Researching Trends to Navigate the future

Rapid shifts, systemic challenges, and evolving consumer expectations make researching trends essential for staying relevant, creating impact and staying ahead of change rather than merely reacting to it. For designers and professionals alike, understanding trends allows them to navigate complexity, anticipate disruptions, and find opportunities within uncertainty. Trends provide a lens to make sense of emerging patterns, social shifts, and technological advances, enabling organisations to respond strategically and design solutions that are both relevant and resilient. By tracking the subtle signals shaping the future, trend research becomes a crucial tool for making informed decisions, sparking innovation, and driving impactful change within any organisation.

In this training, led by Els Dragt, you will learn to sharpen your analytical skills, harness the power of trends, and identify key signals that matter for your field. The training is not just about data collection; it's about learning to connect the dots, developing foresight, and making informed decisions in a rapidly changing world. Els encourages a hands-on, explorative approach, guiding you to think critically and creatively about the future and empowering you to become a proactive trend researcher capable of turning uncertainty into opportunity.

Els Dragt is an experienced researcher, trend watcher, trainer, and author known for The Trend Research Model and her pragmatic and inspiring approach to trend research. Her vision revolves around transforming complex data into actionable insights and helping professionals navigate the future with clarity. In her work, Els emphasises the importance of curiosity, an open mindset, and the power of evidence-based insights. She believes trend research is not about predicting the future but understanding it through careful observation, analysis, and reflection.

This training is co-organised with BIS Publishers. The publisher has made available two e-books that you will be using throughout the training: the 'How to Research Trends' textbook and workbook written by Els Dragt, the tutor of this training. This training will be learning-by-doing. You will actively use and practise trend research via homework and via Miro during the live training sessions. With additional theory and case examples, the training aims to add both a practical and theoretical layer to the books.

For whom?
This training is suitable for anyone involved in addressing customer, market or societal challenges, including strategic designers, service designers, design researchers, project leaders, project developers and policymakers. Additionally, professionals from non-design backgrounds who seek to (re)design, improve or innovate solutions that are people- and planet-centred will find this training beneficial. If you are a creative thinker involved in innovation, strategy and transformation this training is for you.

The training will make use of the book ‘How to research trends’ written by Els Dragt, the tutor of the training, available as a free e-copy. An exercise book (free e-copy) will also be used.

You will follow a series of four live sessions. Each session of 120 minutes is a mixture of workshop, open discussion and debate and lecture format. You will be able to discuss, exchange feedback, and work together. Learning with and from your peers is one of the guiding principles of our learning activities.

All lessons are online, and live sessions will take place via Zoom.

Schedule live sessions
Session 1 - Thursday May 8, 2025, 14:00 - 16:00 CEST
Session 2 - Thursday May 15, 2025, 14:00 - 16:00 CEST
Session 3 - Thursday May 22, 2025, 14:00 - 16:00 CEST
Session 4 - Thursday June 5, 2025, 14:00 - 16:00 CEST