– William Gibson

I first heard this phrase at a lecture given in Tel Aviv by Chris Sanderson of the "Future Laboratory" in September 2007.

A great quote, I thought, and only recently I realized that it is also a very popular one, especially among new start-up companies in their meetings with future investors.

The Future Laboratory is one of Europe's leading trend, brand and future consultancies. And since trends are one of the subjects that have always puzzled me, it was only natural to invite Chris Sanderson to give a lecture here.

But the fascinating lecture was only one of the events for the opening of an exhibition I curated covering "new trends in contemporary design."

The exhibition and the lecture were not only a great success, but a wonderful new experience for me. After many years of being the editor-in-chief of a leading design magazine, it was a great change and it gave me a chance to explore the subject in 3D.

In my work as an editor and in the many exhibitions I have attended all over the world, I was always deeply interested in Trends: What are they? Who decides which trends are going to affect our lives during the following year? Why do different people from different places decide on the same trend at the same time? What does the phrase "there is something in the air" mean? And what role does money play in all this?

Today, besides writing for "Signon"(Style), the design supplement of Maariv (Israel's second largest daily newspaper), I have begun work on the next exhibition of "trends in design," which will take place during October 2008.

In this blog, I will share with you the latest trends and directions. Till then, here are pictures from the last exhibition, so you can see what I mean…

– Maya