Slow Corporation

Companies grow to become more competitive, more efficient. But recently I observed that the big disadvatage of all of that is the detatchment from the actual consumer, as the the business world is moving from market orientation, to what I believe consumer orientation. Another problem that I observed in terms of Microsoft corporation is that they are a little late at everything. The Apple i-Pod becomes a huge success, yet Microsoft just started to jump into that whole market with the Zune now. Skype (www.skype.com) takes off in terms of free online telecommunication, and finally Microsoft is incorporating this feature into messenger. It seems that the whole bureaucratic system of the corporation is not agile enough to serve the market well. So I think that in the future, more small companies will dominate the market, rather than a few large ones. Even though that might not be the current development and experts say it might be differe. What do you think?

Color Branding

In the world of too many brands, with even more logos, brands have to take a new approach to being recognizable in the clutter. There is a trend to using just a special color rather than trying to conquer the consumers mind with yet another logo. Examples of this include the Moleskine notebooks (www.moleskine.com), Banana Republic's (www.bananarepublic.com) signature orange color about 2 years ago, and who could possibly forget Tiffany & Co. with the turquoise gift boxes. It seems to work, and the consumer seems to respond possitively to this change in branding. So in the future the consumer will no longer endorse brands that are plastered across merchandise, but endorse the color that is associated with a certain brand. Personally I love the fact that colors are gaining in importance.

No Logo Products

Whereas it used to be all about showing the brands one could afford, there seems to be an increased movement in the oposite direction. In my opinion it has to do with the oversaturation of the consumer, and the wave of too many logos, slogans etc. One of my favourite products that flows will the current issue of Viewpoint (www.thefuturelaboratory.com) and the Nu Austerity trend is the Moleskine products (www.moleskine.com). The notebooks that were the favourites of Picasso, Chatwin and Hemmingway. They tell a story, and whenever I hold one of my Moleskine notebook, I feel that maybe someday it is going to say: "Moleskine notebooks were used by Nicolas Kundig". Well maybe that is too dreamy, but the point is, is that it feels great to write down notes in the same kind of notebook, with which great European thinkers and visionaries changed the world. There is no massive logo on there, while everyone is starting to recognize the trademark design - black.

Fruitholism

Fruitholism - People are now craving the exotic fruits in their diet. Acai from the Brazilian rain forest, Kombucha from China or the newest fruit on the block the Goji Berry from Tibet (www.gojiberry.com). I believe that the beginning of this trend started with POM Wonderful (www.pomwonderful.com), the company that brought to heart beneficial pomegrate fruit in a bottle to the consumer, and now dominates that market. People all over the world started to buy into the promised benefits of this juice from a fruit people know little about. Further people feel poisoned by their lifestyles. So fruits such as Acai, Kombucha, and Goji berry promise anti oxidant properties, rejuvenation, anti-aging, metabolism enhancement, improvement of cardio vascular health. Any health issue that the consumer might have, whether the person feels fat, or has a weak heart, those exotic fruits from around the world hold the solution. But does it really work? I made a human experiment on myself with Acai and Kombucha (unfortunately I have gotten my hands on Goji berries). Did the sweet-tasting Acai juice give me the promised benefit of detoxification? Maybe, or the vinegary taste of 30 day aged Kombucha make me look younger? Probably not. But in my head I felt that I did something good for my body regardless of whether it really works. I am just curious what the next big fruit is going to be, and what amazing properties it possesses.

Nationality Gene

This summer for the first time I started to like Switzerland again. My passport said all along that I am Swiss, but for the past few years, it was the last place that I wanted to move to. Now that I am finishing up university this little place in the middle of Europe is gaining appeal again. So I came to ask myself, is there such a thing as a nationality gene? Is nationality genetic, and once in a while some impulse of national belonging that never existed is sent out, and triggers a deep feeling of pride and wanting to move back to the place that was generous enough to issue me a passport, and even full access rights at any time in my life. So concluding I am seriously thinking of moving back to Switzerland, because there is so much paper work and struggle involved in staying here in the U.S. and getting everything sorted out. Will see what happens, but I am a true believer of the nationality gene!

Tribute to Fall

Fall must be my favorite Season, because it just is!! No here are some reasons why I like it so much:

• The weather is getting colder and have an excuse to stay in bed longer, since I don't really miss anything outside.
• The trees change their color, and those wonderful walks through crisp leaves start again.
• I actually have some motivation to sit inside and study for university (alright thats a lame one)
• I can look outside from my seat in the coffee shop. It is raining, and I am nice warm and cozy.
  

I am sure that there are many more reasons. What is your favorite season and why?

Meaning of Love, L.O.V.E, Luv U...

Love - an intense feeling of deep affection. But as it seems that this definition has pushed people to come up with new spellings for the love, as the true meaning of love might be too strong to describe all the affectionate connection a person has in their life. So new versions were created including Luv U, L.O.V.E, and probably many others. Yes, they are more convenient to write in text but they all carry the same meaning? Probably not. Yes, I love soy lattes, but do I really mean it that way. I think that the English language as it evolves just had to come up with words for love, that are less strong, because Love seems to be used in every context in daily life in English and the true meaning would be devalued if the real word would be used. So its sort of like a sports car that you only take out on the weekend when the weather is nice, Love only should come out when an intense feeling of deep affection is there.

Acqua di Parma - Blu

Bringing Italy into the convenience of my bathroom in the U.S. I came across these amazing scents during a shopping spree in Switzerland. Those fragrances and body products are made from all natural ingredients and were designed to bring the scent of Italy into the convenience of your home. Blu Mediterraneo comes in:

• Capri Orange
• Tuscan Cypress
• Sicilian Almond
• Amalfi Fig

I decided to go with Tuscan Cypress, and somehow this scent just works for me. Find it and give it a try.

Slack Lining

Hippie Sports – People are trying to get in touch with nature and the inner self again. Not that the trend of people engaging in bodily activities in nature is new (Tai Chi, Outdoor Yoga etc.), but there are some new “Hippie Sport” up and coming. Slack lining- an activity or sport I have never heard of crossed my path this summer in Ashland, OR. A two inch rope is spanned between two trees, leaving some slack and the walk on it. Sounds simple enough, and everybody probably has seen this artistry in the circus. Being curious I tried it, and it was much harder than I thought. People describe the experience of walking on the rope as being completely balanced and focused, and in order to obtain this ability anything else has to be blocked out from the mind. This is the true reward that people get from slack lining, which can nearly be seen as meditation on the rope. I must say that it gives a great sense of achievement once the balance is obtained and euphoric feelings bubble up inside. Important to all first-timers, always use a tree-saver to protect the bark of the tree. Because slack liners are tree huggers at heart.

I tried it myself and here is a little testimony of mine:

"It really felt great once I got a hang of it. It really requires a high amount of concentration and focus. Once I reached this point it felt really balanced. I would even compare it with meditation"

Pokemon Teens

There is a new style seeker around Europe, which my sister cleverly phrased- The Pokemon teens. It is a group of teenager that were strongly influenced by the popular Pokemon TV show, and now tailored their style after the main character Ash (www.pokemon.com). They always hang around in small groups. The distinguishing features of these new style seekers are the bleached mullet. Yes, the mullet just seem to celebrate one come back after another. Then the mullet is accentuated with a trucker hat a la Von Dutch. Further the Pokemon teen wears a tight t-shirt with some graphic illustration and pants that are too short, in order for the white socks to make an appearance. It is interesting that a TV character could shape the look of a large proportion of teens that have been exposed to such at an early age. This seems to be a mini- trend within the larger trend of Asianfication, and more and more products and styles from Asia becoming more popular among European style seekers.