made with water extracted from fog
smart incubator Arquitecture (Argentina) (United States)
(Spain) (France)

BIORAMA
MAPUGUAQUÉN PABLO OCQUETEAU APPLE TECH SQUARE SYNTHETIC PHOTOSYNTHESIS
MOMENT FACTORY

Wireless clay speakers that amplify ‘earth’ Incorporates nature + educational and meeting Technology to recycle CO2 in organic Multisensory technology installation
sounds space components faster than plants (Canada)
(Chile) (United Kingdom) (Germany, Switzerland)

FREITAG ALLURE NESTE DIVYA’S KITCHEN

100% biodegradable Campaign against the anti-aging concept in Development of biofuel from animal waste Ayurvedic Vegetarian Restaurant
compostable clothing line cosmetics and medicine (Finland) (United States)
(Switzerland) (United States)

THE FUTURECRAFT BIOFABRIC FLOWER MESSENGERS PARIS, SUSTAINABLE UTOPIA SIERRA NEVADA
ADIDAS AZUMA MAKOTO VINCENT CALLEBAUT ARCH MONK BREW CO.

Biodegradable tennis shoes Art intervention Smart and sustainable city Circularity in the beer production system
(Germany) (Brazil) (France) (United Kingdom, United States)

ELECTRIFY THE WORLD LIVING ARCHITECTURE

THE COFFIN CLUB ROSEMONT HOTEL
NISSAN RACHEL ARMSTRONG

Virtual trip to polluted sites Fusion of architecture, medicine, biology, and People design their own coffins Hotel with its own tropical jungle
(United Kingdom) poetry into spatial design (United Kingdom) (New Zealand) (Arab Emirates)

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 151

PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Social Trends Research Method

EXAMPLE
Crystallization of the local social trend (Paris)
Transnaturalism

INFERRED CONCEPTS

COMPOSTABLE LIFE MULTISENSORY ENVIRONMENTS BIO SYNTHETIC SUSTAINABLE ECO SYSTEMS

SEARCH FOR A NEW BALANCE HEALTHY HABITATS CIRCULARITY

TECHNOLOGY TO REPRODUCE NATURE

EMPATHY & TECHNOLOGY NATURAL SYMBIOSIS

REDEFINITION OF HUMAN LIMITS SMART CITIES

SUPER-EFFICIENCY ANCESTRAL WISDOM REDUCTION OF HUMAN IMPACT VALUED TEMPORALITY

HYPER-INFORMED DECISIONS IMMERSIVE DIVERSITY VITAL CONNECTIONS COLLECTIVE BENEFITS

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 153

 PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Social Trends Research Method
EXAMPLE
Crystallization of the local social trend (Paris)
Transnaturalism
MULTIDIMENSIONAL EXPLANATIONS
People will redefine their ideas
of human limits to better integrate with
Nature’s vital and dynamic cycle. A greater
perception of the benefits of natural
properties for health and performance will
influence decision-making. An intention
to transcend physical death will emerge
in connection with the idea of circularity.
Why? There is a growing awareness of the
finitude of life in a world that has become,
definitely, an insecure place. The palpable
threat of climate change and the risks of
living in critical social, political and religious
contexts will enhance this behavior.
People will choose life dynamics
and circular production systems - what
can be called "compostable life" - with the
intention of diminishing human footprint’s
negative impact on the environment. Access
to reliable information to make smart and
conscious decisions will be valued positively.
The conception of collective benefits -
not only personal - will be present in the
decision-making process. Why? There is
more information about individual and
collective habits' negative impact on the
environment. Different cities around the
world are experiencing direct consequences
of air and water pollution. Simultaneously,
there is greater awareness of the benefits
of nature.
People will want to live in smart,
hyper-efficient, balanced and multisensory
urban habitats that integrate Nature and
technology. The optimization of strategic
resources - such as energy, water, and
food - will be one of the factors in decision- vitality and wisdom. Environments should
making. The development of technological be empathetic and connect with people’s
devices and materials capable of imitating senses. Environmentally and emotionally
and even improving the performance of healthy habitats will be one of the greatest
nature (for example, in CO2 processing) demands. Why? After decades of perceiving
will be key in the future. Why? Shortage of Nature as a factor
resources in a future context - for example, to control, now
according to the UN, in 10 years two-thirds the perception is Keywords
of the world population could be affected that its benefits Human Transcendence
by lack of potable water - will enhance can make cities Biourbanism
the idea of optimization. The debate on more livable. Compostable Life
air quality in cities is present in the public The proliferation
agenda. Cities like Paris, for example, are of functional
Social Trend
heading towards clean energy and by 2040 or extremely
Transnaturalism
vehicles with gasoline and diesel fuel will be impersonal
banned. Greater access to new technologies architecture
associated with resource production during the last decades has caused lack of
on small scale is another factor that will empathy with the environment, causing a
encourage sustainable behavior. disconnection with the community. At the
Cities will be spatially, aesthetically and center of the scene are also alternative
functionally reprogrammed to incorporate urban mobility strategies to reduce public
Nature into everyday life as a source of and private transport’s harmful impact.
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 155
PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Social Trends Research Method

EXAMPLE
Crystallization of the global social trend
Enriched Humans

COLLECTED SIGNALS

ITOP 3D BIOPRINTER DUO SKIN MIT

TRAVEL UNWRAPPED REGENERATIVE MEDICINE INSTITUTE DERMALABYSS MIT HYUNDAI EXOSKELETONS
WAKE FOREST & HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
Trips designed from people’s DNA 3D printing of human tissues and organs Technological tattoos functioning as interface Mobility for people with limited muscular power
(United Kingdom) (United States) devices to improve work in factories
(United States)
(South Korea)

GENDER REVOLUTION VIV THE GLOBAL BRAIN SHISEIDO

HONDA NEUV CONCEPT
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SAMSUNG HIGH SCHOOL GIRL

Edition dedicated to changes related to gender Virtual personal assistant with artificial Car with an emotional engine Commercial with young men transformed into
(United States) intelligence (Japan) women
(South Korea) (Japón)

DATA DRESS CRISPR. OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE

NEUTRAL GENDER PASSPORTS WE ARE SUPERHUMANS
GOOGLE E IVYREVEL UNIVERSITY

International identification without gender Dress designed from personal information Channel 4 TV spot for the Rio DNA editing on humans and animals for medical
(Canada) (Sweden, United States) 2016 Paralympic Olympics purposes (China, United States)
(United Kingdom)

DNA APP STORE DELETE WEARABLE THIRD THUMB

THE SEX REDEFINED
HELIX IREGULAR DANI CLODE

Claire Ainsworth’s article for Nature, Digitally explore your genetic code from a Virtual and interactive installation on digital A third controllable thumb allows users to extend
Issue 518, 2015 smartphone humanity aimed at children their natural abilities
(United States) (United States) (Canada) (United Kingdom)

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 157

PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Social Trends Research Method

EXAMPLE
Crystallization of global social trend
Enriched Humans

INFERRED CONCEPTS

SELF-DEFINITION INTERMITTENT INTERESTS VIRTUALIZATION OF THE BODY DIFFERENCE AFFIRMATION

ONLINE DECISIONS REDEFINITION OF ETHICAL BORDERS MIGRANT SENSITIVITY BREAKING OF TRADITIONAL CATEGORIES

FRAGMENTED AND
COMPLEMENTARY IDENTITY EXPONENTIAL SYNERGY MANIPULATION OF HUMAN NATURE PEOPLE AS MANAGERS OF IDENTITY
ANALOG/DIGITAL FRAGMENTS

DATA & NARRATIVE RESILIENT DESIGN HYBRID INSTINCT REVERSIBLE STATES

EXTREME, MASSIVE AND DYNAMIC

EMOTIONAL ENGINEERING CONNECTED & COGNITIVE OPEN-SOURCE EXPERIENCES
PERSONALIZATION

INTERACTIVE ENVIRONMENTS ENRICHED MATERIALS

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 159

PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Social Trends Research Method
EXAMPLE
Crystallization of global social trend
Enriched Humans
MULTIDIMENSIONAL EXPLANATIONS
People will exercise their capacity
for self-definition without being guided by
established parameters, acquiring hybrid,
reversible and dynamic identities. In this
exercise, individuals will not want others
(institutions/people/companies) to define
them in advance. Open-source experiences
will involve the very essence of humanity
in a process of mutual redefinitions. Why?
The ‘normality crisis' has caused a break
in traditional categories such as gender,
age, and social roles, not being able to
linearly associate these characteristics
with established behaviors. Expression of
difference has become a way to achieve
social acceptance, displacing the old
mechanism of homogenization. Scientific
reports have reinforced the idea of the
fluidity of human physiology and, therefore,
of our desires and behaviors. A growing
critical activism around the conception of
the binary gender pattern is questioning the
traditional system of social roles.
Fluidity of links and intermittence
of connections will generate plural
overlapping and simultaneous belongings,
which will be necessary to integrate,
compatibilize and manage in real time.
Why? The search for differentiation leads
to a diversification of habits and to the
construction of connections with others
around a multiplicity of interests. In a
context where dynamism, instantaneity,
and overstimulation prevail, it is
impossible to establish closed and stable
belongings. the impact of their decisions. Extreme
People will be willing to modify their personalization of the experiences will be
physical, emotional and cognitive abilities a growing desire to satisfy particular tastes
through products, services and experiences and at the same time manifest difference.
in order to improve their performance. As a Why? The
consequence, there will be a redefinition of construction
ethical boundaries around concepts such as and expression
Keywords
mental intimacy, virtualization of the body of identity
and manipulation of human nature. The ideas take place in
Reversible Identities
of resilient design and emotional engineering all spheres in Radical Personalization
will acquire greater importance. Why? There which a person Virtualization of The Body
is an unstoppable need to improve human acts. The
performance because of the greater demand manifestation of Social Trend
for contemporary life coupled with a desire the difference is Enriched Humans
to live unique experiences that nurture a mechanism to
identity. Likewise, the fall of traditional achieve social
discourses provokes the emergence of acceptance, achieving legitimacy in
alternative ideas around intimacy and body. the face of others remains relevant; to
People will be able to physically this extent, hyperconnection facilitates
and virtually edit themselves through instant collective responses to personal
new technologies and instantly check decisions.
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 161
PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Social Trends Research Method
EXAMPLE
Crystallization of global social trend
Enriched Humans
ANTECEDENTS OF A SOCIAL TREND
From the breakdown of uniformity (2000)
to reversible identities (2017)
The new millennium found people
immersed in discomfort. Uniformity
in consumer habits and aesthetic
expressions as a condition for social
acceptance and belonging was common
in the second half of the 20th century
and widely exploited during the 1990s.
However, at the beginning of the
year 2000, acceptance began to shift
from uniformity to differentiation. To
be accepted, people had to express
some feature of identity within
specific established margins. Slowly,
the democratization of beauty
began to color all areas, encouraging
alternative expressions associated
with the inevitable human condition:
body diversity and passage of time.
Personalization - superficial and
aesthetic - as a marketing concept was
the response to these new requirements
from increasingly prominent consumers
who began to explore their own vision.
Towards 2008, the idea of creating
one’s own discourse through consumer
choices gained strength, further
strengthened by the emergence of
social media, which required sharing a
markedly personal universe. This was
also combined in 2009 with a break
in the concept of normality that had
a huge impact on cultural, social and
aesthetic areas. Furthermore, social
roles and gender identities began to be
questioned. Traditional institutions such
as family began to crack in the face of
legal breakthroughs on issues such as
same-sex marriage or surrogacy, putting
topics not previously discussed at the
center of the debate. The search to
express differences was reinforced by
easy-access technologies that allowed
to creatively express one's personality.
By 2010, the personal gesture itself had
taken center stage, the authentic feature
that defied norms using rebellion and
irony as tools. It was in this period that
fashion, for example, opened the game
to other users, timidly incorporating
sizes for bodies that have been
considered "special" until that moment.
The celebration of an alternative
beauty opened the horizon to more
complex forms of beauty, associated
with the imperfect, with mistakes. By
2012, another social category, age
group, was in crisis, no longer serving
as a parameter to classify the behaviors.
People over 60 years started being the
focus of technology and fashion, for
example. Slowly, another social category
expressed the disagreement about what
is considered ‘normal’: gender, which
underwent two powerful attacks: the
first, the feminist struggle that acquired
strength and questioned traditional roles
assigned to men and women, as well
as in inequity and violence associated
with them; the second impacted on the
binary conception of gender, based on
cultural visibility and the legal battle of
the acceptance of "alternative" genders:
transgender, agender, gender fluid, etc.
By 2014, audience diversification began
to accelerate, encouraged by the fall of
the traditional categories of reference.
Technological developments made
possible the expression of differences,
the personalization of experiences and
the construction of micro-networks of
shared interests, reinforcing identity
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 163
PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Social Trends Research Method

EXAMPLE
Crystallization of global social trend
Enriched Humans

ANTECEDENTS OF A SOCIAL TREND

construction. At the end of 2014,

Facebook enabled 54 gender options for
its user profiles. In 2015, scientific research
contributed to the deconstruction of
these labels, such as the article "Sex
Redefined" (Claire Ainsworth, Nature
518, 2015). Young agenders began
to lead fashion and cosmetics brands
campaigns (Shiseido in 2015, Covergirl
in 2016, Rimmel London in 2017, among
others) while Selfridges opened the pop-
up "Agender" (2015) under the slogan
"celebrate fashion without definitions."
In 2016, the concept of reversible
identities became known as the process
through which people exercised their
autonomy to define themselves beyond
social categories, configuring their
identity in a flexible and fluid way,
expressing it through a constellation
of analog and digital fragments. This
journey of changes in parameters,
categories, and roles that is killing the
traditional cultural and social paradigm
is one of the factors that prepared the
ground for the "enriched human" trend,
encouraging people to reconsider mental privacy, virtualization of the body
profound issues such as identity digital, and manipulation of human nature.

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 165

PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Social Trends Research Method

EXAMPLE
Crystallization of global social trend
Autonomous Nodes

COLLECTED SIGNALS

HOUSE OF WONDER +/- HUMAN

TESLA ECOSYSTEM FEELIGREEN
WERNER AISSLINGER WAYNE MCGREGOR
Flexible housing, digital/analog, Choreographic performance with Home system of production, storage and sale of Electronic devices for cosmetic care at home
sustainable, co-working autonomous aerial spheres solar energy (France)
(Germany) (London, United Kingdom) (United States)

THE URBY STATEN ISLAND OPEN AGRICULTURE, MIT

BULGARI VAULT WISEKEY BMW VISION NEXT 100
CONCRETE - IRONSTATE CITY FARMING, PHILIPS

Co-living residential complex App to store and manage valuable information Technology for self-production of food Autonomous, electric and connected car
(United States) with maximum security (United States, Netherlands) (Germany)
(Greece, Switzerland)

3D HOME FLOATING CITY PROJECT DAILY ACTION

CARTE BLANCHE, TINO SEGHAL
APIS COR - PIK THE SEASTEADING INST. LAURA MOSER

House built entirely with additive manufacturing Self-sufficient floating cities Text message alerts for daily activism actions Performance about human connections in cities
(Russia) (French Polynesia) (U.S) in a technological era
(France)

ACTOPOLIS GOETHE INSTITUT &

SPEED FACTORY ADIDAS KNITERATE TEXTILE 3D REGEN VILLAGE EFFEKT
URBANE KÜNSTE RUHR

Virtual platform to connect urban activists Advanced modular and robotic manufacturing Additive production system for textiles Small, highly technological and self-sufficient
(Germany) systems (Spain) neighborhoods
(Germany) (Netherlands)

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 167

PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Social Trends Research Method

EXAMPLE
Crystallization of global social trend
Autonomous Nodes

INFERRED CONCEPTS

COMMUNITIES OF CHANGE ACTIVE ENVIRONMENTS SELF-PRODUCTION COLLECTIVE LEARNING

INDEPENDENCE NODES SELF-SUFFICIENT ECOSYSTEMS SHARED MANAGEMENT MODULAR ACTIVISM

INDIVIDUALS AS PRODUCERS
CRITICAL AUTONOMY ONLINE DESIGN AND PRODUCTION CAPILLARY SUSTAINABILITY
OF STRATEGIC RESOURCES

CONNECTED FUNCTIONALITY MICROUNIVERSES OF BELONGING CREATIVE ATMOSPHERES REPROGRAMMABLE SPACES

CONSUMPTION AS POLITICS EVERYDAY REBELLION DECENTRALIZED DECISIONS FLEXIBLE ACCESSIBILITY

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 169

PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Social Trends Research Method

EXAMPLE
Crystallization of global social trend
Autonomous Nodes

MULTIDIMENSIONAL EXPLANATIONS

People will produce strategic resources such as time and space, the
resources for life (energy, water, food) both optimization of these factors is key to
for their own consumption and to provide achieve a satisfactory quality of life. New
for their micro-community. Independence work dynamics make it easier to rethink
and autonomy will be guiding values, spaces, including homes and housing
since they will infuse a feeling of greater complexes. motivate people to act as agents of local
security. Alternative strategies to eliminate People will be looking to building change. Consumption will increasingly
intermediaries and/or inefficient structures self-sufficient and durable ecosystems, acquire political connotations. Permanent
will be implemented. Why? A critical managed collectively, to move towards critical activism and rebellious attitude will
perspective on the access to strategic decentralized decisions. Network be expressed creatively in all areas, from
resources increases people’s perception functionality will be paramount. Links the bottom up. Why? Inefficiency at the
of vulnerability. There is increasing between micro-communities will be cusp of power
mistrust over traceability of products with generated around exchanges of values and to respond
the application of genetic modification resources. Why? There is growing distrust to serious Keywords
techniques that alter their properties of macrosystems (political, cultural, legal problems,
Independent Ecosystems
with secondary impacts on health. Faced and economic) and their inefficiency in both globally
Value Constellation
with an ‘out of control’ world, marked the face of old and new challenges. The and locally,
Capillary Responsibility
by permanent humanitarian, political, need to build "independence" is an initially generates a
economic and religious crises, individuals defensive response but then it becomes perception
Social Trend
seek microscale control over actions, proactive. Relations with others, forming of lack of
Autonomous Nodes
resources and information. micro-communities, as well as links protection.
Flexible, modular, hyper-connected between micro-communities, will be a People
and shared productive and work systems mechanism to build collective certainties resolve to take control of the situation
will be established. Spaces will be easily in the face of an uncertain and unstable and develop alternative micro-systems.
reprogrammable in order to adapt to context. New technologies also facilitate
different daily activities: work - learning Development of an attitude of interaction with others around common
- leisure - self-production. Why? In a capillary responsibility in the public and concerns while enhancing the expression
future context marked by scarcity of private spheres. Collective action will o f discomformities .

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 171

IV. 1 INVESTIGATION
C. DEFINING THE
INNOVATION
PERIMETER: DESIGN
CRITERIA
Design criteria define the perimeter
of our future scenario and, therefore, a
company’s innovation horizon. Based
on this scenario, a company can make
strategic and creative decisions to
design a new Value Sphere. A relevant
stage of the work is to translate social,
technological and economic sector trends
into a series of specific requirements and
criteria all associated with behavioral,
conceptual, functional, emotional,
material and technological aspects that
our future scenario should incorporate.
These requirements and criteria function
as guides to shape our vision of what the
world and the marketplace will look like
in 5, 7 or 10 years.
SOCIAL TRENDS
In the case of social trends, the
biggest challenge is to move from the
conceptual plane to a more specific one,
like that used by design criteria. Given
this panorama, it is necessary to re-
analyze each of our researched trends to
translate them into concrete information
around four fields of observation:
A. NEW CONSUMER BEHAVIORS
These include: reasons that will
motivate consumption; future products
and services usage habits; emerging
purchase formats; relationships that
will be built between people and
brands; expectations that will influence
those relationships; and, finally, how
connections between people are
modified through consumption.
Considering concepts, ideas and
behavior patterns identified in our social
trend, it is useful to ask: what will motivate
people's consumption? How will they do it?
How often? Through what channels? What
habits will they develop? What expectations
will they have of brands?
B. NEW GLOBAL AND LOCAL VALUES
This field covers ideological or
moral principles that will guide people in
the future along with those virtues and
qualities that will make something or
someone be appreciated. Among these
are the stand out considerations of:
the type of relationship that individuals
will develop with their community, the
quality of the relationship between the
community and the market, and the
emerging values that will guide people's
behavior in society.
Based on the concepts, ideas and
behavior patterns identified in our social
trend, it is useful to ask ourselves: What
values will people seek to identify with?
What type of relationship will they develop
with global and local communities? What
type of connections should companies
develop with consumers, community, and
competitors?
C. NEW FUNCTIONAL, EMOTIONAL
AND IDENTITY DEMANDS
This area comprises some main
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 173
problems to be solved: benefits that
people will look for from the point of view
of function, emotion, self-expression,
and belonging; characteristics that new
propositions must have to empathize
with people; and, type of products,
services and experiences that consumers
will demand.
Based on the concepts, ideas and
behavior patterns identified in our social
trend, it is useful to ask: What problems will
people need to solve? What kind of products
and services will consumers demand? What
characteristics should experiences have to
empathize with people? What will people
seek in terms of consumption of products
and services?
D. NEW AESTHETIC CRITERIA
This field refers to emerging
aesthetics, sensitivities and tastes
in society. One of the most tangible
translation of trends is embodied in
colors, aromas, materials, morphology,
textures, sounds and flavors.
Based on the concepts, ideas and
behavior patterns identified in our social
trend, it is useful to ask: What aesthetic
characteristics will the products and
services have? What creative language will
be associated with that aesthetic? How will
the senses be involved in new experiences?
What dialogues will be produced between
different disciplines?
TECHNOLOGICAL TRENDS
In the case of technological trends,
where information comes from both
technology reports and the opinions of
technology experts and social analysts,
the synthesis and translation into design
criteria is done by finding specific
information about three aspects:
A. NEW TECHNOLOGIES
These include a list of the main
advances that will have a relevant impact
on society’s and market’s future.
From the analyzed reports, it is
useful to ask: What technologies will be
developed? What characteristics will they
have? Which ones will be more likely to be
adopted en masse?
B. OBJECTIVES AND APPLICATIONS
OF TECHNOLOGIES
They cover the team’s analytical
perspective on the purpose and possible
impacts of technological advances by
explaining the effects on social, cultural
and economic dynamics.
Based on the main technological
advances, it is useful to ask: : What is the
most disruptive research being carried out?
What new material, creative and social
possibilities will technology generate? What
will their functionalities be? In what fields
could they be applied?
C. INTERACTIONS AND
CONVERGENCE BETWEEN
DISCIPLINES
These refer to present crossings
and collaborations between scientific
and creative fields. It includes joint
ventures that will be generated in the
future, in order to devise and materialize
new technologies.
Regarding main technological
advances, it is useful to ask: What areas of
knowledge and industries are interacting to
develop new technologies? What research
fields will emerge? What disciplines will
converge?
SECTOR ECONOMIC TRENDS
Sector economic trends collect
information from marketing studies,
quantitative analysis of micro and
macroeconomic variables, benchmarking
and expert opinions on business. All this
data must be synthesized and translated
into design criteria around the following
four aspects:
A. CONSUMER SECTOR BEHAVIOR
This aspect includes perspectives
of change in expectations, reasons, habits
and purchase formats specifically linked
to the economic sector in which the
company acts and/or wishes to act. Here,
the emerging meanings associated with
products, services and experiences as
well as the required type of relationship
between people and brands must be
included.
Based on the reports analyzed,
it is useful to ask: What will motivate
people's consumption? How will they do it?
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 175
How often? Through what channels? What
habits will they develop? What expectations
will they have about brands?

B. EMERGENCE OF NEW BUSINESS

MODELS
This refers to the new logics that
will be used to make money in the sector,
to the type of supply of products and/or
services and to the way to reach target
markets.
starting point, it is useful to ask: What
Based on the analyzed reports, it is innovations will be present in products,
useful to ask: What new business models services, distribution, and communication?
are emerging? What factors will drive the What changes will be implemented in the
search for new business logic? production systems?

C. INNOVATIONS D. COMPETITORS’ EVOLUTION

Here we find the conceptual, This refers to nature, relationships,
material, functional and meaning and strategies implemented by market
transformations in products and services, and innovation leaders as well as the
new communication and distribution emerging players in the sector.
strategies, and technological and From the reports analyzed, it is
organizational advances in the production useful to ask: What strategies will the
chain. competition employ for evolution? What
With the analyzed reports as the characteristics do new competitors have?

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 177

DESIGN CRITERIA

CONSUMER BEHAVIORS

LOCAL GLOBAL & LOCAL VALUES

SOCIAL FUNCTIONAL, EMOTIONAL AND
TREND IDENTITY DEMANDS

AESTHETIC CRITERIA

CONSUMER BEHAVIORS

GLOBAL GLOBAL & LOCAL VALUES

SOCIAL FUNCTIONAL, EMOTIONAL AND
TREND IDENTITY DEMANDS

AESTHETIC CRITERIA

CONSUMER BEHAVIORS

GLOBAL GLOBAL & LOCAL VALUES

SOCIAL FUNCTIONAL, EMOTIONAL AND
TREND IDENTITY DEMANDS

AESTHETIC CRITERIA

TECHNOLOGIES

TECHNOLOGICAL RESEARCH OBJECTIVES &

TRENDS APPLICATIONS

INTERACTIONS AND CONVERGENCES

BETWEEN DISCIPLINES

CONSUMER SECTOR BEHAVIORS

ECONOMIC EMERGING BUSINESS MODELS

SECTOR
TRENDS
INNOVATIONS
COMPETITORS EVOLUTION

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 179

PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Defining the innovation perimeter: design criteria

EXAMPLE
Design criteria from the local social trend (Paris)
Transnaturalism

Individuals will choose propositions with the idea

of circularity - to reduce the negative impact on
CONSUMER BEHAVIORS the environment - while at the same time the idea
of life’s finitude will emerge, and its possibility of
natural transformation

GLOBAL AND LOCAL Vitality, nature as a source of wisdom, circularity,

VALUES clean technologies

Biodegradable propositions;
experiences that help transcend life’s finitude;
FUNCTIONAL,
technologies that introduce and improve natural
EMOTIONAL AND
properties and functions;
IDENTITY DEMANDS
environmentally and emotionally healthy habitats;
access to reliable information

100% natural and noble materials,

artificial components with natural materials’
AESTHETIC CRITERIA
properties (and even better),
compostable materials

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 181

PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Defining the innovation perimeter: design criteria

EXAMPLE
Design criteria from the global social trend
Enriched Humans

Individuals will use products, services and

experiences propositions to self-define
CONSUMER BEHAVIORS their identities (hybrid and fluid) as well as
to improve their physical, emotional and
cognitive capabilities

GLOBAL AND LOCAL

VALUES
Independence, autonomy, diversity

Quest to affirm difference;

propositions that improve physical, emotional
and cognitive capabilities;
FUNCTIONAL, propositions that make possible and
EMOTIONAL AND potentiate temporary transformations;
IDENTITY DEMANDS requirement of instant access to hyper
personalized and connected experiences;
open-source experiences that integrate
people in their final configuration

Hybridization of materials and techniques

(natural & artificial; industrial & artisanal),
AESTHETIC CRITERIA
transparent components, visible structures,
smart surfaces, enriched elements

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 183

PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Defining the innovation perimeter: design criteria

EXAMPLE
Design criteria from the global social trend
Autonomous Nodes

Individuals will incorporate the production of

strategic resources and consumer goods to
CONSUMER BEHAVIORS
convert their homes and micro communities
in self-sufficient nodes

GLOBAL AND LOCAL Autonomy, collaboration, responsibility,

VALUES transparency

Propositions that eliminate intermediaries

and facilitate self-production; experiences
that enable knowledge, work and production
networks; access to integrated and complete
FUNCTIONAL, information on traceability;
EMOTIONAL AND systems that facilitate collective decision-
IDENTITY DEMANDS making;
personal self-realization: one can be an active
agent in society;
propositions that integrate environmental and
social responsibility

Transparent, natural, porous, intelligent,

AESTHETIC CRITERIA
transformable, hybrid materials

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 185

PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Defining the innovation perimeter: design criteria

EXAMPLE
Design criteria from the technological trends

Artificial intelligence, genetic engineering,

TECHNOLOGIES DNA editing, augmented reality, virtual reality,
Internet of Things, robotization, block chain,
Big Data, holography

Replicate human cognitive capacities in

robots; create a higher intelligence order;
improve and expand human capacities;
instant access to knowledge to make smart
OBJECTIVES AND
APPLICATIONS
decisions; optimize strategic, space and
temporary resources; generate a symbiosis of
technologies with the environment to make
them more empathic; improve work and
production performances

INTERACTIONS AND
CONVERGENCES Emotional engineering, neurotechnology,
BETWEEN digital humanity, data & design
DISCIPLINES

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 187

PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Defining the innovation perimeter: design criteria

EXAMPLE
Design criteria from the economic sector trends
Kitchen Equipment & Appliances sector

Durable and energy-efficient products;

desire to consolidate the kitchen as a central
space in the home, not only a work area but
also a meeting point for family and friends;
CONSUMER SECTOR
requirement: a kitchen better integrated
BEHAVIORS
with other areas of the house; new cooking
methods, sustainable, multifunctional
equipment; smart and connected appliances;
silent, hygienic, safe products

No intermediaries;
fusion with similar sectors: technology,
consumer products suppliers (supermarket),
NEW EMERGING
BUSINESS MODELS
research; change in the conception of
consumers who now become producers;
transition from sale of products to provision of
services

New home formats like co-living (The Urby

Staten Island);
digital assistants for the home (Echo);
interactive and multifunctional kitchen
tables (Miele & The Invisible Kitchen, Ikea);
INNOVATIONS 3D impression of natural foods (Foodini);
robotic chef (Moley Robotics); devices for
self-production (Mit & Open Agriculture);
hyper-connected homes (Amazon); generation,
storage, and energy consumption ecosystems
at home (Tesla)

Startups using technology to provide

unprecedented experiences, new players (from
COMPETITORS’ the distribution, technological, cosmetics,
EVOLUTION and pharmaceutical sectors) that bring new
products and services to the kitchen appliances
industry
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 189
V. 1 INVESTIGATION

D. FUTURE PRISM
RECENT
INVENTIONS

SOCIAL CRITICAL

CONSTRUCTION:
CHANGES REFLECTIONS

LOCAL SOCIAL
TREND

FUTURE SCENARIO RADICAL

CREATIONS
ECONOMIC
SECTOR TRENDS
DE
SIG
NC
RIT
ERIA
DE
SIG
NC
RIT
ER
IA
GLOBAL
SOCIAL TREND
INNOVATIVE
BUSINESS
MODELS

FUTURE

DESIGN CRITERIA
DESIGN CRITERIA
PRISM®
EMERGING
NEW VALUES & CONSUMER
Scenarios provide a narrative GLOBAL
DE
RIA
STIMULI
MEANINGS DEMANDS
SIG
SOCIAL ITE NC
CASES
R
TREND NC
for possible futures. Their construction
RIT
SIG ER
DE IA

makes it possible to trace, in a coherent

and well-founded way, a prospective TECHNOLOGICAL TRENDS

horizon to stimulate concrete actions

in the present and lead the way in the ENVIRONMENTAL NOVEL
PHENOMENA AESTHETICS
short, medium and long-term. The
scenarios support the decision-making
ECONOMIC
process of a company. They transform DISRUPTIONS
the abstract into the tangible: they are
maps, a topographical representation of
innovation, and describe future social
behaviors and consumer habits based on
present latent requirements. They project
the future contexts in which business will information (including, but not limited
develop, considering the evolution of to, social, technological, cultural, legal,
the market's environment and potential environmental, economic, and creative
competition. factors), developing an ‘informed’
The advantage of using the Future brainstorming instance in the creative
Prism tool to build scenarios is in its stage. The resulting scenarios are
ability to integrate, systematize and guidelines for the strategic design of a
synthesize a large amount of valuable new Value Sphere.

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 191

With a keen awareness of the of those people, because very few
importance of the power of anticipation companies are willing to do that. Just
in the marketplace, employing by lengthening the time horizon, you
the Future Prism facilitates the can engage in endeavors that you
construction of prospective horizons could never otherwise pursue. At
for 5, 7 or 10 years ahead. As such, Amazon, we like things to work in five
it becomes a fundamental tool for to seven years. We’re willing to plant
formulating both medium and long- seeds, let them grow — and we’re very
term projects. The foresight power stubborn. We say we’re stubborn on
of a specific scenario will depend on vision and flexible on details”.
the company’s objectives as well as Furthermore, another important
the team’s ability to manage different element that must be considered is
levels of abstraction. For the company's target market;
example, one of the leading that is, where the company
brands in the marketplace "the resulting wishes to act in the future,
today, Amazon, has defined scenarios are since that will provide the
its horizon to 5 and 7 years. coordinates for the building
In the words of Jeff Bezos:
guidelines for of the prospective horizon,
“Our first shareholder letter, the strategic focusing it toward the
in 1997, was entitled, ‘It’s local or global level. While
all about the long term.’ If
design of a there are global trends that
everything you do needs new Value emerge from all corners of
to work on a three-year the planet, we must not lose
time horizon, then you’re
Sphere'' sight of those peculiarities
competing against a lot of that local contexts have,
people. But if you’re willing to invest fueled by various socio-cultural, legal,
on a seven-year time horizon, you’re technological, environmental, political
now competing against a fraction and economic factors.

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 193

CONSTRUCTING A FUTURE
PRISM
To move ahead toward the
construction of our future
scenario, the challenge is
to manage and synthesize
the quantity and diversity of
design criteria resulting from
the translation exercise of
each trend (social global trend,
social local trend, technological
and economic sector trends).
The wealth of information
resulting from the research stage must
be then condensed and simplified to
be handled properly. It is necessary
to use the Design Criteria Compatibility
and Complementarity Chart Using this
chart, we will locate all our information
to visualize it holistically and begin
to draw, in each category, those
design criteria that we consider most
relevant (because each is powerful
in terms of concept and impact) and
cohesive (either by their compatibility
or complementarity). This moment
demands both our analytical and
synthesis capacities to make a new
interpretation of the information that
will give shape to the scenario.
This synthesis will lead us to
define a future scenario based on the
description and connection of the most
relevant consumer behaviors that we
will be able to observe, guided by the
most influential local and global values,
and explained by the emergence of
a core of social, emotional, identity,
and functional demands. To this
scenario, we can associate aesthetic
criteria that express a core of new
concepts, patterns, and meanings.
Our scenario should incorporate
references to emerging technologies
that will play a key role in possible
applications and the convergence of
disciplines. Similarly, it will be useful
to consider information about future
business logics and dynamics as well
as the emergence of new markets
and disruptive innovations in the
sector. In the exercise of building our
prospective horizon, the stimuli cases
will boost our perception to catch a
glimpse of what, until that moment,
seemed unimaginable.
At this point, the combination
of intuition and team knowledge
will be key to compose a proper
interpretation of the information.
Based on this interpretation, our
scenario will compose a script that
will describe the main characteristics
and behavioral, conceptual, functional,
emotional, material and technological
requirements, and portray a powerful
picture that should communicate an
idea of what the future will look like
in 5, 7 or 10 years.
The Future Prism should literally
take shape on a stage, that is, a setting
with the description of spatial and
temporal circumstances, where the
products, experiences, and services
developed by the company will be
hypothetically inserted. For example, if
the company makes objects or devices
for the home, the scene should show
a "house of the future", making it clear
what the future home environment
will look like, without limiting the
possible fusions with other scenes that
might be envisioned. In another case, if
the company works with mobility, the
scene could be "the city of the future”,
which will aid the understanding of
the context where public and private
transport will be inserted.
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 195
FROM DESIGN CRITERIA TO FUTURE SCENARIO
Compatibility and Complementarity Chart

DESIGN CRITERIA FUTURE SCENARIO

LOCAL SOCIAL GLOBAL GLOBAL TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMIC

TREND SOCIAL TREND SOCIAL TREND TRENDS SECTOR TRENDS

NAME

CONSUMER
BEHAVIORS
GLOBAL & LOCAL
VALUES
FUNCTIONAL EMOTIONAL
& IDENTITY DEMANDS

AESTHETIC CRITERIA

TECHNOLOGIES

RESEARCH OBJETIVES &

APPLICATIONS
INTERACTIONS AND CONVERGENCES
BETWEEN DISCIPLINES
CONSUMER SECTOR
BEHAVIORS
EMERGING BUSINESS
MODELS

INNOVATIONS

COMPETITORS'
EVOLUTION

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 197

PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Future Prism construction
EXAMPLE
MAIN CASE: Kitchen Equipment & Appliances sector
Design Criteria Compatibility and Complementarity Chart
TRANSNATURALISM
LOCAL SOCIAL TREND: Paris
CONSUMER
BEHAVIORS People will choose
propositions that sponsor
the idea of circularity, to
diminish their negative
impact on the environment.
At the same time, an idea
of life’s finitude and life’s
possibility for natural
transformation will emerge
GLOBAL AND LOCAL
VALUES Vitality, nature as source of
wisdom, circularity, clean
technologies
FUNCTIONAL, Biodegradable propositions;
EMOTIONAL AND experiences that help
IDENTITY DEMANDS transcend the finitude of
life;
technologies that introduce
and improve natural
properties and functions;
environmentally and
AUTONOMOUS
NODES
GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND
People will incorporate
into their daily habits the
production of strategic
resources and consumer
products in order to
convert their homes and
micro-communities into
self-sufficient nodes
Autonomy, collaboration,
responsibility, transparency
Proposals that eliminate
intermediaries and
facilitate self-production;
experiences that enable
knowledge, work and
production networks;
access to integrated and
complete information on
ENRICHED HUMANS TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMIC SECTOR
TRENDS TRENDS
GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND
People will use product,
service and experience
propositions to self-define
their identities (hybrid and
fluid) as well as to improve
their physical, emotional
and cognitive abilities
Independence, autonomy,
diversity
Search to affirm difference;
ideas that improve physical,
emotional and cognitive
abilities;
propositions that make
possible and potentiate
temporary transformations;
requirement of instant
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 199
 TRANSNATURALISM
LOCAL SOCIAL TREND: Paris
emotionally healthy
habitats;
access to reliable
information
AESTHETIC CRITERIA 100% natural and noble
materials,
artificial components with
natural properties (even
better tan natural ones),
compostable materials
TECHNOLOGIES
AUTONOMOUS
NODES
GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND
traceability;
systems that allow
collective decision-making;
personal self-realization:
that one can be an active
agent of society;
propositions that integrate
environmental and social
responsibility
Transparent, natural,
porous, intelligent,
transformable, hybrid
materials
ENRICHED HUMANS TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMIC SECTOR
TRENDS TRENDS
GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND
access to hyper-personalized
and connected experiences;
open-source experiences
that integrate people in their
final configuration
Hybridization of materials
and techniques (natural
and artificial, industrial
and artisanal), transparent
elements, visible structures,
smart surfaces, enriched
elements
Artificial intelligence,
genetic engineering, DNA
editing, augmented reality,
virtual reality, Internet of
Things, robotization, block
chain, Big Data, holography
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 201
 TRANSNATURALISM AUTONOMOUS ENRICHED HUMANS TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMIC SECTOR
NODES TRENDS TRENDS
LOCAL SOCIAL TREND: Paris GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND

Replicate human cognitive

OBJECTIVES AND
abilities in robots; create a
APPLICATIONS
superior intelligence order;
improve and expand the
human capabilities; instant
access to knowledge to
make smart decisions;
optimize strategic, spatial
and temporal resources;
generate a symbiosis of
technologies with the
environment to make them
more empathetic; improve
work and production
performances

INTERACTIONS AND Emotional engineering,

CONVERGENCES neurotechnology,
BETWEEN DISCIPLINES digital humanity,
data & design

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 203

 TRANSNATURALISM AUTONOMOUS ENRICHED HUMANS TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMIC SECTOR
NODES TRENDS TRENDS
LOCAL SOCIAL TREND: Paris GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND

CONSUMER SECTOR Durable and energy efficient

BEHAVIORS products;
desire to consolidate the
kitchen as a central space
within the home, not only a
work area but also a meeting
point for family and friends;
requirement for the space
to be better integrated with
other areas of the house;
new cooking methods,
sustainable and
multifunctional equipment;
smart and connected
appliances;
silent, hygienic, safe products

NEW EMERGING
BUSINESS MODELS Elimination of intermediaries;
mergers with similar sectors:
technology, suppliers
of consumer products
(supermarkets), research;
change in the conception of
consumers now transformed
into producers;
transition from sale of
products to provision of
services

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 205

 TRANSNATURALISM AUTONOMOUS ENRICHED HUMANS TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMIC SECTOR
NODES TRENDS TRENDS
LOCAL SOCIAL TREND: Paris GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND

INNOVATIONS New home formats such as

co-living (The Urby Staten
Island);
digital home assistants
(Echo);
interactive and
multifunctional kitchen
tables (Miele & The Invisible
Kitchen, Ikea); 3D printing
of natural foods (Foodini);
robotic chef (Moley
Robotics); devices for self-
production (MIT & Open
Agriculture); hyperconnected
houses (Amazon);
energy generation,
storage and consumption
ecosystems (Tesla)

COMPETITORS'
EVOLUTION Startups using technology
to provide unprecedented
experiences, new players
(from the distribution,
technological, cosmetics,
and pharmaceutical sectors)
that bring new products
and services to the kitchen
appliances industry

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 207

PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Future Prism construction

EXAMPLE
MAIN CASE: Kitchen Equipment & Appliances sector
Design Criteria Compatibility and Complementarity Chart

STIMULI CASES

Supermarket of the Probiotic Beer,

Floating Pier, Christo, Google Expeditions, virtual
Future, Coop, MIT & Fermentation Friends, beer
floating path connecting an educational trips
Accenture, smart store that improves the immune
island (Italy) (United States)
(Italy, United States) system (Singapore)

Urban Vertical Atlantic Museum,

Hermes Pardini, virtual
Cemetery, Zongshen Xia, Algorithm to design Jason deCaires Taylor,
reality experience for
explores the relationship fashion, Amazon & MIT hyper-realistic underwater
children who get vaccinated
between life and death in (United States) installation on climate
(Brazil)
cities (Japan) change (Spain)

Making Weather
Microsoft Hololens The Algae Dome,
Speaker, Clarkson and
inflight, Air New Zealand, SPACE10, sustainable
Crealev, smart loudspeaker
augmented reality to detect food production system
with levitating cloud shape
emotions (New Zealand) (Denmark)
(United States)

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 209

ENHANCING OUR CRITICAL
PERSPECTIVE
Building a prospective
horizon should not lead
us to shape a positive
and optimistic scenario
without any contradictions.
It is not about capturing our
desired future, but about visualizing
what society and the marketplace will
be like in 5, 7 or 10 years, with both
its positive and negative points, its light
and dark areas, mentioning possible
consensus as well as potential issues
and tensions. Only after an objective
diagnosis, originated at the research
stage, the company can, in the creative
stage, take strategic decisions and
develop a consistent vision that will
respond to that future while also trying
to influence it as a change agent. A
critical perspective is fundamental
when shaping the Future Prism.
For this, it can be useful to carry
out two Critical Design exercises:
EXERCISE 1
Imagine a critical future based
on at least one of the following topics
that we can draw from our previous
research: social tension generated by
the emergence of one of the trends;
fear that will start when the new social
behavior expands; collateral damage
resulting from the introduction of a
disruptive technology; or a limitation
of resources arising from the new
ways of life and/or production. To go
beyond the limits of our thinking, in this
thanks to autonomous cars.
exercise, it can be useful to imagine
an extreme future situation caused by
EXERCISE 2
one of these factors. For example, the
This exercise involves thinking
collateral damage resulting from the
about an object, a performance or an
introduction of a disruptive technology, event that focuses on a selected topic
like artificial intelligence. One might and exploiting the communication
think that in the future humans will potential of Critical Design so that
be considered second-class citizens in a hypothetical situation we could
in a world dominated by robots. This sensitize people to it. This is a purely
critical vision is clearly opposed to a speculative exercise - it helps broaden
more naive perspective that imagines our perspective. The objective is to
only the positive impact of artificial reflect critically and encourage debate
intelligence in the future, by helping and discussion rather than rushing
to save lives through early disease to find solutions to typical trigger
diagnosis or minimizing traffic accidents situations.
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 211
CRITICAL DESIGN EXERCISE

TENSION
DUE TO THE EMERGENCE OF A SOCIAL TREND

FEAR
DUE TO THE EXPANSION OF A SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
CRITICAL FUTURE CRITICAL DESIGN
COLLATERAL EFFECT
DUE TO THE INTRODUCTION OF A TECHNOLOGY

RESOURCE LIMITATION IMAGINE AN COMMUNICATION VIA AN

DUE TO NEW PRODUCTION/LIFE MODES EXTREME FUTURE OBJECT, PERFORMANCE OR
SITUATION EVENT

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 213

PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Future Prism construction

EXAMPLE
MAIN CASE: Kitchen Equipment & Appliances sector

CRITICAL DESIGN EXERCISE ABOUT THE FUTURE

CRITICAL FUTURE CRITICAL DESIGN

A critical future with extreme robotization and

technologization, dehumanization of experiences,
Functional synthetic food produced autonomously
shortage of strategic resources for life, a highly
by 3D printers according to people’s nutritional
contaminated environment, and a generalized
patterns and absorbed though skin patches
feeling of distrust on the traceability of products
due to genetic modification

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 215

PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Future Prism construction

EXAMPLE
MAIN CASE: Kitchen Equipment & Appliances sector

CONSTRUCTION OF THE FUTURE SCENARIO TO 2027

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 217

PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Future Prism construction
EXAMPLE
MAIN CASE: Kitchen Equipment & Appliances sector
CONSTRUCTION OF THE FUTURE
SCENARIO TO 2027
In this scenario:
Households will incorporate technologies
to become small ecosystems generating strategic
resources, such as solar energy, water recycling,
and food production. In addition, homes will be
configured with the Circular Economy philosophy,
and will include systems of treatment and reuse
of organic waste requiring consumption of 100%
biodegradable products (including packaging).
The increasingly popular idea of Nature’s
wisdom and the benefit of being in contact with it
will call for the incorporation, through technology,
of small natural habitats within home environments.
The kitchen will remain a central place in family
dynamics and become a lively analogue-virtual-
digital space where it will be possible to produce,
learn and share.
Appliances (the refrigerator, for example) will
be connected to devices collecting daily information
from owners and advising them on better eating
habits. Diagnostic algorithms will be based on
physiological, emotional, and cognitive variables, so
appliances can be connected with medical centers
too. A smart shopping system will recommend
personalized foods.
Through holographic devices, the kitchen will
become a social experience, sharing information,
advice, and recipes with others. Collaboration will
also be facilitated, optimizing resources under a
concept of co-living in a micro community.
People will access on-demand systems to learn
about world's cooking philosophies and cuisines,
recipes, and tips from chefs and food experts.
Systems will access information on nutritional
value and food traceability for smarter and
more conscious shopping, contributing to the
development of a sustainable community.
Aesthetically, kitchens will fuse natural and
noble materials with advanced technology.
The evolution of kitchen design will include
smart, multifunctional, and easy to clean surfaces.
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 219
SECOND PHASE:
Without an approximate
understanding of what the future holds,
it is difficult to imagine the direction a
company should take to assume and/or
retain a relevant role in the marketplace.
Not having a planned trajectory
amounts to immobility - to being "stuck
in the middle" in the words of Michael
Porter (Porter, 1980) - and causes
value destruction. The journey from
the research stage, which ends with the
construction of the future scenario, to
the creative moment is not an easy one.
To interpret the information generated
in the research stage and crystallized
in the Future Prism, a vision must be
defined, a concept and a meaning that
will be, finally, expressed in a new Value
guide for the development of the Value
Sphere. The vision includes the type
and quality of the relationship that
the brand will establish with society,
which translates to the role that it will
assume as change agent; the ethical
code of action it will adopt; and, the
meanings it will offer to people. For
example, when faced with a projected
scenario, a company should ask itself:
What role could I fulfill? How robust
will the relationship with society be?
What changes will be necessary to
apply my business model? What new
direction should I take? What products,
services and experiences will I bring to
people? Answers may vary depending
not only on the brand's identity and

INTER
Sphere.
The vision is the direction that
the company will take in the future. It
establishes how the company is going
values but also on the changes that the
company is willing to implement: all
taken together with an awareness that
to continue doing the same things as

PRETATION
Interpretation of the future: vision, concept and meaning
to position itself in a 5, 7 or 10-year
projected scenario and what will be the
company’s point of view in the face of
new market dynamics. It represents
an interpretation of the Future Prism
from the perspective of brand values
and identity, a meaningful conceptual
always may mean having to leave the
marketplace.
From a vision, a concept can
be defined that will be the project’s
guiding idea and that will contain
the new strategy. The parameters
arising from this concept will help give

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 221

cohesion and integrity to the Value The possibility of defining new meanings
Sphere. The concept also establishes associated with products and services
the path to design the project. The requires knowing in detail what the
guiding idea must, then, decant into
meanings associated with the current
the various components of the Value
offering are to generate true radical
Sphere to generate a true
innovation. Only from this
innovative 360° strategy.
knowledge, can companies
Based on the brand "based on
develop a value proposition
vision and the project concept,
the brand that will profoundly change
we can define precisely the
meaning of our new Value
vision and people’s experience.
Sphere. That is, what is the the project A simple formula to
raison d'être and what are the concept, we determine the new meaning
achievable objectives defined can define of our Value Sphere is to
in the Value Sphere. The precisely respond concretely to three
q u e s ti o n s :
meaning must establish what
the meaning
value proposition will hold 1. How will people’s quality
of our
the offer in terms of tangible of life improve?
elements (improvement of
new Value 2. What emotions will it
the quality of life, functional Sphere'' generate?
benefits) and intangibles 3. How will it modify people’s
elements (emotions, identity, self- relationships with themselves, with
expression, empowerment), which will others and with their environment?
capture the public’s attention. A value Finally, it is advisable to
proposition must necessarily enable synthesize all this in a phrase that
people to express their identity, solve a becomes a guiding concept for the
problem, and nurture human bonds. team during the project development.

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 223

FROM THE FUTURE PRISM TO THE VALUE SPHERE

INVESTIGATION INTERPRETATION DESIGN

BRAND IDENTITY DISTRIBUTION

PROCESS
MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS
VISION

FUTURE VALUE
CONCEPT
SCENARIO SPHERE®

MEANING SERVICES
BUSINESS MODEL

COMMUNICATION PARTNERSHIPS

RESEARCH CREATIVE
PHASE PHASE

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 225


CREATIVITY FOR RADICAL
INNOVATION
The definition of vision,
concept, and meaning as well
as the ideation of the specific
strategy to be applied in the
market - the Value Sphere - will
emerge from an "informed"
brainstorming process that
will enhance the team’s
creativity without losing sight
of the design criteria resulting
from the future scenario.
"Informed" because such
brainstorming is developed out of the
innovation perimeter defined in the research
stage: out of the collected data, analyzed
and translated into behavioral, conceptual,
symbolic, functional, emotional, aesthetic,
material and technological factors (design
criteria).
The interpretation phase of the
Future Prism must be imbued with creativity,
knowledge and, above all, intuition, in
order to develop new perspectives and
move toward radical innovation. A literal or
conservative interpretation of our scenario
can lead us to conceive strategies lacking
innovative potential or that are only relevant
for the short term.
There are techniques to encourage
creativity that integrate well with The Sprout
methodology. One of them is Imagineering,
a procedure developed by Walt Disney.
Through "engineering of the imagination",
Disney developed a powerful vision that
infused the organization with a culture of
creativity, while motivating its teams and
creating a fruitful dynamic of new ideas. His
ability to achieve success in business was
based on the ability to unite the creative and
engineering aspects of the work process
into his movies. To do this, he divided the
work into three phases based on specific
roles: dreamer, realist and critic/spoiler.
The dreamer phase was the moment
to imagine and invent without limits. To
shape a creative vision to answer the
question: Where do we want to go? This
moment had its own space, the dreaming
room, where inspirational photographs and
drawings covered all the walls of the room in
a chaotic and colorful way to stimulate the
“What I see way off there is too nebulous
to describe. But it looks big and glittering.
That’s what I like about this business, the
certainty that there is something bigger
and more exciting just around the bend;
and the uncertainty of everything else”.
Walt Disney
emergence of new ideas and perspectives.
Here, criticism was not allowed and
objectives were posed in a positive way.
The realist phase involved resorting to
rational aspects to realize that dream: How
can we get there? The team then began to
outline concrete objectives, key actions and
necessary resources to transform the idea
into a doable project.
Finally, the critic/spoiler phase sought
to answer the question: Can it be reached?
It sought to examine details, evaluate the
plan and discover each project’s possible
issues. Likewise, this stage demanded to
place oneself in the critic’s role (an analogy
with the film critic) to acquire the spectator’s
point of view and determine if the idea was
good enough or, more importantly, what
values and meanings it would bring to the
audience.
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 227
PHASE 2: INTERPRETATION
Interpretation of the future by the company

EXAMPLE COMPANY
MAIN CASE: Kitchen Equipment & Appliances sector
Independent family business with more than 100 years of history in the
VISION, CONCEPT AND MEANING DEFINITION manufacture of kitchen appliances and furniture

Brand values: premium products, durability, energy efficiency,

contemporary design and high functionality

VISION CONCEPT SENTIDO

To provide experiences, A wise kitchen in a healthy A smart, sensorial kitchen

products, and services that
improve people’s physical,
emotional and cognitive
capacities; the value of
personalized healthy foods,
incorporating Nature’s
wisdom and different world
culinary philosophies;
to develop a circular life
system where individuals
collaborate to improve their
social and environmental
setting
enviroment that improves the quality
of life; optimal nutrition
for physical, emotional and
cognitive development; to
promote people’s curiosity,
wisdom and creativity,
incentivating them to
become true alchemists
in the kitchen; to facilitate
contributing to a more
healthy and sustainable
world; nurture connections
beyond family, extending
them to local (neighborhood)
and global (around common
interests) microcommunities

CURRENT MEANING

The kitchen has a central role in the home, it is a place of love and where
to meet family and friends (internal socialization);
the space is mainly conceived for cooking with some extra functions, other
minor tasks; exaltation of the chef’s role and the culinary culture; solitary
learning process without personal interaction: a book, an online tutorial
or a TV show

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 229

 THIRD PHASE:
A company’s desire to innovate can
be made possible through the use of The
Sprout methodology which, through its
holistic perspective, allows companies to
envision all aspects of the Value Sphere,
controlling its integration and cohesion.
Likewise, the methodology allows a
company to anticipate opportunities
and deficiencies for the development of
any future offering in a gradual process
of adjustment to the context. Using its
vision as the starting point, a company
can seek to influence the direction the
future scenario will take and become a
change agent.
At this point, a question emerges:
could a small or medium-sized company
really influence the future? While this
might seem ambitious, and even rushed
to answer positively, the truth is that
there is a real possibility it can occur.
DESIGN
Hacking the system and changing the
rules of the game is what innovative
startups should be focusing on now.
The new market context, a result of the
2008/2009 economic crisis, meant a
Development of a Value Sphere: an innovative 360° strategy
systemic discontinuity with the past and
gave way to numerous cases of small
companies that were able to change the
present and permanently influence the
future.
An example of a company
that has been able to influence the
future is the Danish group Momondo,
specialized in travel options search. In
his attempt to lead innovation, they
worked on an emotional narrative for
the communication component of their
Value Sphere. In the commercial "The
DNA Journey" (2016), people of different
nationalities, many of them convinced of
the superiority of their ethnicity, culture
or religion, were surprised, hurt or simply
amused when a team of people from
Momondo, after a DNA test, broke the
news that each of them was a mixture
of completely different ethnic groups. A
powerful revelation that, later on, should
help people to be more receptive to
others, eliminating prejudices, hatreds,
and entrenched social differences,
opening up the experience of traveling to
countries that they would never otherwise
have thought of visiting. That commercial
seeded in the marketplace a new idea
about how to choose a destination,
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 231
impacted the decision process, and set
up a future scenario where DNA will
be consulted before choosing a holiday
itinerary. As we saw earlier, another
travel agency, Travel Unwrapped,
currently bases its value proposition on
linking the DNA of a person with the
discovery of their heritage, proposing
trips to regions where their origins
began. It is a small revolution in the travel
industry that resonates with a series of
social trends that have emerged in recent
years: journeys to meet people and local
cultures, search of spirituality, desire to
define one's identity in a world shaken by
a political, religious and ideological crisis.
Another disruptive company is Bio
Urns, a company that set out to innovate
in the funeral sector by developing a
biodegradable urn that houses seeds,
nutrients and the ashes of a person
(pets, too), enabling the deceased to
reincarnate in a tree. In addition, it has
developed the Bios Incube, an incubator
programmed with temperature, humidity
and light sensors to care for the tree,
variables that can be controlled by a
smartphone app. Bio Urns proposes a
redefinition of the meaning of death -
associated in the West with negative
or dark factors - through an experience
that enhances its natural character and
extends the concept of circularity, what
the company calls "Life After Life”.
The Value Sphere is the expression
of a company's vision in the marketplace,
a way to reach its innovation horizon.
The objective is to translate the core
concepts, values, and meanings of the
guiding idea into tangible elements
that can give shape to each of the
components. The challenge is to achieve
the adaptation of this intangible core
to the material, functional, technical
and/or creative requirements of each
component. The translation of an aspect
into one component will necessarily
impact the translation of the others since
they are, conceptually and functionally,
interconnected. Preserving the system’s
cohesion and enhancing its integration is
the main requirement for the design of
the Value Sphere.
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 233
PHASE 3: DESIGN
Creation of the Value Sphere

EXAMPLE
MAIN CASE: Kitchen Equipment &
Appliances sector

FORMULATION OF THE 360°

INNOVATIVE STRATEGY
BRAND IDENTITY
BUILD STRONG AND LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS
WITH PEOPLE BASED ON WISDOM, WELL-BEING,
INTELLIGENCE, AND SUSTAINABILITY
DISTRIBUTION
ACCESS POINTS TO THE BRAND UNIVERSE
THROUGH SPACES DESIGNED TO STIMULATE
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIMENTATION

PROCESS MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS

TRANSDICIPLINARY AND DINAMIC MULTISENSORIAL, SMART,
ORGANIZATION TO DESIGN AND HYPER-CONNECTED AND
MANAGE THE TOTAL EXPERIENCE SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS

VALUE
SPHERE ®
SERVICES BUSINESS MODEL
OMNIPRESENTED SERVICE 100% SERVICES BASED ON
INTEGRATED BY MULTIPLE REQUIREMENTS OF KITCHEN, FOOD,
EXPERIENCES TO HELP AND AND NUTRITION
IMPROVE PEOPLE’S LIFE

COMMUNICATION
THE KITCHEN LIKE A FASCINATING
JOURNEY THROUGH KNOWLEDGE,
CULTURAL EXPERIENCES, AND COLLECTIVE
EMOTIONS
PARTNERSHIPS
INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL,
MEDICAL, CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL
ACTORS

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 235

 FOURTH PHASE:

A company’s innovation strategy,

expressed through a new and innovative
Value Sphere, needs to integrate external
context and internal resources and assets
- what we could call the opportunities and
strengths dynamic. For this, it is essential
to replace the traditional "Product
Development Plan" or "Innovation Plan"
with a more comprehensive roadmap
that contains main ideas and information
on each of the expected components of
the Value Sphere in 5, 7 and 10 years -

PROJECTION
what we will call the Seeding Innovation
System. This takes the form of three
concentric rings that, expanding outward,
will allow us to visualize the development
of each one of the components in the
Formulation of a plan of action: Seeding Innovation System
medium and long-term, as well as the
evolution of the Value Sphere as a whole.

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 237

 SEEDING INNOVATION SYSTEM

BRAND IDENTITY BUSINESS MODEL

10 YEARS

7 YEARS

PRODUCTS COMMUNICATION

5 YEARS

PROCESS MANAGEMENT SERVICES

The Seeding Innovation System
will need to be reviewed and updated
regularly to incorporate both changes
in the context and transformations in
the company’s organization. The reason
behind the projection of the Value Sphere
over time is to detect such changes and
react proactively to them; that is, adapt
aspects of our components in a two- DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIPS
way process so that the Value Sphere
does not lose relevance or cohesion. By
encouraging continued guardianship of
the system, we are able to progressively
influence the future scenario.

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 239

PHASE 4: PROJECTION
Formulating of the Seeding Innovation System

EXAMPLE BUSINESS MODEL

BRAND IDENTITY
MAIN CASE: Kitchen Equipment &
Appliances sector 10 YEARS
100%
Kitchen
services
DEVELOPMENT OF A PLAN OF alchemists
ACTION TO 5, 7 AND 10 YEARS

Culinary Transition
PRODUCTS
experts from products
7 YEARS to services COMMUNICATION

Conscious Persons like

Smart and Transcending
Multisensorial eating partners Journeys to
symbiotic boundaries
the world
devices
Discover culinary cuisines
Sustainable 5 YEARS cultures
Holographic
interfaces Learning about food and
Hyper-connected nutrition
Real-time data
New areas of
Transdisciplinary knowledge Smart purchase

PROCESS work processes Comprehensive

SERVICES
MANAGEMENT Immersive advisory system Virtual journey
experiences Knowledge network
Elimination of Experiential
intermediaries Omnichannel Alliances with
retail research and Learning program platform with food
scientists and
technological partners
experts
Integrating and Performative spaces
managing the Alliances with food
products suppliers Virtual and digital
actors-network
100% digital purchase
retail Alliances with health, cultural,
educational, and governmental
Total control of actors
commercialization
and distribution
DISTRIBUTION Interaction of alliances PARTNERSHIPS
Alchemical
laboratories

IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 241

PHASE 4: PROJECTION
Formulating of the Seeding Innovation System
EXAMPLE
MAIN CASE: Kitchen Equipment & Appliances sector
DEVELOPMENT OF A PLAN OF ACTION TO 5, 7 AND 10
YEARS
5 YEARS
BRAND IDENTITY
New attribute:
Conscious eating
Values: sustainability,
autonomy, healthy habitat
Multifunctional home appliances,
touch and voice operated
Products connected
to information systems and
intelligent shopping
Durable and energetically
efficient appliances, powered
by clean energy produced and
stored in the home
Domestic system of organic
gardens with smart ecosystem
management and seeds in
capsules for self-produced food
Devices for reuse of kitchen
wastewater
Organic waste treatment system
capable of generating compost to
be used in a smart garden system
Aesthetic personalization of
furniture and appliances
7 YEARS
New attribute:
Culinary experts
Value: smart life
PRODUCTS
Appliances connected to
personal devices that measure
physical, emotional and
cognitive performance to
suggest personalized diet with
the objective of optimizing
human performance and
capabilities
Holographic interfaces to
interact in real time with other
people to share knowledge as
well as coordinated actions
(dish development, workshops,
shopping planning, etc)
10 YEARS
New attribute:
Kitchen alchemists
Value: wisdom
Smart kitchen that recreates
various methods of cooking
from kitchens around the
world to serve authentic plates
(wood steamer, tandoor, etc)
Smart refrigerator that
recreates natural habitat
conditions to preserve organic
food in a better way
5 YEARS
Voice-operated
Information, smart, and
conscious shopping system,
with real-time access to data
on product origin, traceability,
nutritional properties and
availability, as well as purchase
and immediate delivery
(less than 2 hours)
Comprehensive advisory system
from data analysis obtained from
users’ routines, food habits and
space-time availability to advise
on best products
COMMUNICATION
Workshops in users’ kitchens;
people become brand
ambassadors and teachers,
teaching others how to grow
food and how to cook
Knowledge of culinary cultures
in analogical and digital
communities’ experiences
7 YEARS
SERVICES
Virtual platform to access
a network of millenary
knowledge, culinary innovation
experiences, recognized chefs
and nutritional experts
System of access to world
recipes, with the possibility
of purchasing ingredients’ kits
(delivered at home in less than
2 hours) and advice of a chef
(holography) to prepare the
chosen dish
Virtual reality system to
explore the world’s different
regions and discover culinary
cultures
Virtual reality trips to visit the
world’s regions and markets
to discover different culinary
cultures
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 243
10 YEARS
Virtual workshops with
scientists and cooks to learn
to radically transform food and
create experimental plates,
mixing different culinary
philosophies, transforming
people into ‘kitchen alchemists’
Virtual shopping system
that allows to visit different
traditional markets around the
world to select ingredients
and chat with producers:
Tsukiji market (Tokyo), floating
market of Bangkok, market
of Merced (Mexico), market
of Östermalms (Stockholm),
market of Aligre (Paris), among
others
Experiences in alchemical
laboratories where people
can experiment with multiple
ingredients and techniques
 5 YEARS
Stores transformed in
immersive experiences to
access the world’s culinary
philosophies, know food’s
properties and their capacity
of transformation, learn to
self-cultivate foods and to
cook with advice from the best
chefs, as well as taste dishes
prepared with the knowledge
of a wise kitchen
100% sensorial experience +
digital sales
Commercialization through
own and third party sales
points
PROCESSES MANAGEMENT
Incorporate new knowledge
(nutritional, medicinal, cognitive,
cultural, technological,
sociological) and services
management departments
Develop transdisciplinary
internal work processes to fusion
different pieces of knowledge
Integration with smart shopping
systems suppliers
7 YEARS
DISTRIBUTION
Total control of the products
and services sales experience
Performative spaces to access
the wise kitchen universe and
also to learn how to use the
services, a 100% sensorial
experience
100% digital sales
Commercialization through
own platforms
Eliminate intermediaries
to offer a completely and
immersive shopping experience
Train knowledgeable staff to
introduce people to the new
experience
10 YEARS
Total control of the service
sales experience
Alchemical laboratories where
people can experience and
interact with experts and
amateurs
Develop external work
dynamics to collectively
integrate different support
partnerships and enhance
service efficiency
5 YEARS
PARTNERSHIPS
Alliances with consumer
products' suppliers with the same
future vision (Coop, Uber Eats,
Amazon)
Alliances with companies to
investigate and apply new
technologies to the kitchen
(Internet of Things, Big Data,
virtual reality, augmented reality,
artificial intelligence, etc.)
Alliances with research
institutions specialized in healthy
and self-cultivating food (MIT)
BUSINESS MODEL
People as partners in the
generation of experiences,
resources and knowledge
7 YEARS 10 YEARS
Alliances with medical services Consolidation of the strategic
and food experts actors network by feeding their
interaction so the concept of
Alliances with educational and a wise kitchen will evolve over
research institutions to study time
world culinary cultures
Alliances with recognized chefs
Alliances with local actors
such as producers and popular
markets
Transition from products to 100% services
services
Transition from a product-
Introduction of a 360° dominant to a 100% service-
experience dominant company
(product as a means to access
a service)
IV. THE SPROUT METHODOLOGY 245
THE
SPROUT
EFFECT
Through principles, tools,
and techniques, The Sprout
methodology stimulates and
nurtures the development of
shoots of ideas that organically
grow to create innovative
Value Spheres. An innovative
Value Sphere will emerge as
a direct consequence of the
future scenario becoming fertile
territory for the projection of a
vision, concept, and meaning.
The Sprout effect takes place
when, through applying the
methodology, a knowledge
process is triggered that allows
us to deeply understand the
future while extraordinary ideas
are encouraged to flourish and
reach our innovation horizon
from a strategic perspective.
APPENDIX
CASE 2

Construction of a Future Prism to

2027 for the Urban Mobility sector

LOCAL SOCIAL TREND

TRANSNATURALISM

ECONOMIC SECTOR TRENDS GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND

URBAN MOBILITY ENRICHED HUMANS

FUTURE
PRISM ®
GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND STIMULI
AUTONOMOUS NODES CASES

TECHNOLOGICAL
TRENDS

APPENDIX 253
PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Future Prism construction
EXAMPLE
CASE 2: Urban Mobility sector
Design Criteria Compatibility and Complementarity Chart
TRANSNATURALISM
LOCAL SOCIAL TREND: Paris
CONSUMER
BEHAVIORS People will choose
propositions that sponsor
the idea of circularity, to
diminish their negative
impact on the environment.
At the same time, an idea
of life’s finitude and life’s
possibility for natural
transformation will emerge
GLOBAL AND LOCAL
VALUES Vitality, nature as source of
wisdom, circularity, clean
technologies
FUNCTIONAL, Biodegradable propositions;
EMOTIONAL AND experiences that help
IDENTITY DEMANDS transcend the finitude of
life;
technologies that introduce
and improve natural
properties and functions;
environmentally and
AUTONOMOUS
NODES
GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND
People will incorporate
into their daily habits the
production of strategic
resources and consumer
products in order to
convert their homes and
micro-communities into
self-sufficient nodes
Autonomy, collaboration,
responsibility, transparency
Proposals that eliminate
intermediaries and
facilitate self-production;
experiences that enable
knowledge, work and
production networks;
access to integrated and
complete information on
ENRICHED HUMANS TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMIC SECTOR
TRENDS TRENDS
GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND
People will use product,
service and experience
propositions to self-define
their identities (hybrid and
fluid) as well as to improve
their physical, emotional
and cognitive abilities
Independence, autonomy,
diversity
Search to affirm difference;
ideas that improve physical,
emotional and cognitive
abilities;
propositions that make
possible and potentiate
temporary transformations;
requirement of instant
APPENDIX 255
 TRANSNATURALISM
LOCAL SOCIAL TREND: Paris
emotionally healthy
habitats;
access to reliable
information
AESTHETIC CRITERIA 100% natural and noble
materials,
artificial components with
natural properties (even
better tan natural ones),
compostable materials
TECHNOLOGIES
AUTONOMOUS
NODES
GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND
traceability;
systems that allow
collective decision-making;
personal self-realization:
that one can be an active
agent of society;
propositions that integrate
environmental and social
responsibility
Transparent, natural,
porous, intelligent,
transformable, hybrid
materials
ENRICHED HUMANS TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMIC SECTOR
TRENDS TRENDS
GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND
access to hyper-personalized
and connected experiences;
open-source experiences
that integrate people in their
final configuration
Hybridization of materials
and techniques (natural
and artificial, industrial
and artisanal), transparent
elements, visible structures,
smart surfaces, enriched
elements
Artificial intelligence,
genetic engineering, DNA
editing, augmented reality,
virtual reality, Internet of
Things, robotization, block
chain, Big Data, holography
APPENDIX 257
 TRANSNATURALISM AUTONOMOUS ENRICHED HUMANS TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMIC SECTOR
NODES TRENDS TRENDS
LOCAL SOCIAL TREND: Paris GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND

OBJECTIVES AND Replicate human cognitive

APPLICATIONS abilities in robots; create a
superior intelligence order;
improve and expand the
human capabilities; instant
access to knowledge to
make smart decisions;
optimize strategic, spatial
and temporal resources;
generate a symbiosis of
technologies with the
environment to make them
more empathetic; improve
work and production
performances

INTERACTIONS AND
Emotional engineering,
CONVERGENCES
neurotechnology,
BETWEEN DISCIPLINES
digital humanity,
data & design

APPENDIX 259
 TRANSNATURALISM AUTONOMOUS ENRICHED HUMANS TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMIC SECTOR
NODES TRENDS TRENDS
LOCAL SOCIAL TREND: Paris GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND

CONSUMER SECTOR Increase in the number of

BEHAVIORS people who do not want to
buy cars, and use transport
services;
familiarity with the concept
of driver-less vehicles
(autonomous);
increase in non-motorized
mobility;
willingness to share;
increase in the use of electric
vehicles;
desire for functional, safe,
efficient and connected
mobility

NEW EMERGING
BUSINESS MODELS Transition from ownership to
accessibility;
integrated products and
services ecosystems

INNOVATIONS Self-generating power

transport (Indian Railways);
multimodal vehicles (Pop.up,
Airbus);
mobility products and
services ecosystems (BMW);
interurban aerial transport
system (Hyperloop, SpaceX);

APPENDIX 261
 TRANSNATURALISM AUTONOMOUS ENRICHED HUMANS TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMIC SECTOR
NODES TRENDS TRENDS
LOCAL SOCIAL TREND: Paris GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND

personal robots (Gita,

Piaggio);
foating taxi (Sea Bubbles);
electric microjet (Lilium);
three-wheeled personal
vehicle (Toyota i-Road);
hydrogen-powered cars
(Mercedes Benz, Honda,
Toyota)
personal mobility device
(UNI-CUB, Honda);
autonomous capsules
(Harry);
e-bike with integrated solar
panels (Leaos);
autonomous helicopter
(Ehang 184);
autonomous garbage
collection trucks (FMX,
Volvo);
vehicles with emotional
engines (Neuv, Honda);
semitransparent trains that
better-integrate with the
landscape (Seibu Group)

COMPETITORS'
New players with alternative
EVOLUTION
models:
clean energy and
collaborative economy

APPENDIX 263
PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Future Prism construction

EXAMPLE
CASE 2: Urban Mobility sector
Design Criteria Compatibility and Complementarity Chart

STIMULI CASES

Supermarket of the Probiotic Beer,

Floating Pier, Christo, Google Expeditions, virtual
Future, Coop, MIT & Fermentation Friends, beer
floating path connecting an educational trips
Accenture, smart store that improves the immune
island (Italy) (United States)
(Italy, United States) system (Singapore)

Urban Vertical Atlantic Museum,

Hermes Pardini, virtual
Cemetery, Zongshen Xia, Algorithm to design Jason deCaires Taylor,
reality experience for
explores the relationship fashion, Amazon & MIT hyper-realistic underwater
children who get vaccinated
between life and death in (United States) installation on climate
(Brazil)
cities (Japan) change (Spain)

Making Weather
Microsoft Hololens The Algae Dome,
Speaker, Clarkson and
inflight, Air New Zealand, SPACE10, sustainable
Crealev, smart loudspeaker
augmented reality to detect food production system
with levitating cloud shape
emotions (New Zealand) (Denmark)
(United States)

APPENDIX 265
PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Future Prism construction

EXAMPLE
CASE 2: Urban Mobility sector

CRITICAL DESIGN EXERCISE ABOUT THE FUTURE

CRITICAL FUTURE CRITICAL DESIGN

Autonomous bus system accessed through facial

Ultra-connected city integrated with and recognition connected to tax, immigration, legal
controlled by a digital brain system based on and citizen history. If the system detects some
residents’ big data and their civic behaviors troubling data, the vehicle prevents the user from
accessing it

APPENDIX 267
PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Future Prism construction

EXAMPLE
CASE 2: Urban Mobility sector

CONSTRUCTION OF THE FUTURE SCENARIO TO 2027

APPENDIX 269
PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Future Prism construction

EXAMPLE centers.
CASE 2: Urban Mobility sector
Non-motorized displacements will be
CONSTRUCTION OF THE maximized with priority circuits for cyclists and
FUTURE SCENARIO TO 2027
pedestrians. Systems encouraging the use of shared
private vehicles or public transit will be developed.
Autonomous, electric, and silent urban
transport system. Buses and trains equipped with
self-produced clean energy (solar) and air purifying
(CO2 recycling through synthetic photosynthesis)
systems. Spatial and technological redesign of the
metro will incorporate natural conditions to the
stations. Pavements and streets will incorporate new
functionalities (urban heating, energy production,
sensors to provide information in real time).
Emotionally connected vehicles will enhance
and individualize people’s experiences. Car
companies will develop services ecosystems for a
total customer experience.
In this scenario: Integrated, efficient, and smart public transport
The goal is to plan an environmentally and system will be constructed and will calculate each
emotionally healthy city. passenger’s journey debiting them digitally the
Two main development axis: 1) City proportional cost of their trips.
decentralization and refunctionalization of Smart urban parking will optimize space and
neighborhoods with accessible service ecosystems; time along.
2) Intermodal connection between districts and Intra and inter-urban aerial mobility will
high-speed transport system between urban become one of the many urban travel modalities.

APPENDIX 271
CASE 3

Construction of a Future Prism to 2027

for the Fashion Luxury sector

LOCAL SOCIAL TREND

TRANSNATURALISM

ECONOMIC SECTOR TRENDS GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND

FASHION LUXURY ENRICHED HUMANS

FUTURE
PRISM ®
GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND STIMULI
AUTONOMOUS NODES CASES

TECHNOLOGICAL
TRENDS

APPENDIX 273
PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Future Prism construction
EXAMPLE
CASE 3: Fashion Luxury sector
Design Criteria Compatibility and Complementarity Chart
TRANSNATURALISM
LOCAL SOCIAL TREND: Paris
CONSUMER
BEHAVIORS People will choose
propositions that sponsor
the idea of circularity, to
diminish their negative
impact on the environment.
At the same time, an idea
of life’s finitude and life’s
possibility for natural
transformation will emerge
GLOBAL AND LOCAL
VALUES Vitality, nature as source of
wisdom, circularity, clean
technologies
FUNCTIONAL, Biodegradable propositions;
EMOTIONAL AND experiences that help
IDENTITY DEMANDS transcend the finitude of
life;
technologies that introduce
and improve natural
properties and functions;
environmentally and
AUTONOMOUS
NODES
GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND
People will incorporate
into their daily habits the
production of strategic
resources and consumer
products in order to
convert their homes and
micro-communities into
self-sufficient nodes
Autonomy, collaboration,
responsibility, transparency
Proposals that eliminate
intermediaries and
facilitate self-production;
experiences that enable
knowledge, work and
production networks;
access to integrated and
complete information on
ENRICHED HUMANS TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMIC SECTOR
TRENDS TRENDS
GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND
People will use product,
service and experience
propositions to self-define
their identities (hybrid and
fluid) as well as to improve
their physical, emotional
and cognitive abilities
Independence, autonomy,
diversity
Search to affirm difference;
ideas that improve physical,
emotional and cognitive
abilities;
propositions that make
possible and potentiate
temporary transformations;
requirement of instant
APPENDIX 275
 TRANSNATURALISM
LOCAL SOCIAL TREND: Paris
emotionally healthy
habitats;
access to reliable
information
AESTHETIC CRITERIA 100% natural and noble
materials,
artificial components with
natural properties (even
better tan natural ones),
compostable materials
TECHNOLOGIES
AUTONOMOUS
NODES
GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND
traceability;
systems that allow
collective decision-making;
personal self-realization:
that one can be an active
agent of society;
propositions that integrate
environmental and social
responsibility
Transparent, natural,
porous, intelligent,
transformable, hybrid
materials
ENRICHED HUMANS TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMIC SECTOR
TRENDS TRENDS
GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND
access to hyper-personalized
and connected experiences;
open-source experiences
that integrate people in their
final configuration
Hybridization of materials
and techniques (natural
and artificial, industrial
and artisanal), transparent
elements, visible structures,
smart surfaces, enriched
elements
Artificial intelligence,
genetic engineering, DNA
editing, augmented reality,
virtual reality, Internet of
Things, robotization, block
chain, Big Data, holography
APPENDIX 277
 TRANSNATURALISM AUTONOMOUS ENRICHED HUMANS TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMIC SECTOR
NODES TRENDS TRENDS
LOCAL SOCIAL TREND: Paris GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND

OBJECTIVES AND Replicate human cognitive

APPLICATIONS abilities in robots; create a
superior intelligence order;
improve and expand the
human capabilities; instant
access to knowledge to
make smart decisions;
optimize strategic, spatial
and temporal resources;
generate a symbiosis of
technologies with the
environment to make them
more empathetic; improve
work and production
performances

INTERACTIONS AND
Emotional engineering,
CONVERGENCES
neurotechnology,
BETWEEN DISCIPLINES
digital humanity,
data & design

APPENDIX 279
 TRANSNATURALISM AUTONOMOUS ENRICHED HUMANS TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMIC SECTOR
NODES TRENDS TRENDS
LOCAL SOCIAL TREND: Paris GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND

CONSUMER SECTOR Instant and personalized

BEHAVIORS satisfaction;
quality and handmade are
highly considered;
desire for not only status but
a superior experience
associated with values and
identity;
power to co-create with a
brand;
no more demographic
determinism (public
diversification);
desire for products that
represent local cultures;
sustainable and durable
luxury;
maximum comfort and
immediate delivery;
preference for a more
intimate, highly emotional
dialogue (discarding luxury
brands’ aloofness and
superficiality);
stores transformed in creation,
learning and personal
"transformation" spaces (not
only for shopping);
demand for authenticity in
products and experiences;

APPENDIX 281
 TRANSNATURALISM AUTONOMOUS ENRICHED HUMANS TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMIC SECTOR
NODES TRENDS TRENDS
LOCAL SOCIAL TREND: Paris GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND

NEW EMERGING
control of all links in the
BUSINESS MODELS
value chain;
specific business units for
co-design and adaptation of
the proposition to people’s
requirements;
greater diversity, higher
price, less physical stores,
more m-commerce &
e-commerce;
no seasons but there are
collections

INNOVATIONS See now, buy now system

(Burberry);
integration with technology
(Samsung & Grisogono;
Hermes & Apple; LV &
connected suitcases,
Courrèges & coats with
heating panels);
personal data protection and
management a luxury service
(Bulgari Vault Security app);
digital product
authentication systems
(blockchain);
customer recognition
systems (Saks Fifth Avenue);
increase in e-commerce
and m-commerce (Burberry,
Gucci, Louis Vuitton);
virtual shows and immersive

APPENDIX 283
 TRANSNATURALISM AUTONOMOUS ENRICHED HUMANS TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMIC SECTOR
NODES TRENDS TRENDS
LOCAL SOCIAL TREND: Paris GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND GLOBAL SOCIAL TREND

experiences (Balenciaga,
Dior, Hussein Chalayan);
introduction of wearable
technology and intelligent
materials (Louis Vuitton,
Montblanc, Tag Heuer);
information systems for
checking compatibility
between people’s values and
brands (Nudge for Change
app);
digital personal assistants for
optimized shopping (L'oréal
beauty gifter Canada);
socially responsible luxury
(Debeers Forevermark
Diamonds)

New players characterized

COMPETITORS'
by their independence and
EVOLUTION
focused on well-defined
small niches,
luxury startups,
expansion of companies with
local identity from emerging
countries,
alliances between luxury
fashion brands and tech
companies

APPENDIX 285
PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Future Prism construction

EXAMPLE
CASE 3: Fashion Luxury sector
Design Criteria Compatibility and Complementarity Chart

STIMULI CASES

Supermarket of the Probiotic Beer,

Floating Pier, Christo, Google Expeditions, virtual
Future, Coop, MIT & Fermentation Friends, beer
floating path connecting an educational trips
Accenture, smart store that improves the immune
island (Italy) (United States)
(Italy, United States) system (Singapore)

Urban Vertical Atlantic Museum,

Hermes Pardini, virtual
Cemetery, Zongshen Xia, Algorithm to design Jason deCaires Taylor,
reality experience for
explores the relationship fashion, Amazon & MIT hyper-realistic underwater
children who get vaccinated
between life and death in (United States) installation on climate
(Brazil)
cities (Japan) change (Spain)

Making Weather
Microsoft Hololens The Algae Dome,
Speaker, Clarkson and
inflight, Air New Zealand, SPACE10, sustainable
Crealev, smart loudspeaker
augmented reality to detect food production system
with levitating cloud shape
emotions (New Zealand) (Denmark)
(United States)

APPENDIX 287
PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Future Prism construction

EXAMPLE
CASE 3: Fashion Luxury sector

CRITICAL DESIGN EXERCISE ABOUT THE

FUTURE

CRITICAL FUTURE CRITICAL DESIGN

Handmade bag made with biotechnological

A 100% biodegradable world as a result of an material that begins to degrade after ten months to
environmental contamination crisis become compost. Luxury fashion as an extremely
ephemeral experience

APPENDIX 289
PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Future Prism construction

EXAMPLE
CASE 3: Fashion Luxury sector
CONSTRUCTION OF THE FUTURE
SCENARIO TO 2027

APPENDIX 291
PHASE 1: INVESTIGATION
Future Prism construction
EXAMPLE
CASE 3: Fashion Luxury sector
CONSTRUCTION OF THE FUTURE
SCENARIO TO 2027
In this scenario:
Innovative brands will define ultra-
personalized services to match people’s desires in
real time.
Garments and accessories will be co-created
with customers through virtual assistants.
Fashion will see a future scenario of hand-
made pieces in symbiosis with technology:
interactive product lines made with smart materials
and artisanal techniques; enriched components
to improve physical, emotional, and cognitive
capabilities; objects that transform over time;
and hyper-personalized accessories using the
customer’s genetic makeup.
Luxury wearables will use alliances between
fashion and tech companies to develop products
as balance interfaces between humans and the
environment. The implementation of technology
update services will become standardized.
Authentication and traceability of products
through blockchain will be fundamental in the
global market.
Physical stores will convert in a brand’s
universe staging, fusing virtual, digital and
analogical resources. Immersive, sensory and
symbolic experiences seamlessly integrated with
digital shopping and immediate delivery. The
future boutique experience will involve the
design of spaces for interaction with the brand -
equipped with facial recognition, Big Data, artificial
intelligence, and 3D scanner technology - to
provide personalized attention based on people’s
taste, preferences, and shopping history.
The dematerialization of luxury will place
the focus on a unique and ephemeral experience
through products that, after some time, become
biodegradable.
People will begin to embrace a high valuation
of socially and environmentally sustainable luxury.
APPENDIX 293
PHASE 2: INTERPRETATION
Interpretation of the future by companies

EXAMPLE
CASE 3: Fashion Luxury sector
VISION

VISION, CONCEPT AND MEANING DEFINITION BY COMPANY A

THREE DIFFERENT COMPANIES LUXURY START UP CONCEPT
(CLOTHES)

MEANING

VISION
COMPANY B
CONSOLIDATED LUXURY
BRAND
CONCEPT
(ACCESSORIES AND
GARMENTS)
MEANING

VISION
COMPANY C
CONSOLIDATED LUXURY
JEWELRY BRAND
CONCEPT
(JEWELRY)

MEANING

APPENDIX 295
PHASE 2: INTERPRETATION
Interpretation of the future by companies

EXAMPLE
CASE 3: Fashion Luxury sector

VISION, CONCEPT AND MEANING DEFINITION BY

THREE DIFFERENT COMPANIES

COMPANY A COMPANY B

Luxury startup. No history in the fashion industry. Brand identity associated with Consolidated luxury brand. 100 years history in the fashion industry. Brand
Nature, cultural wealth, quality and technological innovation. Offering intended identity associated with rich heritage, timeless elegance, traditional savoir
for a diverse, urban, dynamic, sensitive and cosmopolitan audience. Products: faire, noble materials and high quality. Products: accessories and garments,
second and third layer clothing mainly in leather and natural fibers

VISION CONCEPT NEW MEANING VISION CONCEPT NEW MEANING

Fuse Nature’s wisdom,
knowledge (savoir faire) of
cultures and advantages of
technology to offer a high-
value experience. Provide
meaning and sensoriality
to an increasingly digital,
hyper-connected and
nomad human being.
Atemporal garments made
with artisanal techniques
from natural materials
enriched by technology.
Products with smart
surfaces that interact with
nature to improve human
performance
An artisanal soul for a Improve people’s wellbeing
digital humanity and performance in a
challenging environment.
Combine ancestral cultural
wisdom with new smart
functionalities via
proposition that adapts to
the company’s vertiginous
evolution. Reinforcing
people’s identity through
clothes filled with sensoriality
Redefine the traditional Sustainable heritage Connect emerging values
idea of luxury through the - consciousness, durability,
concept of sustainability sustainability, respect -
to take it to the next level: with luxury consumption to
heirloom pieces for a eliminate guilt. Transform
a durable society. Expand users into positive values
quality beyond products to ambassadors
include setting. Keep the
exclusive products made by
artisan masters but within a
100% socially, culturally and
environmentally sustainable
productio process. Integrate
biotechnology to develop
natural-like materials - like
leather - to decrease the
company’s carbon footprint

CURRENT MEANING

Noble products associated with stable and traditional lifestyles. Clothes with CURRENT MEANING
unique functionality. Ephemeral fashion products
Products as status symbols associated with high prices and maximum quality

APPENDIX 297
PHASE 2: INTERPRETATION
Interpretation of the future by companies

EXAMPLE
CASE 3: Fashion Luxury sector

VISION, CONCEPT AND MEANING DEFINITION BY

THREE DIFFERENT COMPANIES

COMPANY C

Consolidated luxury jewelry brand. 150 years in the fashion industry. Brand
identity associated with sophistication, high-quality levels, and classical
elegance but with modern details. Product: jewelry

VISION CONCEPT NEW MEANING

Enriching experiences You are a jewel Bolster people’s desire to

that value people. Jewels configure their identities
transformed in a key through stimulating and
to access fantastic and exclusive experiences.
exclusive adventures, Increase intangible
and reservoir of those attributes of products
unique experiences. From to generate a deeply
storytelling to livingtelling. emotional and memorable
As talismans, jewels connection. Complement
crystalize memories of and strengthen identity by
aromas, images, flavors, incorporating more intimate
and sounds. The shopping elements, such as genetic
experience transformed into components, into products
a physical and emotional trip

CURRENT MEANING

Jewelry as a status symbol. Inanimated precious object. Investment

APPENDIX 299
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
LAUREANO MON
Trend analyst, consultant, and educator.
Graduate degree in Political Sciences from
Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina).
Postgraduate studies in Cultural and
Communicational Management and
Policies (FLACSO, Argentina). Máster
degree studies in Economic Politics at
FLACSO, Argentina and Sciences Po,
France. Social and consumer trends
analysis expert. Researcher from INTI’s
Trend Observatory (Industrial Technology
National Institute, Argentina). Author
of numerous articles on design and
innovation published by Universidad de
Palermo (Argentina), Università di Bologna
(Italy) and Parsons the New School for
Design (US.), among others. Social Trends
and Cultural Studies professor at Escola
de Design UNISINOS’ Strategic Design
Specialization. Laureano has worked with
Latin American companies and agencies
in the development of innovative design,
communication, and market strategies.
Co-founder of The Sprout Studio.
MAURIZIO RIVER SERENA THE SPROUT STUDIO
Consultant, educator, and strategic The Sprout is a Paris-based studio
designer. Graduate degree in European specialized in designing innovative
Business with Technology from Brighton strategies to transform companies into
University (United Kingdom) and market leaders. With the aid of The
Politecnico di Torino (Italy). Maurizio Sprout’s principles, tools, and techniques,
worked as project manager in Hong each project begins with trend analysis
Kong before moving to Singapore and future scenario building to then
where he worked as brand advisor for develop powerful ideas that will define
Southeast Asia at Addison Design. After each company’s innovation goals.
obtaining a Master’s Degree in Strategic
Design at Politecnico di Milano (Italy), www.thesproutstudio.net
he was Pirelli RE’s brand strategist in
Milan. He was senior brand strategist
for Klingmann Architects & Brand
Consultants in New York (2007-2008)
before starting his career as a freelance
branding and retail design consultant in
Italy, Spain, and Belgium. Based in Paris
since 2012, he is the director of INSEEC
MSc & MBA’s Fashion Marketing, Design
and Brand Strategies program. He also
teaches Design Management at Paris
College of Art and Strategic Design at
Escola de Design UNISINOS (Brazil). He
collaborates as strategic designer with
studio Labscape Architecture & Design
(New York, Brussels). Co-founder of The
Sprout Studio.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS 301
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We would like to thank all the colleagues
that contributed precious insights
and critical reflections throughout the
gestation of The Sprout project. This
book is the tangible result of a more
ample investigation process into the
future. Special thanks go to Brigitte Borja
de Mozota, Paula Visoná, Kim Kok, Nydia
Urdaneta Falcón, Sofia Marré, Gustavo
Lompa Nunes, María Celeste Nasimbera,
Caterina Ciani, and Lautaro Mon