Robert Thiemann

In an age of uncertainty, being intentionally vague about the use of spaces and objects may be the best design strategy. In 1977, John Kenneth Galbraith published his book The Age of Uncertainty. The Canadian-American diplomat and economist surveyed the ideas of economists and social philosophers, contrasting the certainties in 19th-century economic thought with the uncertainty of last century’s ’70s.

In his final editorial for our newly released special issue, our founder and former editor in chief Robert Thiemann discusses the tactics interior and product designers, as well as their clients, should employ to shape an overall healthier spatial design landscape. Every year we take stock of the overarching trends shaping spatial design, using the FRAME Awards winners as our starting point.

In this week’s Editor’s Desk, editor in chief Robert Thiemann reports about a recent visit to Shenzhen, where some retail trends are coming to an end – and new ones are being born. Immersive retail doesn’t cut it anymore We’ve seen it for years: culture as a retail activator. Art objects and interactive installations increase traffic and extend dwell time. This formula seemed to work. Seemed, because the dream marriage between art and retail is under serious pressure.