Moments from VISIONS NYC: Activating Senses and Building Worlds
Happy Friday, futurists.
Our collective minds are still whirling with ideas and inspiration after an incredible day at VISIONS Summit: NYC. The Future Commerce team was onsite at the Museum of Modern Art, preparing, coordinating, and executing our greatest VISIONS yet, which gathered 200+ attendees to listen to some of the smartest minds in commerce and culture.
Together, we unpacked one big, yet critical, question: Who holds the VISION in your organization?
The stellar lineup included creators (like Andrew Huang and Dami Lee), media execs (like DIRT’s Daisy Alioto, Ben Dietz, and Casey Lewis), brand execs (like Justin Breton of Walmart and Jesse Lazarus of Kravet) and gaming innovators (like Gianna Valintina of Spatial), who brilliantly pulled us out of our to-do lists and deliverables and towards the future.
Because without vision, the tactics will always fall short…and the strategy will never meet expectations. And without vision, your brand will blend into the sea of sameness, and won’t drive the incremental word-of-mouth required to drive customer retention and loyalty.
We’re in a moment where consumers are prioritizing price and convenience over everything else. A clear vision, built upon great products, immersive experiences, and unforgettable stories, is the key to setting you apart.
We’ll be sharing more from VISIONS Summit: NYC in the coming weeks. Keep your head up, because we have some big things coming, especially through our major partnership with Shoptalk. (You can learn more about that here.)
Thanks to all the visionaries who joined us at the MoMA, from new connections to longtime Future Commerce Plus members. We appreciate you and would love to hear more about your experience. Simply reply to this email to share your feedback.
—Phillip
🔮 P.S., If you want to learn more about how your brand can get involved with future events, you can drop us a line here. Together, we can shape the future of commerce and culture.
The Stories Behind Our Spaces. Architect Dami Lee’s YouTube channel has millions of followers, with each video accumulating millions of views. What drives her team’s success? While metrics and analysis are great, leading with heart and innate human behavior is key. She shared how creating emotional tension through contradictory thought, and telling human-centric stories around architectural concepts and spaces, creates connection and inspires people to actually care about the industry she loves. “It’s kind of reframing my own identity, so I’m no longer a traditional architect, but more of an architectural communicator,” she said.
The Speed of Space and Sound. If anyone knows the power of myth-making, it’s Andrew Huang. A musician, creator and now bestselling author, Andrew closed our day of ideation with an incredible talk complemented by musical vignettes. Spacetime, his most creatively aggressive work yet, showed the power of storytelling and the hidden risks of sharing information online. We were treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the project, Andrew’s creative process, his learnings, and his performance prowess.“We don’t have to approach things the way that they’ve always been done, or the way that everyone else is doing them right now,” he said. “We can really do anything.”
A Touch of Affection. Internet culture analyst and ethnographer Katherine Dee broke down how animism is present in our everyday lives. Our younger selves loved stuffed animals and inanimate objects (take, for instance, a super shiny rock you discovered on a walk). Today, we connect with AI-powered bots. In both scenarios, we’re seeking connection and validation.
As Katherine so poignantly stated, that doesn’t make us delusional or psychologically unwell. “These are adaptive uses of our imagination,” she said. “And the question isn't whether these relationships are real. Our feelings make them real.”
Feasting on Art. In this case, this statement is literal and figurative, because Future Commerce Plus members had the chance to tour one of MoMA’s latest exhibits, Pirouette: Turning Points in Design and discuss their thoughts and emotional responses over lunch. The event was an opportunity for members across our community to connect and have a cultural feast that would set the stage for a day of listening and learning.
👁️ If you want to join in on these unique networking moments, sign up for Future Commerce Plus. We host periodic events and meet-ups in key markets, from New York to Los Angeles.
Meditative Realities. According to Luca Del Deo, Founder and CEO of Contempla Meditation, the practice is so much more than what people think. It connects to practices like tulpamancy, in which people can conceptualize and visualize things and eventually make them real. An imaginary “friend” can become real, acquire its own agency, and even interact. Entire worlds can be created, which allows tulpas to build and shape their own realities. In this form of worldbuilding, it all starts within the mind.
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