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The Singapore Land Authority, in partnership with dormitory provider TS Group and co-living brand The Assembly Place, is transforming a former primary school site into Singapore’s first intergenerational co-living space. Scheduled to open in 2025, it will feature 107 rooms with shared facilities designed to cater to older residents and students. Senior-focused amenities include ground-floor rooms with grab bars and fall detection sensors, along with on-site nurse aides and medical consultations. Other planned facilities include shared kitchens, a gym, a community garden and a pickleball court.

Intergenerational co-living models are growing worldwide, and the benefits are clear — they can solve housing problems while fostering meaningful social interactions between age cohorts. Singapore’s first facility of this kind seeks to offer a richer alternative to the country’s existing eldercare options, such as retirement kampungs, community care apartments and traditional assisted living facilities. The operators are also mulling a benefits program to facilitate cross-generational connections, offering rent discounts for young residents who contribute to senior community engagement efforts. 

Elder care remains a sensitive subject in Asian societies rooted in Confucian values, where filial piety — the obligation of children to care for their aging parents — is a cornerstone. Traditional reliance on family support has often stigmatized external eldercare solutions. However, societal shifts, including smaller households and challenges of the “sandwich generation,” are gradually changing perceptions. These shifts will likely only accelerate as more individuals opt for child-free lifestyles, necessitating new solutions in the decades to come.

Two weeks ago, we discussed how South Korea is adapting bathhouses to allow an aging population to maintain familiar practices. Similarly, this week’s intergenerational co-living space highlights the growing need for innovative solutions serving the silver generation their evolving needs. What role can your brand play?

Snapchat’s 850M monthly users aren’t just scrolling – they’re snapping, sharing, shaping culture and hopefully not screenshotting. 😉 The 2024 in a Snap report shows that AR-powered play, cultural relevance and real connections drive engagement across generations. Here are our report highlights, snapped short and sweet:

🏀 Fueling Sports Fandom: Fans spent 25M+ minutes on sports content within Snapchat's Spotlight globally, with 93% of US Snapchatters saying social media gets them closer to their favorite teams.
🌟 Sh(AR)ing is C(AR)ing: From Venom to Bojangles, Snapchat AR Lenses grabbed 5x more active attention than other platforms. 
💄 New Look, Who Dis? Beauty slayed with 113M Snapchatters trying on AR Lenses globally. Lipstick try-ons, as by e.l.f. Beauty, drove 16% higher playtime. 
🎶 Connection Through Music: Whether it’s Brat vibes or nostalgia hits like Friday I’m in Love, 79% of US Snapchatters are passionate about music.
🍔 Snackable Snaps: Foodies turned meals into moments, checking in 896M+ times at favorites like Taco Bell and Chick-fil-A.
🎂 Growing Up With Snapchat: Snap turned 13 this year, and its audience aged up, too: over 50% of US users are now 25+. No surprise that 118M+ hours of parent content were viewed globally.

Your takeaways for 2025:
🔮 While apps like BeReal fizzled out, Snapchat keeps its spark alive by embracing messiness, creativity and fun. How can your brand stay (pop-)culturally relevant and design experiences that make people stop, snap and share?

A Dutch refugee advocacy organization has created a provocative installation that challenges a common misconception about accommodations for asylum seekers. VluchtelingenWerk Nederland transformed a building in central Amsterdam into Hotel AZC — a mock emergency shelter that gives visitors a firsthand look at the stark reality faced by those seeking refuge in the Netherlands. The temporary exhibition, open on 12–13 December 2024, forcefully pushes back against the narrative that asylum seekers enjoy comfortable hotel stays.

The initiative comes at a time when approximately 36,000 asylum seekers, including 6,000 children, are housed in emergency shelters across the Netherlands. These asylum centers, AZC for short, are plagued by poor hygiene, noise pollution and a severe lack of privacy. Frequent relocations across the country contribute to stress, uncertainty and depression among residents. “We hear politicians pushing for austerity, and there are many misunderstandings about refugee accommodation in the Netherlands,” says Frank Candel of VluchtelingenWerk. “That’s why we’re inviting everyone to come see for themselves.” By making the invisible visible, the organization hopes to spark a more fact-based public dialogue about refugee housing conditions.

As concerns mount about AI’s role in amplifying false narratives, initiatives like Hotel AZC demonstrate how immersive, real-world experiences can effectively counter digital disinformation. The power of firsthand observation — seeing, hearing and feeling the reality of emergency shelters or any other contested subject — creates an emotional connection that algorithms can’t replicate.

Could wearing nail polish help solve toxic masculinity and men’s mental health crisis? It could be a start. Hard As Nails, launched on 4 December 2024 by social innovation expert Sam Conniff and inclusion consultant Daniele Fiandaca, brings men into nail salons to document their experiences with this small yet bold step outside gender norms. A pilot program showed 80% of participants discussed breaking free from rigid masculine expectations, and 75% had meaningful conversations about mental health and allyship they would otherwise avoid.

The project began when Conniff got his nails done for a Harry Styles concert. It evolved into exploring how minor acts of gender nonconformity can create ripple effects. Instead of directly confronting toxic masculinity, Hard As Nails focuses on increasing empathy and openness among male participants. And it seems to be working: 80% of the men involved found their experience sparked more supportive and curious reactions from others than they’d anticipated, and 65% experienced emotional release and joy from challenging norms.

While social media and popular culture have made discussions about gender identity more mainstream, many men still feel disconnected from those dialogues. By focusing on something physical and accessible — a coat of polish — Hard As Nails offers a novel way to engage. Beyond obvious partnerships with beauty and grooming brands, organizations in male-dominated industries like construction, engineering and finance could leverage similar concepts to spark internal dialogues about masculinity and workplace culture. A construction company, for example, might launch a “Tough As Nails” day where site workers get manicures while discussing workplace safety and mental health, effectively linking physical and emotional protection.

Turns out, Gen Z and Millennials are swiping less and strolling more. According to the 2024 American Express Shop Small Impact Study, 90% of young consumers in the US have discovered a small business simply by wandering their neighborhoods — outranking the 80% who find new favorites via social media.

This post-pandemic shift to IRL discovery reflects a craving for deeper, more authentic connections — a contrast to the endless scroll of social commerce. It’s a welcome trend for small businesses: 86% of owners say they rely on community support to thrive, and 68% of Gen Z and Millennials plan to shop at small businesses this holiday season.

In a tech-saturated, algorithm-driven world, proximity breeds possibility. So, while social conversions might win on metrics, brands are seeking to build local relevancy and consumers are hungry for surprise and unpredictability. Heading into 2025, how will you design for serendipitous discovery?

A new fashion brand aims to produce premium, family-oriented clothing while rebuilding economic opportunities in Aleppo. Shami Family, co-founded by Syrian craftsman Mohanad Shami and Dutch entrepreneur Stefan Peinemann, recently unveiled its first collection of luxury tracksuits made from 100% Syrian cotton. The Rotterdam-based brand will establish a production studio in Aleppo in the coming year, creating stable employment for local artisans in a region renowned for its textile heritage.

The venture, launched just weeks before the Assad regime was overthrown, bypasses traditional NGO structures to directly reinvest profits into Aleppo’s community. Shami Family’s strategy aligns with a demand for transparency in fashion supply chains while showcasing how brands can meaningfully engage with regions typically overlooked by the industry. “Our choice of Syria isn’t just practical, it’s a powerful signal to other entrepreneurs about reconsidering where and with whom they produce,” Peinemann told De Ondernemer.

It’s also a powerful story for the brand’s customers to share — Aleppo isn’t an answer anyone expects after asking a friend where their new tracksuit is from. As Syria and other countries rebuild their economies from the wreckage of war and oppression, it’s a model that could inspire other brands to explore how unorthodox manufacturing decisions could drive direct, positive change in communities with deep craftsmanship traditions but limited opportunities. DTC × Direct-to-Rebuild?

Influencers shape public discourse daily, but there’s a problem: two-thirds skip rigorous fact-checking, according to a recent UNESCO report, with 42% gauging credibility by likes and shares and others trusting content simply because their friends shared it. But, according to UNESCO’s survey, they’re open to improvement. Nearly three-quarters want to learn how to verify information properly.

Addressing that critical verification gap, UNESCO and the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas have launched a free, month-long global course created by media literacy experts and leading influencers, available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. The initiative has already drawn over 9,000 participants from 160 countries, aiming to equip creators with essential skills in source verification, disinformation detection and collaboration with traditional media outlets.

Beyond addressing immediate concerns about the spread of disinformation, the program suggests a future where digital influencers could serve as more reliable bridges between news sources and their audiences, potentially transforming how verified information flows through social media channels. For brands that champion knowledge and trust, supporting this shift is an opportunity to foster a more informed society — wherever people choose to get their news.

Marking the start of the holiday season, Singapore-based grocery chain FairPrice Group set up interactive billboards made from food-scented gift wrappers outside its Clarke Quay outlet. The wrapping paper, adorned with Christmas-themed food motifs, features distinctive scents such as Cherry Pie, Christmas Salad and Raspberry Chocolate. From mid-November, passersby can tear off sheets to take home. Inside the store, shoppers are also invited to sample the dishes that inspired the designs, and enjoy scheduled performances of Christmas carols.

Multi-sensorial is the name of the game. Earlier in November, recreational destination Sentosa Island debuted a “sensorial wallscape” incorporating scent and sound in Singapore’s Dhoby Ghaut train station. And remember those eye-catching mango-scented newspapers by India-based Swiggy Instamart from earlier in the year.

A study released in October 2024 revealed that 42% of global consumers identified their most enjoyable experience from the previous week as occurring in the physical world, compared to just 15% in the digital realm. Consumers feeling the brain rot caused by highly digital lifestyles will appreciate real-world encounters that re-awaken their physical senses. The serendipitous nature of unexpected, multi-sensorial experiences encountered during daily routines also evokes surprise and delight — a premier factor in driving consumer loyalty. How might your brand turn consumers’ real-world surroundings into a multi-sensorial playground?

Hyundai Motor and Kia Robotics have introduced the X-ble Shoulder, a wearable robot designed to support overhead tasks and reduce musculoskeletal strain. No batteries required! The device alleviates shoulder load by 60% and deltoid muscle activity by 30%, improving worker comfort and safety in a wide range of industries, including construction, shipbuilding, aviation, agriculture and automotive manufacturing.

Globally, 37% of those polled believe AI and robotics will improve their jobs, but almost the same percentage (36%) expect their jobs to be replaced in the coming years. The X-ble Shoulder offers a more balanced and hopeful vision of centaurs — human-machine collaborations that augment an individual’s abilities. It’s geared towards another major upheaval in labor dynamics, too: Hyundai and Kia are focusing on the benefits of wearable robots for older workers, noting that worldwide, 150 million jobs will shift to workers over the age of 55 by 2030.

While the X-ble Shoulder is primarily designed for industrial applications, potential B2C adaptations are easy to envision. In August 2024, Skip and Arc’teryx unveiled an AI-powered exoskeleton knee attachment for hiking pants, marking a transition from mobility aids as purely medical devices to lifestyle products. How will you use the latest technologies to enhance the human experience? Think productivity boosters, safety assistance, lifestyle power-ups, and more 🦾

The X-ble Shoulder is set for release in South Korea in early 2025, with global expansion in the pipeline. Planned future developments include the X-ble Waist for lifting tasks and the X-ble MEX for rehabilitation of walking impairments.

In a literary twist on the Advent calendar, public libraries across Canada are offering bundles of 24 individually wrapped books, curating selections for different age groups. Montreal’s Bibliothèque Saint-Charles, for example, created bundles for kids six and under and seven through nine, as well as for adults. Anyone with a library card could pick up their neatly packaged stack starting November 30th, and all 45 bundles were picked up within hours.

Book bundles sprung up during pandemic lockdowns, when libraries assembled reading material for curbside pickup, with selections tailored to a patron’s requests or interests, or based on a general theme or vibe. Some librarians merged the concept with Advent calendars, which have long eclipsed their 19th-century Lutheran background to become a commercial mainstay of the holiday landscape.

A bundle of books, offered at no charge, counters December’s inescapable fixation on toys and shopping. Wrapping paper adds a layer of surprise and excitement to regular library books, while unwrapping one read a day creates a new holiday ritual that offers both children and adults a recurring moment of quiet during a hectic time of year. Judging from how fast stocks were depleted at participating libraries, people are eager to embrace alternatives to conventional customs — especially ones that help them slow down.

Based on Deloitte’s State of Generative AI in the Enterprise survey, the firm predicts that 25% of US companies that use gen AI will launch agentic AI pilots or proofs of concept in 2025, with that number to grow to 50% by 2027 📈

Agentic AI will take gen AI to the next level, creating agents that can think, plan and act independently. Unlike chatbots, this tech could transform workflows across industries. Early solutions, like coding agent Devin, show potential, but reliability hiccups and adoption issues need solving. With over USD 2 billion invested in agentic AI, the tech could power the next generation of solopreneurs.

Ready to agentify your own company’s processes? Check out this AI agents directory for inspiration. And don’t forget to address FOBO and AI burnout, or your team might wave the white flag before you’re ready to deploy.

🚀 Curious? Check out how Claude takes over a Mac screen to analyze and (almost) autonomously complete spreadsheets. And keep your eyes peeled for the AI agent OpenAI is rumored to release in January 2025, which could control people’s computers to write code or book flights on their behalf.

To weather (and leverage) what’s next — from La Niña 🌪️ to Gen Beta 👶 — dive into more 2025 by the numbers in our 2025 Trend Report! 

Scientists at the City University of Hong Kong have developed a lollipop-like device capable of simulating nine distinct flavors, including everyday tastes like sugar and salt, alongside more complex options such as green tea, durian and passion fruit. Their findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, demonstrate how taste could be integrated into virtual and augmented reality experiences.

The device works by embedding food-grade chemicals in tiny gel pockets activated by small electrical currents, releasing flavors that mix with saliva on the user’s tongue. Intensity can be adjusted by varying the voltage, all while staying well within safety limits. The study’s researchers also integrated seven channels for odors, acknowledging the crucial connection between smell and taste in creating authentic flavor experiences.

While the current prototype can only operate for about an hour before the gels need to be replaced, and using the device is more akin to sucking on a piece of circuit board than a Tootsie Pop, the technology opens up intriguing possibilities. From virtual shopping to enhanced entertainment — think a Great British Bake Off where everyone at home can taste the Victoria Sponge. 

On today’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities, LEGO is turning the spotlight on fans and coworkers with non-visible disabilities. That category makes up 80% of the 1-in-6 people globally who live with a disability, and it’s why LEGO is partnering with Hidden Disabilities Sunflower.

Debuting 3 December 2024, three Sunflower-lanyard-themed sets — DUPLO First Time at the Airport (toddlers), Friends Heartlake City Airport (kids) and Icons Tudor Corner (adults) — celebrate inclusivity. 🌻 Why a sunflower? The symbol discreetly signals that someone has a non-visible condition and may need extra time, understanding or space while navigating public spaces. Fans can also customize minifigures featuring the Sunflower symbol at all 55 Minifigure Factories worldwide.

📊 2024 LEGO research across 36 markets revealed nearly 8-in-10 parents believe today’s children care more about diversity and inclusion than their own generation did — and they wish they had better tools to talk about the subject. Kids agree: 88% prioritize equal treatment, while 83% want toys that teach about differences.

🧱 LEGO’s commitment goes beyond bricks. By March 2025, all European stores will be certified sensory-inclusive, expanding on KultureCity certifications in North America. Internally, free branded lanyards and training ensure LEGO employees also feel supported.

💡 The Danish toy brand’s embrace of diversity contrasts sharply with brands like Walmart and Microsoft scaling back their DEI efforts. In 2025, will you stand by your commitments to fair treatment and full participation? How will you build communities where everyone belongs?

🤖 Pro tip: Try our Innovations Expert for a tailored selection from the 31,000+ innovations we’ve featured. Experiment with prompts like ‘the best 2024 innovations to improve the lives of people living with disabilities’ and ask follow-up questions, too.

For its eighth annual campaign, the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats initiative — which sees players express charitable interests through custom footwear designs — is embracing generative AI. Three NFL stars used a tool developed by Amazon’s AWS to create their custom cleats. Using Amazon Bedrock, the technology combines Anthropic’s Claude with Stability AI’s image generation capabilities to transform simple prompts into detailed designs.

Players can select from various artistic styles, including Graffiti, Watercolor, Pixelated and Grunge, and specify up to three colors to guide the AI’s creative direction. Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, for instance, used terms like “pitbull” and “wild” to generate artwork supporting Stand Up for Pits, while Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen collaborated with children from Oishei Children’s Hospital, incorporating their artwork on his cleats for a game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Fans can participate, too, by creating their own AI-generated cleat designs through the My Cause, My Cleats microsite and potentially winning a pair of game-worn cleats. AWS’s design tool allows users to preview their cleats before sharing them on social media and amplifying support for the charitable causes selected by NFL athletes. For Amazon, meanwhile, it’s a hands-on way of demonstrating AWS Bedrock and its AI capabilities — blending B2C, B2B and cause marketing in one fell swoop.

The Thai Health Promotion Foundation and the Women and Men Progressive Foundation have partnered with BBDO Bangkok to launch a campaign against domestic violence with a bold twist. The campaign centers around the late Gigi Supitcha, a Thai public figure who tragically lost her life in 2023. Supitcha had previously survived a near-fatal confrontation with her partner, only to face another incident of violence by the same individual, leading to her death.

The activation began by reviving Supitcha’s dormant Instagram account with a poster for a fictional movie titled Second Chance. Four days later, a video teaser was released on the same account, featuring an AI-generated Supitcha delivering a poignant message: she would never star in another film because she gave a second chance to her abuser. The post went viral, garnering over 100,000 engagements within 24 hours and sparking critical conversations about the challenges of confronting abuse.

The campaign’s unconventional approach raised ethical questions among audiences. Is it acceptable to use AI to ‘resurrect’ figures who have passed away? Who holds the rights to a deceased individual’s likeness, data and digital accounts? This campaign secured consent and collaborated closely with Supitcha’s family. Supitcha’s younger sister also volunteered as a facial reference for the deepfake reconstruction used in the teaser.

While risky, this bold method of communication delivered its message with the weight and impact the topic deserves. Domestic violence continues to be a global issue — according to UN Women, one in three females worldwide will experience gender-based violence in their lifetime, often from intimate partners or family members. Many cases go unreported due to cultural stigmas or fear of retaliation. So, raising awareness and mobilizing support is worth navigating ethical complexities.