The business of forecasting for the builder industry is both an applied consumer science and a continuous deep dive in the study of art & design. It has the power to influence everything from our relationship with the space and people around us to our current emotions to the look and health of our planet. For me, this has always been a compelling magic.
I have been developing consumer and design forecasts, to use as a tool for moving companies forward, for the past 25 years. Such work has the ability to inform and even steer a brand’s short and long-term goals.
Applying strategy to forecasting, I’ve helped guide hundreds of businesses to navigate consumer futures. Although I’ve developed reports for multiple industries, today I am fortunate to work where my passion is - with brands in architectural and related industries - including developers, architects, suppliers, specifiers, interior designers, as well as furniture retailers & manufacturers. My preferred (and proprietary) methodology is a human-centric one: It’s truly a blend of consumer behavioral insights, years -long pattern tracking, intuition and analytics.
Prior to launching Broadside Studios in 2012 (rebranded as Renee Labbe Design Futures in 2024) , I was SVP of Global Trends at the NYC-based forecasting leader Stylesight (which is now WGSN) - a dream role in which I was mentored by visionary CEO, Frank Bober. We were so cutting edge at the time, and the platform that exists today is still the nuts and bolts created more than 15 yrs ago, under his leadership. Frank challenged me to be absorbed in the minutiae that would make a system thrive and simultaneously gave me carte blanche to develop a program that would deliver greater value to our customers. Back then, that was roughly 2,600 designer brands - in such varied industries as fashion, beauty, furniture, and automotives - so quite the endeavor! I chose to create ways for our clients to not just have trend information, but to thoroughly understand it - giving them more power of choice over when and how to employ foresight information. It took a year and a half of hard work but the result was a 28%+ increase in renewal rates of annual subscriptions - that we were able to maintain through the sale of the company, years later. Today, Frank remains a personal friend and trusted Advisor to our company.
Previous to Stylesight, I led the Western US & Canadian sales and consulting initiatives for Paris-based forecasting firm Promostyl. I spent 10 years with this boutique agency - a small company with massive influence on the fashion industry at the time. They understood chic better than anyone. I began as an entry-level Sales Associate to a small region of Canada and left as Director of Sales and Consulting to half of our North American clientele.
Throughout each of these roles, I have been keynote speaker at various trade shows and private events, including the JBREC Housing Design Summit, Toll Brothers Design Studio Summit, The International Builder’s Show (IBS), Houzz's Innovation Series webinars, HBA Denver's Innovation Summit, Retail's Big Show NYC, 100% Design London, Premiere Vision Paris, Outdoor Retailer, GlobalShop, The Organic Exchange, SIA, Magic, The LA Textile Show, and more.
Today, on the eve of our relaunch as Renee Labbe Design Futures, I have the great pleasure of approaching each of our projects both as business and creative endeavors. Like Rick Rubin, my intuition is a massive component of what I do. So while I see our value as providing clarity for the cloudy futures our clients sometimes find themselves facing, I first and foremost am guided by my own internal sense of quality, integrity, and artistry of craft. It seems, at least for me, the secret to all success.
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Easily the most frequent question we get asked, and without more specification one that’s impossible to answer with any relevance. For what segment and year? For what audience?
Hard question - not just because ego is involved. How do you measure “right?” Do design directions we predict come to fruition? 80-90% of the time, yes. Are there other factors at play? Of course. We did not predict a pandemic in 2020, but (thankfully) it made the majority of my 2020 predictions become more relevant. That’s not always the case.
As with anything, the further out you look, the less detail you get. Forecasting 10 or 15 years out is important because it gives you a general destination. But 3-5 years gives you the beginning of the roadmap. We are constantly toggling our focus between the two.
Everyone wants the answer to heavily revolve around data but it just doesn’t. If you ever watched The Big Short, the data pointed to a pattern…but it was the behaviors and mindsets of banks, realtors, and home buyers that explained what was about to happen. Human behavior, or human response, is key. When we’re developing forecasts, we always start there.
The information we provide holds three significant benefits for our clients. First, our customized forecasts include direction on not just What (color/design/product, etc) to do, but Why. We help brands understand the relevance of the actions we recommend. This is the benefit the client typically expects. But the result of understanding the forthcoming design shifts means that teams who don’t always see eye to eye - such as product development, marketing, and sales - come away with a unified voice. That’s the second benefit. And the third is that they can share this knowledge with their supply chain and their customers - effectively helping everyone find benefit.
Well first of all, I can’t tell you how happy that makes myself and the team. Despite the (many) misconceptions about our field of work, forecasting is not about being homogenous. And personally, I don’t think society benefits from everything being the same. Inspiring outliers are the very thing that keep design evolutions going. For brands that want to make their own path, we create something unique together - but it’s still deeply valuable to know future culture and consumer shifts, as they will help indicate customer responsiveness to whatever we’re helping you to develop.
A man that needs no introduction in the world of forecasting, Frank Bober founded and built the behemoth forecasting agency Stylesight in just 11 short years - which sold to WGSN in 2013 for $70M. He has also served as Vice Chairman at luxury reseller giant What Goes Around Comes Around, and previous to founding Stylesight he owned a global, private-label fashion enterprise for 22 years.
Frank advises RLDF on general business practices and strategies as well as forecasting initiatives.
Tima Bell leads a 50+ person international team of architects and designers from the LA office of his global firm, Bell Design Group. Their work spans the full architectural gamut - including motion picture studios and campuses, hotels & resorts, multi-family, affordable housing, timeshares, restaurants, offices and some residential projects.
Tima’s advisory role provides business development support for architectural markets. Renee also works closely with BDG, and serves as Creative Director to some of the company’s more visionary projects.
A marketing extraordinaire, Elyse has worked in design and related industries for 15+ years. Past roles include Director of Marketing and Communications at Stylesight, as well as executive positions at Evins Travel & Hospitality and Penske Media Corporation.
Our newest advisory seat, Elyse’s communications expertise supports our social and outreach roadmap in our rebrand from Broadside Studios to Renee Labbe Design Futures.