KI

Prior to the industrial revolution we lived in agrarian and craft-based societies where work and workers were generally more connected across the complete chain of procure, make, and sell. The first industrial revolution irrevocably changed this dynamic where we became separated from the product of our labor and assigned to specific tasks in a mechanized system. This shift can be considered as a catalyst for the age of alienation.

It is therefore difficult to understand the work/life/learning balance without reflecting on where we are today in the context of the industrial revolution continuum. The fourth industrial revolution, often referred to as Industry 4.0, is characterized by a fusion of advanced technologies that blur the lines between the physical, digital, and biological worlds that we inhabit. This confluence of factors defines the nature of our lives today and also embodies the cumulative residue of versions 1, 2 and 3 (mechanization, assembly lines, automation etc.). As we also enter the epoch of AI and climate change, our world has become increasingly complex, and it is in this space we seek to find balance, integration, and harmony.

Broadly speaking, the alienation of the first industrial revolution can be seen to have evolved into the epidemic of loneliness and isolation of today, a perspective that is also driving an emergent field of research. Therefore, understanding how people are creating personal structures of value for life/work/learning integration (or harmony) was the focus of our research and the basis for insights exploring experiences and solutions that elevate the connection between product, space, and well-being in educational, healthcare and work environments.

The result of our research provided an in-depth roadmap for innovation in design, brand offerings, and communications. It also supported our clients thought leadership in the areas that are fundamentally affecting our well-being in connection to work, learning and the built environment.