#tastemakers It used to be that when you wanted sneakers, you bought them in your size and went on your way to play in the sandlot or whatever. Now, it’s all, “Running? Barefoot running? Wait, are these fair trade? What color is ‘me’? Should I buy them cheap online or from my sad local shoe … Read more

Watch Sean Brennan discuss The #NXT Generation of Healthcare at the 2013 Healthcare Experience Design Conference in Boston.Read more

#climatecontrol Look out your window – lately the weather’s been CRAY. 2012 featured a number of extreme weather events, from SuperStorm Sandy to snowfall in the Middle East. Besides devastating communities and ruining infrastructure, these events have also served as a warning: the earth is getting warmer. At this point, it doesn’t matter who or … Read more

 #momandpopdotcom The 5-cent candy prices may be gone, but the mom-and-pop-shop spirit is back in the rent-free space called the Internet. E-commerce startups like Etsy, Kickstarter, and Warby Parker are taking back the power from big box stores by cutting out the middleman, while the entrepreneurial spirit is rearing within hordes of DIY-ers. Without inventory, … Read more

  #madeintheusa If there is anything Dov Charney and Rick Santorum can agree on, it’s that the internet can be harshAmerican-made products are pretty great. Companies like GE, Apple and even the legendary Frisbee-maker Wham-O are relocating production of their wares stateside. While there is a solid business rationale – reduced shipping costs, protection of IP, … Read more

#fooduniform Although America still loves a fad diet (see recent juicing craze), we’re seeing people start to reject one-size-fits-all recommendations in favor of crafting a personal guidebook for what they will and won’t eat on a daily basis. Whether based on food sensitivities, sourcing of ingredients or just a commitment to recreating the caveman’s lifestyle, … Read more

#TXTNECK While humans were basically built to outrun buffalo, these days, the closest most of us get to the animal is eating their wings. But for real, the transitioning nature of work (from manual labor to desk jobs) and the advent of handheld devices have lead to the recognition of a slew of technology-induced ailments. … Read more

  #3DUH Look, 3D isn’t just here to stay – it’s EXPECTED. Technology is finally at a place where optical illusions are worth paying for and consumers, especially GenY, expect a multidimensional experience. That means sound, light, vibrations, physical models – all pushing to blur the lines between real and virtual. While the entertainment industry … Read more

ROUGH LUXE Get used to your pricey dinner being served on a scarred farmhouse table by a whippersnapper in a dirty thermal. Rough Luxe is a design aesthetic that has permeated everything from food to fashion to architecture. It places importance on good storytelling and a restrained combination of raw elements. Its success is in … Read more

2012 was a year of scientific breakthroughs and fascinating inventions. In this video, Continuum team members share the coolest things they saw this year. What Blew Your Mind in 2012? from Continuum on Vimeo. What was the coolest innovation you saw in 2012? Join the conversation and add your comment below.Read more

Nothing bumps your IQ score a few points like attending a TED event, and yesterday was no exception. TEDxOrangeCoast drew movers and shakers from all over who came to be inspired by some serious innovators sharing their take on the theme of “Redefining Relevance.” Attendees gained some major $ocial currency in the form of stories, sound … Read more

See #tagme in real life  here. “Seriously, make sure you tag me in that photo.” Sound cringingly familiar? People today, especially young people, are capturing, documenting and sharing their lives in real-time. The method of choice is photography, and the platform is mostly facebook–fb’s photo collection, at 140 billion, exceeds that of the Library of Congress ten thousand … Read more

This week, Continuum will be participating in the TEDxOrangeCoast conference. The theme for this year: “Redefining Relevance.” Lara Lee, Continuum’s Chief Innovation & Operating Officer, will be speaking and our NXT team will share trends that inspire how we design the future. As our clients race to stay ahead of the competition and ethnographic research … Read more

#PHONEEATSWALLET Look in your wallet – you probably don’t have much in the way of paper money. These days, with 40% of adults able to go cashless for an entire week, the only people who still like cash are elderly people and pickpockets. Right now that means debit and credit cards are the norm, but … Read more

#DEBTANDDYING Don’t be fooled by that adorable old couple smiling on their vacation – they’re probably racking up a tab they hope they’ll never have to pay. While many of us assume the most solvent Americans are the oldest ones, their creditors and heirs are learning otherwise. Between sky-high medical bills, confusion about high-interest-rate credit cards, … Read more

#PROTECTMEFROMMYSELF As wallets shrink, consumers are looking for all the help they can get to achieve their goals.  Although many people are great at crafting well-intentioned plans, humans have trouble with short-term restraint (avoiding that cookie, sticking to a weekly budget) that lead to long-term gains (weightloss and financial savings). Businesses are starting to pick up … Read more

#BUSYBEES Despite all the talk about work-life balance or job satisfaction, being busy – or at least giving off the illusion of busy-ness, remains a powerful force in the American workplace and culture. Instead of working hard for the sake of fulfillment, productivity or passion, our pursuit of busyness has become a status symbol of … Read more

OUTSOURCE YOUR LIFE The newest outsourcing isn’t Fortune 500 companies sending work overseas. Instead, it’s average people relying on technology to make time for the things they want to do and avoid the things they don’t. New jobs that never existed before have been created in a world where individuals are increasingly specialized. “In an … Read more

#WARONBUGS While many of us are supporters of the honeybee, we are unquestionably against their loser cousin, the bug. From invisible germs that eat your flesh to swarms of bloodthirsty mosquitoes, bugs are the latest group of organisms asserting their place at the top of the food chain. These tiny monsters range from nuisance to threat; the … Read more

MASCULINE MYSTIQUE Though more and more men define fatherhood and balance as key tenets of their lives, modern men are struggling to find their place as women pass them by educationally and professionally.   “Today, more men define an ideal man not only by his ability to support his family with his work, but by his role as … Read more

MATH IS DEAD In a world where technology is omnipresent and information is only a few clicks away, memorization and facts have gone the way of the landline.  “Unlike literature, history, politics and music, math has little relevance to everyday life…All the mathematics one needs in real life can be learned in early years without much fuss. Most … Read more

DEATH BY SUGAR America today has become a battleground between the militant health nuts – those people you know who subsist on kale or caveman diets and ascribe to military-style workouts – and everyone else. In a uniquely American paradox, the more obsessed we become with health, the less healthy we become as a nation.  … Read more

DOING WELL, DOING GOOD In the age of transparency and protest, people are looking for the companies they serve and the companies that serve them to be aligned with their own values: in general, doing right by people and doing right by the earth. People are voting with their dollars and evil corporate stories are … Read more

CULT OF COLLABORATION Yeah, yeah, we get it… but has anyone figured out how to do it right? We have all heard that collaboration is the answer to the complex challenges we face. Heck, it’s one of the big selling points of our company. But blind pursuit of collaboration – and all of its trappings … Read more

CROWD CONTROL If the consumer is king, today is his reign of terror because of his instant connection to the world wide web. With a phone in our hands we decide where to eat based on Yelp and get directions to find our way there. Memes travel at the speed of light. We google the … Read more

SLEEP IS THE NEW SEX OMFG sleeping is so hot right now. And with good reason – sleep is being touted as “the most important predictor of how long you will live — perhaps more important than smoking, exercise or high blood pressure” by the sleep scientist William Dement (NYT). Lack of sleep has been linked to … Read more

MILLENNIAL MINDSET They are non-materialistic, over-educated super-communicators. They are experience seeking, relationship forging, commitment-phobic trophy children. They add extreme value while testing your patience. And they are your future workforce. The thing is, they won’t work for you if they aren’t interested, ‘cause they don’t have to be interested – they always have their parents. … Read more

STARTUP ENVY Don’t you sometimes wish you could go back to being a newborn? Lots of big companies do. They miss the freedom, the risk-taking, the flip-flops and the lack of meetings. Corporations are starting to see that the shit that makes them a powerhouse makes it really hard to be innovative and forward-thinking. And … Read more

LUXURY OF FOCUS We are learning more than ever about what makes for smart work. Scientists and productivity experts are singing the praises of doing one thing at a time, even advocating daydreaming and vacation as ways to be more focused. With all this new research some are starting to ask, what if we could get more … Read more

WorkLifeMerge F—k work/life balance. People need to shut up about BlackBerries at the dinner table and 24/7 connectivity.  What you really need is a job that can blend in with your life and work for you. Since the people who don’t turn their brains off when they walk out the door arrive at the best … Read more

IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT New developments in science explain why we behave the way we do. Whether it’s a disease, or infidelity in a relationship, or inability to concentrate, neuroscientists, psychologists and sex columnists are suggesting that it might not be your fault. “…the act of helping another person triggers activity in the caudate nucleus … Read more

LEARN 2 LEARN Who knows what the next big thing will be? Living in such an unpredictable era forces us to adapt and adopt constantly. Our biggest asset is an ability to learn. And we are starting to get credit from it – as we all know, bilinguals are smarter, the educated are more interesting, … Read more

GIRLS ON TOP For the first time ever, the majority of the American workforce is female, and younger women are outpacing men in education and salary. However, women who are mothers are struggling to balance work and home life. 51.4% of managerial and professional positions are occupied by women, as well as 14% of senior … Read more

Being healthy is about more than your waist size. Mental, social, spiritual, and emotional health are increasingly seen as critical components of physical health. However, under stress we are unable to manage these health needs properly and minor stressors – like missing a credit card payment or working to reach a deadline – build up … Read more

YOUR JUDGMENT SUCKS People evaluate their behavior all the time. But when it comes to health, their conclusions are based more on a feeling than an objective measurement of calories. Does the walk to get coffee really cancel out the doughnut? There’s a whole range of new tracking devices to tell us, but if we don’t listen, … Read more

EVERYONE CARES IF YOU EAT LIKE SH!T The people around you have a vested interest in your health and their behavior has a far greater influence on your health than you might think. With obesity increasing across the nation and the globe, employers and insurers are offering incentives for healthy behaviors and penalties for unhealthy habits.  “More … Read more

QUARTER LIFE CRISIS After a promising start, things aren’t working out so hot for Gen Y-ers, and they are freaking out. Dubbed the “quarterlife crisis,” symptoms include disillusionment, liberal-arts student loans and a penchant for third-world travel. While their parents (and Gen X) put their noses to the grindstone, Gen Y is picking up their … Read more

SECRETS ARE SEXY Secrets are currency, especially for people who have no cash. In the digital age where everything is available all the time, we crave surprise and want to share knowledge. Choosing who we share with, who gets to know, is power today.  “The digital era has given rise to a more intimate custom. It … Read more

YOU OWN NOTHING In a digital era of remix and sharing, the line between public and private is increasingly blurry. Artists get rich off mashups of other people’s work; individuals upload photos and share news on websites they don’t control. A lot of the things you care about are in the hands of other people, … Read more

BESPOKE WELLNESS Being unique is taking new shape. As options to be healthy proliferate, people are looking for frameworks that work uniquely for them—supplements, group exercise, tracking, and diets. Discovering what works for your body is easier (and scarier) than ever The Mayo Clinic is pushing hard on the field of individualized medicine, a model … Read more