Contents:
- The Information: Viewpoint's pick of graphics, technology, retail, design and culture news
- The Analysis: An introduction to DIY
- Yes we can! The DIY movement has moved on from home improvement to encompass technology, distribution and communication methods that, in theory, allow anyone to make anything and bring it to market. The effect will be profound for consumers and brands alike, says Anna Sansom
- The blueprint home As 3D printing becomes more advanced and accessible, in the not-too-distant future we will see consumers taking the ultimate creative control of the products they consume. The home will become a mini factory, with domestic 3D printers capable of printing anything from clothing to food. Viewpoint visualises the potential future of the blueprint home. By Kate Franklin, with photography by Metz+Racine and props by Peter Cole
- Doing it for themselves From hi-tech hacking to handicrafts, DIY in the 21st century has different meanings for different people. Liz Hancock identifies today's key DIY groups and explores their implications for business
- Clicks and mortar The people-less purchase is coming soon to a store near you, as consumers become their own sales assistants. By Duncan Graham-Rowe
- Hack it better Hack it better, or even hack it beautiful, is the modern-day make-do-and-mend mantra. Discarded or broken items and materials are creatively adapted to enhance functional, aesthetic or emotional appeal. Viewpoint collates and specially commissions pieces from designers ready to revamp refuse. By Kate Franklin and Caroline Till, with photography by Victoria Ling
- The Argument: Six trend opinion-formers give their views Small is Beautiful; Closed Wallets, Closed Minds; Tell Us a Story; Eco Equals Ego; Back to the Future; Come Together
- The Vision: A visual essay of ten influential ideas in ten images. By Kate Franklin and Jacob Strand
- The Features:
- Patriot gains 'Buy local' has long been a mantra for food shopping, but now consumers are applying buy-national thinking to a far wider range of products. Josh Sims asks whether brands should be waving the flag for the patriotic purchase
- It's the real thing We spend so much time immersed in virtual worlds, there is now a backlash towards reconnecting with the physical. But real and virtual are far from irreconcilable and the real innovation will take place in the ambiguous territory between the two. By Mark Hooper
- (R)IP? Received wisdom has it that a brand protects its intellectual property at all costs. But open-source thinking, the free sharing of concepts, technology and even production methods, might do for the world of things what is successfully achieving in the world of data, explains Daniel Nye Griffiths
- Testing times Challenger culture is raising the bar for personal achievement ever higher, through extreme sports, hobbies and entrepreneurialism. As pushing the limits becomes the norm, Kevin Braddock asks whether the era of the amateur is over
- The new naive Mixing styles and transcending genres with a childlike disregard for the rules, a new school of illustrators and designers is rediscovering the expressive power of naivety. The handmade is combined with the digitally designed, the real with the unreal. Viewpoint introduces its pick of the creatives setting the aesthetic agenda for the coming seasons. By Kate Franklin and Bianca Wendt
- The Overhaul:
- Knightsbridge over troubled water? When Viewpoint asked young design agency Campaign to rework an existing brand, the choice was Harrods, the most famous and historic shop in Britain. But just how do you update a retail icon and tourist Mecca? By Martin Bewick
- The Digest: Snapshots of some big ideas
- Please re-lease me Movies, mansions, mongrels; more and more items can be rented on demand rather than bought outright - which poses a conundrum for anyone trying to sell. By Gwyneth Holland
- Sales: the final frontier Are designers and business overlooking an enormous opportunity in the developing world? By Clare Dowdy
- Too much, too young The culture of accelerated youth is seeing teens developing a can-do attitude that will have far-reaching consequences for business. By Jane Kellock
- Location, location, location The property buyer's mantra is set to become social media's new spin for consumers and brands alike. By Rachel Arthur
- Handbuilt by robots Craft and technology, once polar opposites, are merging. By Jacob Strand
- The big giveaway Brand philanthropy is taking tentative steps beyond the standard baseline of corporate social responsibility. By Kevin Braddock
- The ego has landed The 'me generation' has discovered a creative outlet far more fulfilling than micro-stardom. By Jacob Strand
- The plastic oh-no band Can life after plastic still be fantastic? Maybe, as sugar plastic, liquid wood and ceramic alternatives come to the fore. By Mark Hooper
- Cut to the chase Could no-nonsense, say-it-like-it-is advertising be the way to reach a new generation of media-savvy consumers? By Mark Tungate
- Community over cash When is a shop not just a shop? When it's a theatre, a club, a lab or a cultural space, a shop as participatory hub for experiences and interactions other than the purely commercial. By Clare Dowdy
- The Form: Viewpoint's round-up of the current key design aesthetics
