CMF Industry View: Consumer Electronics 2022

Future Luxe

Radical designs from nascent and disruptive brands express luxurious space-age aesthetics that chime with our A/W 23/24 Colour & Materials Direction Beyond. Transparent materials and impeccable finishes elevate devices into art status, resulting in jewellery-like wearables and sculptural appliances.

Domestic Influence

Discreet yet delightful finishes inspired by interiors ensure smart devices resemble decorative accessories, helping them complement (and not blend into) their domestic surroundings. A focus on tactile materiality and soft natural colours results in inviting and tranquil designs that fit more harmoniously within modern homes and lifestyles.

Sensory Wellness

Wellness narratives continue to soften tech aesthetics and inform sensory cues that imbue products with calming and therapeutic properties. Gentle tactility is offered through meditative textures that mimic stone, pebbles and raked sand found in Japanese zen gardens. An unassuming palette comprises whites, greys and foliage-inspired greens.

Vibrant Expression

A playful spirit is reflected in bright and dynamic electronics with customisable or changeable capabilities to maximise creative self-expression. Rays of light provide inspiration for glowing devices and chameleonic, reactive finishes. Joyful pastel hues nod to inclusivity and child-friendly design.

Retro Revisited

As identified in Analogue Allure, lockdown-induced online fatigue has left digitally disillusioned consumers yearning for analogue experiences. The simplicity of early computers and gaming consoles inspires nostalgic colours, tactile controls, monochrome displays and matte finishes all paying homage to low-fi electronics.

Dark Minimalism

Aligning with the burgeoning trend for darkened hues within luxury automotive design, black tones lend wearables and home appliances an ultra-sleek and premium appearance. Pared-back aesthetics and minimal material palettes define these engineered products, which are often finished with innovative techniques.

Rugged Durability

Following a pandemic-fuelled interest in the great outdoors, tech brands deliver rugged products that cater to nomadic lifestyles and the surge in outdoor activity. Durability and functionality are key in sturdy designs made from resilient materials. Terrazzo patterns and utilitarian tones provide camouflage, while bright hues inspired by safety and hazard colours command attention.

Responsible Resources

Sustainability within the tech sector is gradually improving. Using recycled content in speckled, terrazzo-like surfaces remains a key signifier, but now developments like solar-cell materials mean eco innovations are becoming more embedded, discreet and self-sufficient.