Dec 5, 2018   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Strategic Design Firm Method and Hitachi Announce Trust 2030: What Might Society Look Like?

Method Inc., (a GlobalLogic Company) with studios in New York and London, today announced it has partnered with Hitachi’s Social Innovation Team in Tokyo, to explore the “Future of Trust.” This future casting project, titled Trust 2030, is an extrapolation of what societal trust might look like in 2030 – how it could impact society, business and our everyday lives.

“Trust has become a critical factor for businesses,” said Takuya Akashi, Service Designer, Hitachi. “As it continues to motivate and dominate our society, it is becoming increasingly apparent that, aside from addressing user needs, new products and services must factor in the role trust plays in this relationship. We believe that trust will be one of the key macro trends that influences the way our world works in the future.”

Currently, businesses must consider how they can build and maintain trust; a fundamental mechanism in our society that provides practical shortcuts, enabling collaboration, promoting technological advances, propelling us forward economically and culturally.

“In a world where quality and integrity trumps marketing and advertisements, businesses have to consider how they can build and maintain trust,” said Alvaro Marquez, Chief Creative Officer, Method. “Without it, our digital economy breaks.”

Method is the strategic design arm of GlobalLogic, a leading digital product engineering company. For this project, the London studio conducted in-depth research with eminent subject matter experts across multiple industry channels to identify influencing factors shaping society. The cumulative output is Trust 2030: a report, microsite and exhibition which provide a glimpse into how trust influences three alternative futures, brought to life through the objects that future citizens carry with them every day.

The Trust 2030 study plots three distinct societal futures on two axes: centralization versus self-direction and preference for transparency versus privacy:

  • Society 1: Decentralized and Transparent - Does increased transparency lead to a higher level of trust in society?
  • Society 2: Centralized and Curated - Would you put all of your trust in one company in exchange for the convenience of fully personalized products and services?
  • Society 3: Distributed and Autonomous - Would you give up modern-day conveniences and take responsibility for all aspects of your life to guarantee your privacy and security?

Together, Method and the Hitachi Social Innovation team encourage people to share their thoughts through their joint survey. Adds Mr. Marquez, “In an increasingly digital world, governments, corporations, and individuals are struggling with the mere basics of trust. People are becoming more and more aware of issues around their personal data and are demanding more transparency and accurate information about where it’s stored and how it’s used. Creating new paradigms in trust will create new opportunities that were previously unimaginable.”

Useful Links:
Trust 2030: https://www.trust2030.com/
Hitachi: https://www.hitachi.com
Method: https://www.method.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/method_inc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/164953/
GlobalLogic: https://www.globallogic.com

About Method:

Method, a GlobalLogic Company, is a strategic design consultancy. We create value and impact through the design of new businesses, brands, digital products, and service experiences. As businesses need to navigate uncharted territories, we use design as a strategic tool to understand customer needs, discover new opportunities, make the right decisions, accelerate time to market, and drive the digital transformation process. Together with GlobalLogic, we provide design and engineering services at scale from over 30 locations across 12 countries. www.method.com

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society's challenges, combining its operational technology, information technology, and products/systems. The Hitachi Group is an innovation partner for the IoT era, and it has approximately 307,000 employees worldwide. Through collaborative creation with customers, Hitachi is deploying Social Innovation Business using digital technologies in a broad range of sectors, including Power/Energy, Industry/Distribution/Water, Urban Development, and Financial/Social Infrastructure/Healthcare. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.