Have you read Perspectives yet?  If so, what do you think?  If not, check out our annual design and architecture forecast at by clicking here .

The first question that usually arises is: what’s a stone company doing making design forecasts?  Why are we traveling the world to observe holistic shifts in culture, social context, economies, fashion, color, and design preferences? Why do we seek to understand what is likely to continue, what is likely to change, and what is novel? Because understanding trends helps up distill our point of view and manage our product portfolio. And sharing our perspective means offering the design community a forum that will inform their design. It means better design and better business for us all.

Yes, there is a methodology to our approach.  We have a long list of shows we attend, publications we read, websites and blogs we visit, customers we talk to. Its part research, part blue-sky thinking. Its enthusiasm tempered with experience, creative flair grounded in commercial realism, pragmatic thinking supported by longer-term brand awareness.

But what it is really about is being willing to formulate ideas by observing what is around us.  Having faith in our own intuitive responses to the world.  Looking not just with our eyes but also with our heart.  The truth is that style and taste and what’s in vogue are all relative.  We speak to things that connect with us. That makes sense to our product lines.  That will resonate with our customers and their clients. Through Perspectives, we hope to inspire and inform. Our approach is to present creative ideas that work now and build value tomorrow – we passionately believe that one can’t work without the other. We also know that success is built upon genuine insight into people and their triggers; getting the story right will motivate people into action, promising valuable returns all around.

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