Curious
A positive guide to serious change. Curious is our substack exploring ideas, insights, and prompts across culture, creativity, and change. Each piece is written to help brand leaders cut through the noise, think long-term, and move from reacting to shaping.
Into the Archives, Middle Power Moves and Smart is Sexy (again)
How might we build more and criticise less? What would the first small step toward that look like this week?
Human-centred Socials and Multi-Lingual Music
We optimised for engagement and got enshittification. What comes after engagement-led algorithms, and who gets to design them?
Launching Lore, Change in Fashion and Rebuilding EU
Signals on intergenerational fairness, rebuilding social platforms in Europe, H&M Foundation Global Change Awards and the launch of LORE, making-sense of fragmented fandoms.
Experience Design, Back to Basics and A New Vision for Masculinity
Signals on designing inclusive and meaningful experiences, designing for word-of-mouth and tactility, and what Gen-Alpha really want in male role models.
Joy is The Moat, Circularity First and Going Deeper Offline
Signals on reclaiming joy, designing for circularity not extraction and getting offline to create the things you wish existed.
Benito Bowl, Spotify the Bookshop and Real Connections
Signals on reclaiming joy, designing for connection not extraction and getting offline to create the things you wish existed.
Ambient Uncertainty, Scroll Stopping and Big Fire Horse Energy
When trust is on the floor it means it’s now the most important thing. Trust is now the competitive advantage.
No More Nostalgia and Restraint in the Real World
Do less, but better. Discernment and 2026 as the year of experiential marketing was a common theme at Web Summit last year. This is the time for meaningful, tangible ways people can get involved with your brand. Strike now.
From Pessimism to Possibility and Competence as Escapism
From aestheticising decline to craving basic competence, these three cultural tensions reveal where imagination is breaking down - and where opportunity is might just be forming.
The Intention Economy, Continuity > Novelty and Brotox
Our weekly look at three curious points of tension, plus positive ideas for what to do moving forward.
Why Trust, Humanity & Differentiation are the Real AI Strategy
Three years of fanatical note-taking at Web Summit confirmed one thing: The noise around AI has peaked. It’s moved from “will it steal my job?” to “why is it still hallucinating?”
What if it just worked?
After years of talk about “diversity,” inclusivity has stalled at optics-only, creative opportunity is priced out of reach, and trust in systems is collapsing. What’s really going on beneath it all? People are done performing progress, they want proof.
Moving FWD breaks down the tensions shaping what’s next, and why brands that design for dignity, equity, and reliability will lead in the future.
From Revival to Remix to Belonging
This week in Moving FWD: London’s comeback, youth shifting from architects to followers, and the decline of big social all point to one thing: culture never really moved in straight lines — it only looked that way when gatekeepers packaged it neatly.
From Burnout to Trust to Tension
From creator burnout to the erosion of trust, the cultural signals are clear: the old extractive models are breaking down. Here are three shifts shaping how brands can build real, lasting value in 2025.
Creative Upheaval & The New Rules of Relevance in 2025
The Lyst Index Q1 2025 got it right in saying “One word can describe how the industry started 2025: turbulence.”
Soft Power 2.0
It sounds like the opening line of a terrible dad joke, but what do a what do a scholar, a pope and a musician with a piano on his back tell us about Power changing? Or better yet, what does a 90s geopolitical concept have to do developing your brand and content strategy in 2025?
Resilience & Future-Proofing Fashion
Recent findings from McKinsey reveal a critical gap in business preparedness: 84% of companies acknowledge being underprepared for current uncertainties, with 90% indicating room for improvement in their resilience capabilities.
Case in Point
Real work. Real outcomes.
Case studies of how we’ve helped brands and teams move from uncertainty to action.
Get in Touch
Better futures begin with a conversation. Let’s discuss what’s next for you.