To answer briefly
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What is your job title and years of experience in ID?
Product Designer / Owner, 6 years -
Where are consumer trends heading towards? E.g. Color/feel/finishes/form language.
Digitally generated forms and patterns, customizability, surprising and smart combinations of materials, more sharpness and sophistication overall -
What emerging technologies interest you? How will they impact new user groups?
Sustainable energy, smart cities, AI, 3D printing. People will be more independent from government and hierarchical organizations, taking more part in production, innovation, healthcare and government themselves. -
What are some new materials that excite you?
Novel metal alloys, formable wood and metals, biomaterials and new 3D printing materials for high-speed printing. -
What are some social and environmental trends that you can foresee? Are users becoming more or less conscious?
More conscious as long as it is fun and we keep processes well connected. The shift to consumers becoming makers is already a large one. -
What do you think about the role of the traditional Industrial Designer? And a tip you would give an ID student to get ahead of the curve?
My tip is to invest 10% of what you have in high-risk enterprises or just something you believe in, preferably your own company and start bringing things to the market to see how reality works. I think the traditional ID’er remains in its role as expert and leader of innovation and will more and more cross-over into new disciplines.