Future Design Inquiries. April 2024

Designing the future

Futures happen by default or by design. Here are some things we think push past the default.

Hello from your friends at enso, a future design company.

For anyone new here, we’re sharing the things that make us think, bring us joy or shift our perspective. And we welcome your reactions, additions, and suggestions – reach out news@enso.co.

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What we’re reflecting on

These nuggets curated by enso partners Hanna Siegel (HS) and Sebastian Buck (SB).

Choose optimism

One of the continual themes of our conversations at enso, and in these newsletters, is the grand battle between pessimism and optimism. ‘The Fox News Strategy’ of doom-driven allegiance is sadly winning, in many countries — at least if your definition of ‘winning’ is influencing society. Janan Ganesh wrote a piece on ‘bleak chic’, and the remarkable lack of consequences for people that (incorrectly) predict impending collapse, while mistaken optimists are more often held to account.  He describes “an ingrained belief that gloom, however hysterical, equals seriousness. It is a habit of educated people to accord a spurious integrity to the morose.” One example of millions we could cite: famed hedge fund manager Jeremy Grantham has been predicting impending collapse for decades; in November 2023 he advised against investing in America, saying the S&P 500 could collapse by 50%. It’s risen by 15% since then. There’s a real cost to beating the doom drum — fear disincentivizes investment and energy allocated to the bold endeavors necessary to reach our higher potential. Churchill battled depression, but his choice to advocate optimism rather than defeatism is what the world needed to overcome fascism. Could we all hold hands and choose out of this errant connection between gloom and seriousness? Serious optimism please. (and joyful optimism, if that’s more your flavor). (SB)

Prada & wellbeing?

Back in 2018, we wrote a piece for Fast Company about the opportunity brands had to step into people’s yearning for more belonging, citing companies like Rapha, which creates ‘clubhouses’ for cyclists rather than ‘stores’.  Fast forward, and the world’s luxury giants are moving in this direction. Prada is doing incredibly well, and investing in transforming stores into ‘epicenters’, offering food, art and cultural exhibits alongside fashion. While many thought ecommerce would kill retail, Prada CEO Patrizio Bertelli is investing; “retail stores will become experiential spaces that bring people together. [We are] creating an identity that transcends what we sell. We want it to be a mindset, an experience centered around the Prada brand.” This is an investment in business success, but also a broader form of success: “After all, the definition of luxury nowadays is quality of life in every aspect, including what we eat, how we travel, the art and culture we have access to and what we wear.” We’re excited to see more companies make this shift from transactional sales of things, to relationship-based enabling of better life. It would be fun to see Ralph Lauren running outdoor retreats, Walmart running gyms, and Starbucks hosting book clubs. (SB)

Progress is a policy choice

Has confidence in government ever been lower? Currently, fewer than two-in-ten Americans say they trust the government in Washington to do what is right “just about always” (1%) or “most of the time” (15%). Yet such distrust can make us forget that policymaking is one of, if not the most important drivers of progress that we have. Levers for Progress, a new tool chronicling tactics, reforms and case studies showing exactly that reminded me just how powerful public policy really is. It’s interesting to read about the success of Moonshot Institutions, Investment Tax Credits or Digital Nomad Visas, among other things. But most importantly, Levers for Progress is a trove of ideas, inspiring and potentially useful for companies, NGOs and policymakers alike. Even if you avoid politics at all costs right now (and I can’t blame you), don’t forget to learn from the best ideas from the policy world. It’s a good reminder that progress is a policy choice. (HS)

Reclaiming (y)our power

In a fascinating study, young people would need to be paid $59 to deactivate their TikTok account. But they would pay $28 if everyone deactivated their TikTok accounts. In other words, the fear of missing out means people are attached to a thing they would rather didn’t exist at all. The same holds true for Instagram, and for luxury brands; 44% of people who had bought a luxury brand would rather live in a world where that brand did not exist. Economists call these ‘collective traps’. Each person choosing out of the trap helps weaken its hold on others. (SB)

Redefining Productivity (in the redwoods)

Last month, the enso team (who all work remotely, in different parts of the country) got together in Pt. Reyes, California, for a “working offsite” – a chance to spend time together and with nature, ideally in service of our productivity. (It goes without saying that we are extraordinarily lucky to be able to do this). As a longtime NYC, and now DC, resident, my definition of productivity has been etched into my psyche by the pervasive culture of busyness that dominates those cities, and most industries in America. Even as science continues to disprove the theory that more hours equals higher productivity, companies continue to subscribe wholeheartedly to it, sometimes teaching employees to take pride in how little sleep, relaxation or free time they get. Yet as our team took hikes, did yoga (most of enso is from California, where doing yoga with coworkers is relatively normal) and cooked together, we expanded our thinking just by problem-solving away from our screens. Cal Newport’s new book, Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout, argues that our definition of productivity (at least for knowledge workers) is faulty. Instead, he recommends that three principles will lead to productivity in the most sustainable and meaningful sense: 1) Do fewer things, 2) Work at a natural pace, 3) Obsess over quality. After last week, I think he might be onto something. (HS)

10 things that made us think, gasp, share and laugh:

• Break the routine? While the self-help world focuses on optimizing habits and routines, the case against ‘life ruining routines’ feels great. 
• The pursuit of happiness. In the 2024 World Happiness Report, the US drops to rank as the 24th happiest country in the world (from 15th in 2023), but that masks a big disconnect: Americans over 60 years old rank 10th, while Americans below 30 rank 62nd in the world. 

• Land art please: ephemeral sculptures making wild places even more beautiful. The soul-filling beauty of Jon Foreman’s art in Wales. 

• This interview with the Dutch street artist Frank de Ruwe, who turns pieces of Amsterdam into playful art, like these counterterrorism concrete blocks turned seat for a Lego sculpture of the Dutch folk singer André Hazes. Or this ledge turned wave. “It’s all about seeing the right thing,” he says.
• @zillowgonewild, an account chronicling the most bizarre zillow listings (you know you’re going to peruse zillow anyways, might as well see some crazy stuff)
• This story of Dr. David Fajgenbaum, who was in medical school when he was diagnosed with the rare and dangerous Castleman’s disease. (He was so sick a priest said the sacrament of anointing the sick.) But after studying his own blood work, Fajgenbaum realized that a drug to help prevent organ transplant rejection might help him too. He was right – and has been in remission for 10 years. Thus started a quest to match patients with existing drugs that might help them, despite being developed for other diseases. Fajgenbaum’s nonprofit, Every Cure, is in a two-year process of using AI to create a ranking of every drug against every known disease, and how likely it is to be able to help, a database that could potentially save millions of lives one day.
• The new Banksy mural
• Sebastian Zanella’s photography; romantic, hazy visions of a beautiful world
• What if every dinner party had a larger purpose? When ‘African American talent and white purveyors of culture’ came together for a meal in 1924, it ended up organizing a creative movement – the Harlem Renaissance.
• Imagine waving at someone in another city in real-time as you both are out for a walk. Friend of enso Sarah Kay flagged these Portals Linking Cities Together and we love the effort to connect people from all parts of the world.

What we’re working on

enso is a small, senior team so that we can work on just a few initiatives at a time. This allows us to go deep on some of the biggest challenges/ opportunities. Recently, we’ve been working on a few main missions with our partners:

1. A brand to radiate optimism: As you can probably tell, we think restoring optimism in the world is essential. We're exploring building a product, content and community brand around this idea.
2. The future of exploration: With human spaceflight becoming a possibility for some (and eventually, many), what does the new Space Age mean for humanity? 
3. Great internet no matter what: Enabling everyone, no matter their circumstances or geography, to experience the magic of digital connection.
4. Living your values: How can we enable people to live their values without giving up the extreme convenience that has become an integral necessity to everyday life? 
5. Design The Future book: Distilling wisdom from those actively designing and creating the future, from a wide variety of fields. We hope to complete this in 2024.

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