Future Dualities: Convenience & Consideration
Customer centricity works against sustainability. This is part four of our Future Dualities series. If you’re new here, see the intro, part two, and part three before reading on.
![](https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/convenience-header-4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=225&q=90&w=400&s=57f6d20672782829093aa38493cd7822 400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/convenience-header-4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=337&q=90&w=600&s=49aa42be3485d6b9539e30d2f19d6588 600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/convenience-header-4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=449&q=90&w=800&s=b82f24fe0dfa2985ae3b4fc45f3a6743 800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/convenience-header-4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=562&q=90&w=1000&s=d935162703c0a103773e3c408911143f 1000w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/convenience-header-4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=674&q=90&w=1200&s=243396ea8be2eb00e7774772c4a855df 1200w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/convenience-header-4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=787&q=90&w=1400&s=cf7f52e44ae683099ae71a706a5da9ae 1400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/convenience-header-4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=899&q=90&w=1600&s=81f9329f6b141aea570b4236220574b0 1600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/convenience-header-4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1011&q=90&w=1800&s=a096f0972fd3c2a6d66fff22d93e7628 1800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/convenience-header-4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1124&q=90&w=2000&s=74264eece9b36d69abd3db4128770eee 2000w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/convenience-header-4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1236&q=90&w=2200&s=c931939765664af5ca5ffbb0e1840891 2200w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/convenience-header-4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1348&q=90&w=2400&s=b7f4f29f624e94ac40a08271f231e104 2400w)
Contact info for Eden Dotan
Global Senior Business Designer
Contact info for Lasse Underbjerg
Global Future Lab Director
Thinking ahead is messy. In futurism, it's a widely accepted fact that we can't predict one true future. There is not one direction forward, but many different — sometimes contradictory — directions happening at once.
Paradoxically, we humans still love a simple story; Good and bad. Us and them. But more than ever, we need to shift away from simplified, binary thinking. If we want to design truly sustainable futures for both planet, people, and profit, we need to stop oversimplifying our choices. Explore the continuum, present and beyond. But it's not an easy feat.
To start, we interviewed thinkers and creators from across the world and across competencies to get a deeper and wider perspective on the possibilities and pitfalls ahead. Our conversations led us to five overarching dualities through which we can view, explore, discuss and even start shaping strategies for potential futures.
This article will dive into the third of these five dualities: Convenience & Consideration.
Convenience: Laziness is driving innovation
Convenience is king. It has become the norm across industries from e-commerce to healthcare, driving innovation, competition, and above all: human-centred experiences.
'All of a sudden, we can challenge the idea of education. How can we make education more effective? Education is not about four walls. Learning is bigger and can be more organic than we make today. There is really good education online, at an accessible price for a lot of people.' — Gaston Lisak, Founder of Random Happiness
We can watch a full series in an evening without lifting a finger. We can get the home supplies we need delivered to our front door from one hour to the next. We can join a new insurance policy in under five minutes. We can consult with doctors anytime, anywhere, if we notice a troubling symptom.
'Evolution did not equip us to deal with abundance, with affluence. There was always scarcity.' — Thomas Hylland, Sociology Professor, University of Oslo
Our desire for convenience, and our bias towards instant gratification, are met by corporations with solutions that delight, support, and profit. But the solutions often come at a greater cost: exploiting people, hurting communities, and destroying the environment.
'We have a very good side and a very bad side. And our bad side is really profitable. Our good side is not.' — Gloria Duran, artist, activist, and professor of feminism
Consider the implications for your organisation. In a future of hyper convenience, you need to own the complexity of making it easy.
- Where is convenience key to your value proposition? Where is it not?
- How do you build meaning into seamless experiences?
- What legacy is holding you back from providing true ease?
Consideration: From human-centred to humanity-centred
For the first time in a long time, we have witnessed the frightening truth before our eyes: our resources are limited. Sustainability is no longer the ethical choice; it's the existential choice.
'Businesses need to start thinking of extending their think tanks and adopting a different mindset. One that goes beyond their post-COVID recovery and growth strategy plans, one that takes a longer-term view of the world, but not as a "nice to have" or "philanthropic endeavour".' — Laura Schwamb, Founder of Project61
Businesses and market leaders around the world, from BlackRock's Laurence Fink to IKEA's Jesper Brodin, are shifting towards sustainable investment and production. And with the help of longstanding and emerging brands, people are increasingly adopting more responsible consumption.
'Young people don't accept the unsustainable use of resources. They demand better solutions. And will make them themselves!' — Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen, CEO, Danish AM Hub
But a sustainable choice is often a privileged one considered by those with the luxury to consider it and chosen by those with the means to afford it.
'Purpose-ism, as corporations have wielded it, is predatory. People are looking for meaning, and companies are right there to offer it to them, in exchange for long hours, loyalty, and high productivity.' — Nina Montgomery, Author of Perspectives on Purpose and IDEO Design Lead
Consider the implications for your organisation. In a sustainability-first future, you need to consider the broader side effects of your business.
- What is standing between your organisation and a true dedication to sustainability?
- How can you make sustainability accessible and top of mind for everyone?
- What negative side effects does your business have on communities and environments?
Of course, the range between convenience at all costs and sustainability above all else is vast. Often, one can actually serve the other. Let's take CopenHill as an example: A public ski slope located on the roof of a power plant. The facility is so clean that it can simultaneously serve as a social, outdoor arena, a brilliant example of hedonistic sustainability.
Possible futures lie on each end of this spectrum and at any tension points in between. Each of these futures carry implications on diverse industries and markets. And we can begin to understand and explore these implications when we turn imagined possibilities into tangible artefacts.
We use dualities to inspire tangible future scenarios that get designers and businesses thinking, feeling, and beginning to devise and test strategies for the future.
Let's look at education.
A concept on the brink of drastic change as classes go remote, accessibility increases, and university degrees risk becoming obsolete. What does hyper-convenient learning look like? What does it look like in a place created for deep thoughtfulness and consideration?
Take a look at the possible future scenarios below. What implications could they have for educational institutions and businesses? What responsibilities and opportunities could arise for your organisation?
![](https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-01.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=400&s=99423d8a54cd86ceaa44128d1f73a15a 400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-01.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=600&s=41dfe50e5822b3c5015ff5f3af62385b 600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-01.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=800&s=1598266202a902d8e37a5cee767544c9 800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-01.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1000&s=30bc436f3f2af4a45f36f3af9742f5d5 1000w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-01.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1200&s=1dcb3fcd28d8e5bccacc9c2ea5613df7 1200w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-01.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1400&s=2154a737bffd478b3388fdf3da8cf65d 1400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-01.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1600&s=44605ad213674b9d5f585deb4ff2d1f5 1600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-01.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1800&s=5254d28858d10ef78d2b8e5fea7968e6 1800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-01.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2000&s=8a244ab0531dc6f900e7eaaf714baa20 2000w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-01.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2200&s=25bc44f45ba3c1f754a50e3c17298085 2200w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-01.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2400&s=80a26915375aa5d676a82cbd8913298e 2400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-01.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2600&s=c74b571c2cb3d68d5a82c4c006586a8f 2600w)
Why learn, when you can instantly know?
![](https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-02.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=400&s=759cf755069c6c7e1705453e12302abd 400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-02.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=600&s=997b038e9b64df6773cc61a1bc27be0c 600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-02.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=800&s=c236d32d9de844ef10a6f1b19558c037 800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-02.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1000&s=f19734479e979826e40bc2cc9572ee46 1000w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-02.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1200&s=be93a7763890f9a7f0d04b93cd055f3d 1200w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-02.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1400&s=a63cb51be313244ad34da6b24c6dc5ab 1400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-02.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1600&s=bade7e1ef8a1ffa46a8df87f2a491e03 1600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-02.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1800&s=fa8279bcebad1c495917047c1edb1fab 1800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-02.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2000&s=0ef9c64c8805a2d5743ecf31f3b3d2ba 2000w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-02.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2200&s=d1b7990be3aa8f3e7eebdda4729018bb 2200w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-02.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2400&s=c5a5f0f1ebf655e67cfb924c7b4822d3 2400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Future-Dualities/Learning-02.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2600&s=e56b9f7191abf1e1bc60db9112c29ec6 2600w)
Because the truth is subjective.
Stay tuned. Next up in our Dualities series is Automation & Serendipity. How are we seeing this duality play out today? How could it shape a particular industry in the future? And what questions should you be asking about your organisation moving forward?
To learn more about what lies ahead, we built our very own Futures Generator. Don't forget to take it for a spin - the results may surprise you.
Interested in giving the futures of your business some more thought? We’d love to have the conversation. Get in touch.