In a time, where we carry our smartphones in our pockets and surround ourselves with technology, we get a naturally urge to pursue intimacy. We will need touching, solidarity, and strong relations.
A cozy atmosphere is an important element in our future society and needs to be considered, when we decorate shops, restaurants, cafés, or whichever business you work in. This can take place in lounge environments, where the customers can sit and chat over a light meal, or in shops decorated to create a basis for the customers to have a good time. Cosiness is a fun size, and it is not something that you as a retailer can force the customers to experience. When we have a good time, we see it as a haven, where we can pull the plug and lean back. Many things have to come together in order for us to experience this well-known cozy atmosphere. We must give ourselves time, an oasis where we allow ourselves not to stress over the other chores of the day. It is important that we are in a good community, where the other participants also have made time for this meeting. Moreover, it is important to be present (a state that our smartphones may ruin as a cruel enemy), to be relaxed, and not least the good mood has to be in place.
You may plan a cosy day all you want, but the cosiness never appears if these 5 elements are not in place and can melt together. Therefore, it is important to consider this, when we decorate shops, so we can create a haven with experiences and good atmosphere creating a basis for the customers to have a good time. Solidarity, intimacy, and nature will have a big influence on the decorating. It is important that technology no longer takes over the power, which also is related to the fact that we are now seeking back to the ‘natural’. However, we do not seek the natural so much that we do not want surprising effects and decorations involving technology, as long as it is wrapped nicely and hidden. By hiding technology, ‘magic’ will appear e.g. in the form of surprising light effects.
Technology and nature find a common road, and we will see that nature sometimes replaces technology completely. We will focus more on livelihood and the surrounding world, and we wish to find authentic threads. Even though we seek intimacy, we don’t only look to Scandinavia. We will get a renewed appetite for global input, and we look to find the authentic (in the now small world due to technology). We bring home new experiences and ethnic imprints to the minimalistic Scandinavia, thereby the minimalistic design gets a hint of ethnic details. Experiences will play a big part in the future retail business, and simultaneously with the intimate values and feelings being important, the experiences become elementary. Some of the possibilities for making unique experiences are sense stimulation, surprises, and multi-functionality, but also down-to- earth experiences such as scents, taste, tactile sense, or visualisation create memories and relations. There will be more focus on colours, as colours will become important and no longer something, we just look at. The colours will be used, experienced, and felt. By going back to the natural, the colours will also be inspired here of. We will see bright and clear colours with strong colours as little details.