We’re using “shifts” to lead us where trends no longer can.

Picture this: You’re sitting in yet another “trends presentation” where someone explains how the latest trend reflects Gen Z’s craving for authentic content, nostalgic media, and genuine connection. Groundbreaking stuff, right? Well…

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The way we see it, we’ve entered a post-trend society. The concept of “trends” — at least as we’ve known them — is obsolete in a world where algorithms accelerate the lifecycle of cultural moments from months to minutes. When was the last time a trend report told you something you hadn’t already seen in your own social feed?

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Trend reporting hasn’t just become redundant — it’s actively holding organizations back. Companies get trapped in an endless cycle of reaction, constantly chasing today’s phenomenon while tomorrow sneaks up behind them. It’s exhausting, expensive, and ultimately ineffective.

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That’s why Artemis Ward is moving beyond trends and focusing on “shifts”: deviations from the status quo that suggest a change in how people think, behave, or interact with the world. While trends are fleeting moments captured in amber, shifts are tectonic movements that reshape the landscape. Think of it this way: Wordle was a trend, but the gamification of everyday activities is a shift. Bitcoin prices are a trend, but the democratization of finance is a shift.

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What’s important is not a shift’s immediacy, but its implications. One’s a fleeting moment; the other’s a fundamental change in how the world works.

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This rethinking of terminology isn’t just semantic. It’s at the heart of our own transformation in how we approach our work. By using shifts to fuel our own careful observation, research, and hypothesis-driven analysis, we’re building a framework that helps consumer brands, non-profits, and challenger companies do more than catch up with the present — it empowers them to shape the future.

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