Class Tendencies

The Trends curricular unit addresses the observation and interpretation of trends through the identification and organisation of signals from different social, cultural and aesthetic contexts. Based on information collected from print and digital media and other contexts with high circulation and visibility, quantitative and qualitative analysis is developed to identify recurrences, differences and relationships. Signals are organised into transversal themes and behavioural profiles through moodboards that enable the construction of particular narratives and comparisons between different manifestations. The curricular unit favours a practical and experimental approach, developing skills in reading and organising information that enable students to understand continuities and transformations and produce knowledge applicable to different design contexts..

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The syllabus develops through a progressive process of observation, association and interpretation of trends. 1. Observation, research and identification Selection of print, digital and other high-visibility media. Collection of images, quantitative and qualitative analysis, and identification of signals, recurrences, differences and significant relationships. 2. Association, configuration and representation Construction of moodboards organised by behavioural profiles and transversal themes - people, interior and exterior architecture, gestures and objects, books, cinema, colours and materials. Association of images, construction of relationships and configuration of particular narratives for each profile. 3. Evolution, interpretation and application Comparison of narratives and profiles, identifying continuities, transformations, rhythms and life cycles. Interpretation and projection of trends and deduction of new possibilities and creative actions.

The teaching-learning methodology is based on an active and experimental process of visual research through which students construct knowledge by observing, selecting, associating and interpreting signals. The progressive development of moodboards is the main operational tool, organising images according to transversal themes and behavioural profiles. The process develops through the inclusion, exclusion, reorganisation and comparison of images, enabling students to recognise recurrences, differences and relationships, construct particular narratives and test interpretations. Discussion of the results promotes the confrontation and reformulation of the associations established. Applying the process to different thematic fields encourages guided discovery, autonomy and knowledge transfer, allowing different sets of information to generate new interpretations and possibilities for creative action.

DRAGT, Els - How to Research Trends: Move Beyond Trendwatching to Kickstart Innovation. Revised edition. Amsterdam: BIS Publishers, 2023. 200 p. ISBN 978-90-6369-682-5. DRAGT, Els - How to Research Trends Workbook. Amsterdam: BIS Publishers, 2019. 64 p. ISBN 978-90-6369-527-9. RAYMOND, Martin - The Trend Forecaster's Handbook. 2nd ed. London: Laurence King Publishing, 2019. 240 p. ISBN 978-1-78627-384-0. VEJLGAARD, Henrik - Anatomy of a Trend. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. 264 p. ISBN 978-0-07-148870-9.