Governing through Design

Of the book, Fred Turner writes, “this fascinating book pulls the curtain back on an entire industry devoted to shaping our perceptions of what matters–and with it, the future itself.” On Trend delves into one of the most powerful forces in global consumer culture. From forecasting to cool hunting to design thinking, the work done by trend professionals influences how we live, work, play, shop, and learn. Devon Powers’s provocative insights open up how the business of the future kindles exciting opportunity even as its practices raise questions about an economy increasingly built on nonstop disruption and innovation. Merging industry history with vivid portraits of today’s trend visionaries, Powers reveals how trends took over, what it means for cultural change, and the price all of us pay to see—and live—the future.

Devon Powers is Associate Professor in the Department of Advertising in the Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University. Her research focuses on consumer culture, cultural intermediation/circulation, popular music, and promotional culture. She is the author of Writing the Record: The Village Voice and the Birth of Rock Criticism (2013), and the editor of Blowing Up the Brand: Critical Perspectives on Promotional Culture (2010, with Melissa Aronczyk). Her work has appeared in New Media & Society, Critical Studies in Media Communication, Popular Communication, and Journal of Consumer Culture, among other venues. Devon received her Ph.D. from New York University’s Media, Culture, and Communication program, and her BA is from Oberlin College.

Organized by the Machine Agencies Working Group of Speculative Life at the Milieux Institute at Concordia University.