Kara Ortiga is a PhD candidate at Macquarie University in Sydney. Her research focuses on new media audiences and their relationships with technology, politics, and information. Before jumping into academia, she was a journalist in the Philippines, covering culture and the arts. Her work has been published in 

People expect care and emotional intelligence from brands

Everyday Empathy

People are looking for experimental, inventive ways to engage with a planet in crisis 

Eco Imagination 

People are recognising the urgency of global environmental measures 

Sustainable Solutions

People are reconsidering what possessions mean to them 

Ownership Reset

People expect brands to rise to society’s challenges

Shared Values

People are looking for a visceral reprieve from the permacrisis

Essential Escapism

People expect products and services that feel made for them

Personal Worlds

People are mining the past for stable comfort 

Ultra Cosy 

Melbourne-based designer Dale Hardiman is the co-founder of the furniture and object brand Dowel Jones and the collaborative project Friends & Associates. Hardiman explores the social, ecological, and political life of materials and the systems through which they are made and supplied. In 2021, he was named one of the 100 worldwide game changers in design by 

Australia

Home and garden

Home and Relationships

Shopping

Resale and online marketplaces

Citizenship

Sustainability

Mental health

Interview with Dale Hardiman conducted by the author

Clever

The Cut

Pinterest

Statista

Architectural Digest

Kaiko Design

SPACE10 and Dazed Media

Monash Lens

Broadsheet

PR Newswire

WARC

Deloittle

System1

Furniture company Dowel Jones champions Australian-made furniture and embraces authenticity amid new market dynamics. The brand’s pillars of durability, timeless design, and emotional resonance effectively negotiate what it means to do functional design in the modern day.