One recent trend has been sticking in my mind: that futuristic designs are less appealing to young people than they were in the past. Young motorcycle lovers, for example, tend to prefer retro-style models to futuristic racing-type ones as they don’t go well with everyday clothes. The same goes for automobiles. Designs for once-booming supercars have lost their luster.  

Why is that? For one thing, the future no longer appears fascinating for younger generations.

Decades ago, people embraced Marxism-based progressive views of history. But in recent years, French economist Thomas Piketty has presented the “r>g” hypothesis on wealth inequality (the rate of return on private capital exceeds the economy’s growth rate), painting a bleak future with widening economic divides among people. As declining populations no longer provide demographic dividends in Japan, South Korea and China, people are losing hope for a society where children can live more affluent lives than their parents. Future technology of artificial intelligence is expected to deprive people of their jobs, and echo chambers of social media accelerate divisions and conflicts among people.

It now seems quite difficult to produce content that satisfies both young and old generations. But an exception exists: movies. Taking some examples from recent works, Top Gun: Maverick, Godzilla Minus One, and Gundam GQuuuuuuX–each the latest in a popular series–are highly appreciated by young viewers while enjoying popularity among old movie fans.

I hope the success of these works will serve as a reference for us to create fascinating industrial designs that can appeal to people beyond the generation gap.

Satoshi Yoshida
Context Design Dept.
Master Designer