Emilie Belis
Trend & Design Strategy Consulting
Trend Forecaster & Design Strategist with over 15 years of international experience in France (Peugeot PSA, Decathlon, NellyRodi...) and the U.S. (Teague, Starbucks...).
What do I do?
Craft impactful strategies from inspiring insights, ensuring your products and services remain culturally relevant to meet your customers' evolving expectations— Inspiring you with Future-Proof, innovative solutions.
How do I do it?
Bridge the gap between research, strategy, and design. Tapping into diverse industries to provide unexpected outcomes, broadening your perspective beyond your market — Connecting you with the unforeseen sources shaping tomorrow's trends.
Let’s make your business more Future-proof, impactful, delightful, desirable, ethical, inclusive, innovative, sustainable, and visionary.
Break the silo of your market and discern the driving forces behind innovations to stay ahead of the curve.
Empower your team to conquer
the blank page with strategic
and creative insights.
Why does it matter?
In today's dynamic landscape, consumers are exposed to constant innovation, and when new products and services meet their core needs, they forge new expectations, setting the standards for businesses to meet.
To excel as an industry leader—not just a follower—it's essential to broaden your perspective beyond your market and draw inspiration from the unexpected sources that will be shaping tomorrow's trends. But unearthing these insights demands understanding the forces behind innovation and their alignment with global consumer behaviors. By staying attuned to trends in diverse markets and the prevailing zeitgeist, you can position yourself as an innovator. For instance, forces driving trends in cosmetics or food can inspire new travel aspirations. Similarly, ever-evolving workplace dynamics can fuel demand for specific fashion collections. The key lies in identifying and catering to core needs to establish offerings that truly resonate with consumers.
That's where my expertise comes in. I adopt a holistic approach to trends and visual forecasting, leveraging extensive experience across diverse industries such as Consumer Electronics, CPG, Commercial Aviation, Sportswear, and more. By breaking down silos and uncovering opportunities rooted in drivers of change, we can anticipate your rapidly changing customers and stay ahead.
Conquer the blank page. With my strategic insights and creative vision, we can deliver inspiring and actionable design outcomes that ignite the imagination. As the ideal partner for brainstorming sessions and workshops, I help kick-start any project with market awareness, a plethora of ideas, and design opportunities in mind.
Let's collaborate to create something smart, beautiful, and unexpected—taking your business to new heights!
Consulting Services
Kick-start any project with market & consumer awareness, ideas, and strategic opportunities
Anticipate Consumer Trends
Stay relevant and meet the changing demands of your audience.
Holistic CMF
& Visual Strategy
Design Strategic aesthetics that sparks emotional connections.
CX / UX
Trend Journey
Understand how changing lifestyles will shape your next digital product, services and customer experiences.
Global Cultural
Trends
Tailor your products and services to diverse markets to increase your global reach.
Work Samples
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Work Samples •
Scrowl Down To Discover My Capabilities & Approach
Anticipate Consumer Trends
Most businesses understand the significance of grasping consumer desires and pain points. Yet, it's worth recalling the timeless wisdom often attributed to Henry Ford (although its source remains debated), 'If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.' This quote underscores the importance of not just identifying unmet needs through user research, but also the power of consumer trends in revealing innovative solutions that not only address those needs but also anticipate future expectations. As a Trend Strategist, who closely collaborated with researchers throughout my career, I am poised to leverage data from primary research and unveil emerging consumer trends to craft actionable strategies that merge the best of both worlds. By harnessing insights from diverse research sources, together, we can drive design innovations that cater to both current and future customer desires.
Consumer Trends Work Samples Slideshow Below
Consumer Trends Work Samples
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Eco-Vetables
Goal: Support ‘Merchandise’ teams with CMFP inspirations for 2020 (mugs, tumblers, and packaging collections)
Approach: Anchor Aesthetic Trends in Lifestyle Trends leveraging Macro insights, develop themes applicable throughout the year’s seasons, and Synthesize colors from color forecasting books to create cohesive palettes and connect them to our trends.
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Private Jet Client Project Extract
What should we know about the services you provide? Better descriptions result in more sales.
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Food & Beverage Project Extract
What should we know about the services you provide? Better descriptions result in more sales.
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Candle & Home Fragrance Collection
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Travel Trends
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→Goal: Shape the future of sustainable packaging and services for Starbucks.
→Approach: Investigate new "sustainable mindsets" and consumer
“behaviors gap”, address adoption barriers, and formulate innovative X.D solutions to drive mass sustainable adoption.
→Goal: Redefine the next-generation Business cabin interior for Bombardier private Jets, focusing on connectivity and architecture.
→Approach: Analyze evolving global luxury consumer mindset shifts and their new relationship with technology to develop future-proof concepts. Deliver actionable design insights and directions. Conduct design workshops to drive innovation.
→Goal: Develop Healthier Food & Beverages Offerings for Starbucks.
→Approach: Conduct comprehensive research on health and wellness trends, align consumer mindsets with brand offerings, and propose innovative opportunities supported by trends and field research data.
→Goal: Develop a New Candle and Home Fragrance Collection celebrating Sanctuary Moments for SC Johnson.
→Approach: Ignite innovation by creating inspiring documents that draw from consumer attitudes, design, and artistic realms. Define form factors through thought starters.
→Goal: Redesign connected cabin experiences for B.E Aerospace based on travel trends.
→Approach: Employ a post-demographic approach to identify shared generational values, uncover 4 global cross-demographic travel trends, and validate needs through intercept surveys and research.
Holistic CMF
& Visual Strategy
Focusing solely on aesthetic trends can quickly lead to obsolescence. That's why I take a holistic approach to CMF (color, material, finish), patterns, and design, considering the roots, drivers, and social context behind each element. By doing so, I can help you anticipate successful future aesthetics and craft strategic and beautiful CMF stories that align with your brand and will delight your customers for the next season or the years to come.
Visual Strategy Work Samples Slideshow Below
Visual Strategy Work Samples
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Support Merchandising Team
Goal: Support ‘Merchandise’ teams with CMFP inspirations for 2020 (mugs, tumblers, and packaging collections)
Approach: Anchor Aesthetic Trends in Lifestyle Trends leveraging Macro insights, develop themes applicable throughout the year’s seasons, and Synthesize colors from color forecasting books to create cohesive palettes and connect them to our trends.
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CPG Client
What should we know about the services you provide? Better descriptions result in more sales.
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CPG Client
What should we know about the services you provide? Better descriptions result in more sales.
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Consumers Electronics
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Sporting Goods Client
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Consumer Electronics & Appliances
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Consumer Electronics & Appliances
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Food and Beverages
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King County Metro 2023
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Consumers Electronics & Appliances
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→Goal: Support Starbucks 'Merchandise' teams with meaningful CMFP inspirations for 2020 (mugs, tumblers, and packaging collections).
→Approach: Anchor aesthetic trends in lifestyle and macro drivers to forecast and design CMF themes that resonate with consumers, and create cohesive color palettes for seasonal implementation.
→Goal: Support Starbucks 'Merchandise' teams with meaningful CMFP inspirations for 2020 (mugs, tumblers, and packaging collections).
→Approach: Anchor aesthetic trends in lifestyle and macro drivers to forecast and design CMF themes that resonate with consumers, and create cohesive color palettes for seasonal implementation.
→Goal: Support Starbucks 'Merchandise' teams with meaningful CMFP inspirations for 2020 (mugs, tumblers, and packaging collections).
→Approach: Anchor aesthetic trends in lifestyle and macro drivers to forecast and design CMF themes that resonate with consumers, and create cohesive color palettes for seasonal implementation.
→Goal: Provide CMF directions for the ZTE Axon phone aligned with new brand aspirations : "Millennials, premium, purity, and active lifestyle".
→Approach: Develop branded CMF stories. Decode Millennials' athleisure attitudes, explore premium wellness concepts. Create color palettes and collaborate with the design team for material applications.
→Goal: Develop a forward-looking document to stimulate a "Thinking through making" material innovation workshop for Nike.
→Approach: Explore ideas at the science-art intersection, presenting sports innovation opportunities in a futurist document inspired by "Biophilia."
→Goal: Provide CMF directions for the innovation team of LG appliances.
→Approach: Create customized themes aligned with the client's brand pillars, and appliance categories. Source samples and materials and collaborate with ID teams to apply materials on CMF renderings.
→Goal: Forecast CMF (Color, Material, and Finish) trends over the years for LG as part of a recurring yearly project to drive future materials development.
→Approach: Develop a comprehensive CMF trend forecast by leveraging Hindsight and Foresight against aesthetic trends to predict future scenarios. Evaluate prediction accuracy and evolution annually.
→Goal: Sustainable Material Exploration for Starbucks.
→Approach: Push sustainable packaging R&D with unexpected food material sources as part of a broader sustainable consumer trend strategy initiative.
→Goal: Inform the design teams for the new exterior look of the 2023 King County Metro Battery-Electric Bus.
→Approach: Conduct stakeholder interviews, analyze brand strategies, explore PNW identity, decipher new design languages and sustainability codes. Create innovative, bright, and modern themes departing from conventional "green-washed" approaches.
→Goal: Conduct an in-depth CMF study for LG Consumer Electronics and Appliances.
→Approach: Connect Aesthetic Trends with Consumer Trends using data and drivers. Leverage 5 design 'influence' categories to ensure trend relevance. Develop engaging storytelling with mood boards connecting dots within industry categories.
UX / XD
Trends Journeys
Drawing on my experience in Consumer Electronics, Aircraft, and connectivity, I can help you merge the physical and digital worlds to create trend-driven user scenarios prioritizing human needs and intangible connections over pure technology. So whether you're looking to create a connected retail experience, incorporate Smart capabilities into your device, or design a seamless product journey, I specialize in understanding how technology will influence new attitudes and how changing lifestyles will shape your next product interactions and environments.
CX / UX Trend Work Samples Slideshow Below
→Goal: Define the future of "hearables" and envision new UX and UI scenarios for Logitech.
→Approach: Analyze connected consumer trends influencing the future of "hearables," identify new sound experiences, and pinpoint connected consumer paradoxes. Harness hearable technology's unique attributes to resolve paradoxes through new UX scenarios.
→Goal: Gain insights into UX & UI design innovation opportunities for the redesign of an insurance client App.
→Approach: Explore the evolution of business models, U.X, X.D, and consumer behaviors within the insurance and analogous industry App ecosystems. Provide actionable service strategy and UX design thought starters.
→Goal: Uncover UX trends to elevate next-gen speaker multiroom and smart wireless ecosystem for LG music flow.
→Approach: Expand the speaker experience by exploring smart devices, services, and connectivity trends. Evaluate their potential impact on sound ecosystems and generate innovative experience design scenarios.
→Goal: Fuel a 'Phygital' retail 'Design Sprint' with a trends report prioritizing seamless yet humanized experiences for Starbucks Stores.
→Approach: Extend beyond traditional retail, drawing inspiration from connected consumer trends. Identify humanized tech shifts to define future scenarios matching branding and experience positioning strategy.
Global
Cultural Trends
Understanding different cultures is crucial in today's global marketplace. As a world traveler with experience in the travel and global hospitality industries, I have developed a deep understanding of cultural attributes and can help you navigate the major differences that set your international customers apart. With my expertise, I can provide insights into cultural nuances and preferences that will help you tailor your products and services to diverse markets and increase your global reach.
Cultural Work Samples Slideshow Below
→Goal: Inform the creation of a new spa interior and spa treatment menu for JW Marriott with distinctive features for both China and the U.S. markets.
→Approach: Immerse into the cultural variations in well-being practices and luxury behaviors within China and the USA. Emphasize key distinctions and shared attributes to formulate design strategies.
→Goal: Create a design strategy to revamp cleaning products tailored for Hispanic households in the U.S for SC Johnson.
→Approach: Engage directly with the audience through primary research, create a comprehensive Hispanic "consumer playbook" to understand evolving trends, and translate research insights into a focused design brief and creative themes for product strategy.
→Goal: Cultural Research to support the Redesign of the new Air Morocco's aircraft interior.
→Approach: Create a comprehensive portrait of Air Morocco travelers, distill the essence of modern Moroccan interior, hospitality, and culture to define a new design language. Align this language with Air Morocco branding & positioning to establish distinctive interior design themes.
→Goal: Gain an understanding of Dubai to define interior design directions and lighting schemes for Emirates.
→Approach: Go beyond Dubai to distinguish Emirates from its competitors by comprehending each ME3 protagonist and their respective countries' uniqueness, through brand strategy, traveler portraits, and cultural understanding. Deliver a design brief.