developing a retail narrative

TIM STOCK SUMMER 20151

week 2

Parsons School of Design Summer Intensive Seminar

the patterns of culture


plot

setting language

perspective conflict

past present future

trends are stories motivation and action are driven forward by cognitive dynamics


plot

setting language

perspective conflict

past present future

everyday trend narrative these narratives manifest in the products and experiences we engage everyday

notness

“I’m not doing it that

way”


authenticity is a cognitive map the answer is relative to your perception of culture

TIM STOCK SPRING 2015 5

past present future

simplicity

signifiers reveal codes


past present future

vice

these codes are patterns in culture


(signifiers)

connotation and shared meaning


modern

commercial

high tech

past present future

nostalgia

local

craft

NOT

the pattern of authenticity is about “NOT”


the choices a brand makes in how they make and sell stuffauthenticity and brand stories


data analysis to analyze how that narrative is evolving

past present future

plot

setting

conflictperspective

language

forecast

closed corpus

books, magazines,

speeches etc.

open corpussocial mediamedia feeds


Google Ngram as a cultural analytics toola tool that allows to test linguistic patterning on a large corpus of scanned texts


tracking language to understand cognitive shifts


so what can learn from these patterns?

past present future

plot

setting

conflictperspective

language


victory gardens as expressed language


PERCEPTION/BEHAVIOR

19

victory gardens as an Ngram visualization

TREND FORCES

victory garden

WW2

meaning

context

patriotism

war/rationing

1970s

meaning

context

recession

frugality


1969 1981

drug culture as expressed languagewhat trend forces correlate to the peaks in narrative?

20


TREND FORCES

PERCEPTION/BEHAVIOR

21

drug culture as an Ngram index

marijuana

cocaine1960s 1980s

meaning

context

rebellion

civil unrest/grassroots activism

(against)meaning

context

(affirm)status

globalization/market deregulation


identifying hidden meaning of how the product fits in cellphones as signifiers of cultural codes

1980 to 2008


PERCEPTION/BEHAVIOR

TREND FORCES

23

cellphone as signifier - the context of signals

meaning

context

luxurymeaning

context

aspirationmeaning

context

utility

1980s 1990s 2000s cellphone


yuppie culture - cultural systems / connotation

1980s


PERCEPTION/BEHAVIOR

TREND FORCES

25

1980s yuppie culture - cultural systems / connotation

economic boom + new money

status + fraternity + rank

meaning

context

espresso

sushi1980s


yuppie culture - cultural systems / connotation


PERCEPTION/BEHAVIOR

TREND FORCES

27

rank

the power suit as expression of meaning

meaning

context

economic growth

power suit


decoding the bourgeoisie bohemian

28

in the 2000s a new culture of aspiration emerges

2000s


PERCEPTION/BEHAVIOR

TREND FORCES

29

codes of Bobo culture - cultural systems / connotation

made in usa

guilt + tactile + local

meaning

context

9/11 + recession + urban migration

locavore

post WW2

recession

2000s



PERCEPTION/BEHAVIOR

TREND FORCES

meaning

context

local coffee

community

urbanism



PERCEPTION/BEHAVIOR

TREND FORCES

meaning

context

moonshine

potent

urban

meaning

safe

suburbancontext


defining the strategic opportunity: the future of _______placing cultural analytics in the context of innovation

past present future

patterns in perception/behaviorcode code

TREND FORCES

scenarios

context context

languagelanguage


the future code of packaged foodwhat trend forces are likely to impact future patterns?

past present future

transparencyquantity quality


frozen foods shaped behavior towards quantity and conveniencesourcing past codes of packaged food

future scenarios tv dinner

quantity convenience

fortified improved

progress

frozen

suburbia cheap appliances globalismindustrial farms


FROZEN

35

fixed / standardized clean / wisdom

our move to fresher food reflects a shiftcodes inform the broader narrative

1960 2014

FRESHFRESH


patterning the codes of past to present reveals potential future scenariosthe evolution of food codes

FIXED LIVING

1960 2015


PERCEPTION/BEHAVIOR

TREND FORCES

37

language reveals the point that culture begins to change coursetracking inflection points

meaning

context

convenience craftpatterns

tv dinner

fresh dinner

1980s


future

forecasting futures: farming/retail hybrids

frugallocalseasonal

integrated practical transparent

urbanism fuel costs water food scares

physical

collective

future scenarios

what signals do we see today hint at future scenarios?


what is your favorite retail story?

display interact buy


culture impacts the perception of brand & retail


levi’s as an ngram over the last 100 years


CODE

CONTEXTtechnology + economics + global politics

economic growth

recession

2006 2009 2015

recovery

CODE CODE CODE

CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT

42


PERCEPTION/BEHAVIOR

2006CODE

TREND FORCES

economic growthCONTEXT

DECODE THE NARRATIVE ELEMENTS

characters

setting

plot


language provides some cultural clues


competition shaping retail narrative

2006 characters

setting

plot


american

relaxed

commodity

past 2006 future

european

fashionable

designer

NOT

the pattern of authenticity in 2006

2006


translating trend narrative into retail storytelling

2006 characters

setting

plot



PERCEPTION/BEHAVIOR

2009CODE

TREND FORCES

recessionCONTEXT


characters

setting

plot


european

fashionable

designer

past 2009 future

american

existential

utility

NOT


2009


translating trend narrative into retail narrative

2009 characters

setting

plot



PERCEPTION/BEHAVIOR

2015CODE

TREND FORCES

recoveryCONTEXT


characters

setting

plot


american

existential

utility

past 2015 future

american

essential

simplicity

NOT


2015


exercise: map a retail story that reflects this context

2015



tomorrow: soho retail trend tour

meet at 10am: Galeria Melissa (102 Greene Street)

developing a retail narrative

Design

tim stock summer

tim stock spring

tracking language

expressed language

past present future

perception of culture

cognitive shifts

past present future