The Future We’re Designing Together
Join us as we celebrate a decade of human-centered advocacy and storytelling and look ahead to the evolving future of communications and brands.
When we began A Great Idea ten years ago, it’s because we believed in the power of great ideas. In the following decade, we rode the waves of predictable industry shifts like new platforms, faster technology, and decreasing attention spans.
We’ve also endured unpredictable shifts, like a global pandemic, the first and second Trump presidencies, national uprisings against police brutality and racism, and more. This decade has shown that the way we communicate is both fragile and powerful, but we’re stronger when we face these things together.
Looking ahead to our next ten years together, the future of this work feels exciting, a little unstable, and even more essential. As politics continue to shift and global crises deepen, the digital landscape keeps shifting in the face of corporate conglomeration and capital. Through this all, we’ve found truth in the adage “stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.”
As we celebrate our tenth year together, we’re turning to the best guides we know: AGI’s own team. Drawing on lived experience and creativity, here’s what each of us sees as the forces shaping the next decade of communications:
Daniel:
In the next ten years, I believe social media influencers will evolve and require more than relatability or punditry to remain relevant in the communications cosmos. I think social media users will more frequently ask themselves, “why should I listen to this person?” So influencers will need more than a point of view, but also to show themselves to be informed, knowledgeable, delivering perspectives that not only align with users, but can back up their claims. Moreover, I think users will demand far more transparency over how influencers may or may not be influenced by business interests.
Concurrently, the demand for polished content, I think, will be vastly greater, requiring increased volume of content that embraces an even further elevated level of design execution and brand cohesion–from organizations and individuals alike–to differentiate themselves in a highly competitive marketplace for attention. My guess is that there will be an accelerated drive toward both an increased frequency of content that needs aesthetic and substantive heft.
Shane:
Considering the massive technological shifts over the last ten years, it’s hard not to respond to the growing integrations of AI which then prompt me to think that what will speak to people is going to be an increase in design that reflects humanity: organic, abstract, and unexpected. If AI is dependent on predictability and patterns, increasing interest and attention will then go to that which disrupts and feels human.
What is human? Handwritten imperfect type, collage and imperfect cuts, customized premium elements with unique features, less rounded corners and more awkward angles, perhaps even a return to punk and rock aesthetic which echoes the musical trends in the mix already, as we use the algorithm to streamline tasks and chores, but then demand of our creatives to tap into the corporeal, authentic, and clumsy. First signs come in the forms of Nutter Butter’s fever dreams and Minor Figures handdrawn illustrations.
Yara-Nee:
Together, I think we’re building a future that balances innovation with human impact; where new solutions aren’t just smarter, but more inclusive. The next ten years hold the possibility of transforming how we live and work, not only by solving complex problems but by ensuring that progress benefits a broader community.
Jade:
Over the next ten years, I believe our field will be shaped less by the speed of innovation and more by the stories we choose to tell. Advocacy and authentic storytelling will continue to be the bridge between ideas and people, reminding us that behind every strategy, platform, or project are lived experiences that deserve to be heard.
No matter how the tools evolve, what will endure is the human element that's shown through our capacity to connect, listen, and create meaning together. The future we are building will be grounded in empathy, in amplifying voices that have too often been overlooked, and in ensuring that progress reflects not just what is possible, but what is just and humane.
J:
In live time, we’re watching mainstream digital platforms splinter and break down. You can hardly search for anything without getting bogged down with incorrect, clunky AI answers and sponsored results. Platforms owned by Meta, X, and the like grow increasingly dangerous as they collaborate and sign contracts with government agencies like ICE, other policing bodies, and organizations like Palantir. Information that once felt “safe” for nonprofits to post is now a target of political repression, while marginalized people and communities’ resources and autonomy are increasingly under attack. As the climate crisis and political repression deepens in the US and across the world, it’s high time we move towards a communications framework that enables a liberated tomorrow.
I’ve been wondering how we—especially and specifically as communications professionals—can contribute to building up platforms and resources that are resilient and secure. And what does this mean and how do we do it in the face of nonprofit communications budget deliverables like clicks, engagement and followers? Platforms like RiseUp and Mastodon are already doing this work on a platform-scale while encrypted chats like Signal offer deeply flawed but more-secure ways to communicate directly en masse. Meanwhile, natural disasters like Hurricane Helene show us that when all institutional communications infrastructure inevitably fail, community-hosted radio stations and autonomous Ham radios make the difference between life and death. This holds true for people’s movements who refuse to or cannot rely on temporary and fragile access to institutional infrastructure, like Radio Insurgente or the Bvlbancha Liberation Radio. Right now, we have the easiest access to knowledge we will probably have in our lifetimes, so it’s time for us all to skill up!
Though we offer a range of services, from copywriting to full-stack web development, A Great Idea does not offer future prediction—at least not yet. A decade ago, we couldn’t have predicted how much the world and the way we connect to each other would shift.
The next decade won’t be simple; global politics, social and environment crises, and rapid changes in technology guarantee it. The future rarely unfolds the way we expect, but if the past ten years have shown us anything, it’s that we weather uncertainty best in community.
Every step of this first decade together has been shaped by our incredible communities, partners, and collaborators who have trusted us to build alongside them. Together, we’ll use our collective creativity and brilliance to shape what comes next.
