JKR

Arguably, we are becoming a little edgier in some aspects of culture; albeit a kind of vanilla edginess with plenty of guardrails. One might see evidence in ‘regular’ people reading 50 Shades on the tube and extreme spicy chilli flavoured Jelly Belly beans. It is also showing up in some design perennials; the latest Pirelli calendar which combines a little conservatism (the models are clothed) with arguably a little edge in a pregnant model (if you consider acknowledging the concept of pregnancy as in anyway edgy).

Does this mean anything much for design in general? It’s hard to be sure. One might argue that amidst all the white noise of marketing these days, aiming for a mild shock or PR value is becoming part of the mix. But generally speaking, I’m not sure many brands will be aiming to shock and challenge us as we walk down the supermarket aisle. Brands like The Icecreamists still seems to be in a niche space rather than the local Tesco, despite using breast milk in their Baby Gaga line and suchlike. Perhaps we all prefer good old vanilla in our daily lives after all?