User-centered design requires that we consider not only the practical issues of product use, but also what is important to people emotionally.

In this presentation we will look at key western lifestyle trends – the attitudes, behaviors and circumstances that characterize the way that people in the west live, both now and in the future.

Eight key trends are identified. They are follows:

Feminization.
The changing roles of men and women, the blurring of gender boundaries and the ascendancy of values and behaviors traditionally considered to be female.

Hedonism.
Guilt free indulgence, hedonistic consumption and the search for new experiences.

Spirituality.
The search for meaning and the rise of ethics as a part of people’s decision making including ethical consumerism.

Every Second Counts.
The hectic time-squeezed nature of life, the perceived need to fill time productively and the fear of wasting time.

Fear.
The mistrust and suspicion of authority and large organizations, in particular governments and corporations.

Tribalism.
The desire for group identity, in particular national and religious identity have become more prominent in recent years.

Staying Alive.
The aging of the population and people’s desire to live full active lives for all their years.

Individuality.
People’s desire to express their personality and tastes and the increasing difficulty of classifying people as members of market segments.

Each trend will be defined, along with the reasons why it emerged and its expected longevity – each will last at least a generation. Methods for identifying and analyzing trends will be described and the implications of each trend for user-centered design will be outlined.