Beyond Trend: How To Innovate In An Over-Designed World (Hardcover)

by Matt Mattus (Author)
Key Phrases: consciously creating, design excellence, The Excellence Imperative, The End of Trend, Marcel Wanders (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
"The world's most noteworthy creative leaders share certain traits: They are inspired by a constant desire for originality, they have a sturdy respect for those with true talent, and they are consciously driven forward by a relentless pursuit of excellence." --Matt Mattus

Now that marketers have discovered the value that design brings to their brands, the pressure is on for creative people to continually deliver the newest looks and ideas. It's a whole new world for creatives, and big business is inviting you in. But the design world is becoming less predictable. Now that everything has been designed, what's next?

Matt Mattus is a professional trend-hunter. He knows that whether you are a designer, a marketer or a CEO, you need to stay in front of the cutting edge for your clients. In Beyond Trend, you'll learn how to spot and cultivate the creative traits--in yourself and others--that allow true innovation to occur.

As Mattus leads you through a whirlwind of trend assessments--contemporary and historical movements in art, fashion, architecture, film and even technology--you'll learn how to effectively absorb the world around you and figure out what's next.

After all, it's up to you to move beyond trend.

About the Author
Working in one of the most fast-moving and trend-oriented industries in the world, for more than twenty years Matt Mattus has led design teams at Hasbro, Inc., in creating break-through branding solutions for kid and teen markets. Matt is on a continuous quest to uncover the influences that inform tomorrow's design. From the obvious to the obscure, he studies culture movements and contemporary trends in art, fashion, architecture, film, food and even rare plants. With a deep respect for pure design excellence, Matt is rarely satisfied with accepting trends at their face value. Instead, he questions and probes phenomena, curious for the real reasons why they occur. With the eye of a designer, the mind of an artist and the knowledge of a historian, Matt doesn't settle for mere connections: he looks for the oxymoronic relationships which exist between truths and trends.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: How (July 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581809611
• ISBN-13: 978-1581809619
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #783,406 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Trend but Below Design, April 27, 2009

By	Hidden in Plain Sight - See all my reviews

Matthus confuses trend with design.

He hungrily shops the world for new styles, fashions and trends to exploit. At mid-life he grieves his jaded palate. He searches for an answer that is always just out of reach.

He will not see what is hidden in plain sight because he is using inadequate tools of perception. The lens is found in the difference between decoration and design.

Matthus' visual shopping spree has nothing to do with design integrity. Design and trends are only tangentally related.

Design is about solving problems - Creating solutions from the ground up.

There are many great treatises of design theory. This is not one of them.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and informative look at how design and designers shape the world we live in., February 12, 2009

By	Joseph R. Natoli "UXD Evangelist" (Baltimore, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Matt Mattus, in my opinion, has done a fantastic job illustrating the cultural and creative traits that allow true innovation to occur. As I'm reading it, I find that he's managed to very clearly explain what I am so often unable to explain about myself over the past 20-plus years: my passion for design, my obsession over the nth detail, my refusal to go for the lowest common denominator. My overwhelming commitment to the idea that DESIGN MATTERS, dammit. It matters because it touches every aspect of everything we come in contact with in our daily lives.

Mattus, in my mind, illuminates the idea that it's MORE than just the surface veneer -- it's a very specific combination of personality traits and genetic makeup and innate talent that make us (designers) what we are.

Like many of my peers, I fall into a category of folks Mattus calls "culture creators" - and while that feels a little egocentric, the more I read in the book, the more the shoe fit.

I can see how some might say this is design snobbery -- but that's a cheap shot, an easy jump over a curb an inch high. It's a reaction that comes from merely scratching the surface and ignoring the message underneath. If you read the same book I did and came to the conclusion that this is just some kind of ego exercise, I believe you've missed the point.

True designers DO believe design can change the world -- because it DOES. Brilliant book, and a worthy addition to my design library.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Snobby design fluff, February 7, 2009

By	H. Richman (Los Angeles, California United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This books starts with a description of the author and his friend getting into an argument. His friend verbially attacked the author for being a designer who is integral in the environmental and societal issue of over consumption. While his friend was probably too emotional and over stated the authors role in this issue he was reacting to the author's attitude. That attitude is common in design circles and it's the view that what designer's do is so important and that no one could possibly get how brillant they are -- as if they are doing a real service to the world. So note to the author, this is what your friend was reacting to and I think that as a design community projecting this attitude is detrimental. With that said, this tone is throughout the book. And on top of that there is no real information or insight. Lots of pictures interspersed through the pages and minimal copy that again says nothing of substance. I felt like the author was trying to make it a longer book so that in appearance he could charge more -- so this book is a rip off. One final note, the author complains about too many people who think they are designers and practice design. This is a common complaint of designers but I would say that if this threatens you then you shouldn't be in the business. Furthermore what is more troublesome are graphic designers who think they are fine artists. Do not bother with this book. If you are looking for books from down-to-earth, real world designers check out Hillman Curtis.