The Better Trends Company and Clarion Retail are excited to announce their collaboration for the upcoming Home & Gift show. For more than 60 years Home & Gift has been a meeting place for the retail community to connect, and at a time when their audience is facing challenging conditions, the team wanted to recognise this legacy of weathering storms together with a campaign that captured optimism, hope and unity.

The Better Trends Company are a trend and design agency who endeavour to empower small and medium businesses through their accessible and targeted trend reports, consultancy services, and design strategies. Having previously worked with Home & Gift’s sister shows Top Drawer and the January Furniture Show on their trends installations, Better Trends’ are at the forefront of trend forecasting and their trend reports are meticulously crafted to provide valuable insights, enabling businesses to stay ahead of the curve.

British Colour Standard | Once Upon A Tuesday

Show Director David Westbrooke says “This year Home & Gift is really excited to collaborate with The Better Trends Co. to infuse Home & Gift’s classic festival vibes with their Modern Psychedelic design trend. The campaign's nostalgic essence encapsulates the welcoming ambience of Home & Gift, where the retail community have gathered for over 60 years to celebrate the industry in a relaxed environment that allows for both networking and product sourcing. The show is gearing up to be another huge success in 2023, giving buyers the opportunity to discover 1000s of new product launches courtesy of over 500 brands from across the UK and beyond.”

This year’s Home & Gift campaign was inspired by the 2023 Modern Psychedelic trend which The Better Trends Co. predicted for this year. As co-creators of the campaign concept for the show, The Better Trends Co. drew inspiration from this trend, which embodies a unique visual style that blends old-school trippy motifs with cutting-edge sophistication. Reflective of customers' increasing desire to see thoughtfully-designed products with a handmade edge, the folk-inspired application of floral designs perfectly set the scene to launch the show's brand new Craft sector.

Louise Healy-Adonis, Co-Founder of The Better Trends Co., shared the inspiration behind the trend and how it all came together: 'We knew that we had to create something truly distinctive yet tailored to the show's elegant and heritage branding. Our 2023 Modern Psychedelic design trend was the perfect starting point for the creative direction of the show.

This trend is part of a huge cultural shift, where we are all becoming increasingly concerned about the state of our planet and current political situations, social justice… the list goes on. The modern psychedelic trend represents a resurgence of interest in psychedelic art, music, and culture that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s and is often associated with a counter-cultural ethos that embraces alternative lifestyles, environmentalism, and social justice causes, feeling very relevant today."

In creating the campaign, The Better Trends Co. spent a long time pouring over bold and retro fonts, balancing colour palettes with the overall aesthetics, and finally presented their visual options to the Clarion Retail team. Keeping the iconic H&G royal blue as the hero colour, they paired it with an illustrated floral pattern that can be utilised in various ways, along with a swirl pattern as a secondary graphic.

With striking graphics, bold colours, and a unique visual style, the Modern Psychedelic trend is the perfect pairing for the Home & Gift Show. The Better Trends Co. carefully selected six key trend colours for each of the various sectors, along with a complementary colour to be used alongside for clear and impactful wayfinding and design identity. Bright colours like hot pinks, oranges, and zingy blues contrast with muted earthy tones like browns, dusty peach, and forest greens for a contemporary feel.

"We managed to strike a balance between retro and modern design that feels exciting and fresh," said Louise. "We can't wait to see how our design comes to life at the show!"

Come and immerse yourself in the world of Modern Psychedelic this summer at the Harrogate Convention Centre from the 16-19 July. Get your badge to the buyers’ festival of the summer here!