#708 | Our future is not a hype

Protein Supplement has been helping to make sense of the world around us since 1997 by bringing you the signals (people and ideas) that create change. They could be controversial, hopeful, beautiful, or just plain ridiculous, but they all feed our collective intelligence in the hope of building a better future.

These insights are also the fuel we use to help brands make more impactful decisions, as well as craft cultural research and community-first activations. So, if you’re interested in knowing more about Protein Agency, you can request our creds deck here.

You’ll notice we’ve made a few changes this month as well as starting a weekly Supplement on our socials (here and here), so please give us follow and we’d love to know what you think in the comments.

Finally, you guys get the first listen to Nicole and Ida from Softer talking about new pathways for creativity and Lucy Stone from Climate Spring on a mission to change the environmental narrative. They’re all incredible humans with relevant and important stories to share, so definitely worth a listen 🌀

SIGNALS

• Hypercycle reframes trend forecasting to guide us through the noise of a hyped-up world — challenging the rush towards fleeting trends and advocates for a new, community-centric approach to trend forecasting. You can read our post about it here.
• Echoing Hypercycle's shift towards lasting value, the comeback of print magazines is reminding us of the timeless appeal and the tactile joy and permanence of a well-crafted, physical media in a world obsessed with the ephemeral.
• Speaking of old-school charm, MediaCat explores expert views on how nostalgia affects creativity, looking at whether it helps or hinders today’s creative work. You can read our post about it here.
• WeTransfer and co—matter's new research memo, Networked Worlds, get into new ways of world building as a 21st-century creative strategy.
• Similarly, Studio Cone explores a series of scenarios envisioning a future influenced by psychedelic therapy, from corporate-controlled landscapes to decentralised, community-driven models.
• TERRA is an AI compass that offers a unique way to live the outdoors, blending technology with the natural world to enhance hiking experiences, by guiding adventurers on unexpected trails, and making a full immersion in nature possible without the worry of getting lost.
• Jesse Mugambi, winner of Jägermeister’s Save The Night, transforms Nairobi's nightlife with Studio Can-V: an eco-conscious, creative space crafted by local artisans.
• Expanding beyond its musical roots, Spotify introduces a new educational dimension with video courses in the UK, under four main themes: make music, get creative, learn business, and lead a healthy life.
• Ana Andjelic's recent piece, The Creative Economy: How brands exploit time to make money, offers a fascinating insight into the contemporary landscape of brand storytelling. She unveils how the allure of the past has become today's currency in the creative economy, pushing brands toward celebrating their heritage rather than producing new items. Read our post about it here.
• Melanin Gamers' pioneering rating system that targets toxicity in gaming and shapes a safer, and more inclusive video game community.
• Football Beyond Borders new initiative, Architects of the Future, gives Year 9 students exposure to the creative industries, equipping them with real-life skills for potential career paths.
• Future Art Ecosystems, by Serpentine, is building the cultural infrastructure to support art and technology for the public good. It operates within four key areas where art x advanced technology practices to build meaningful transformations in culture and beyond.
• We’re loving Design Hotels' new study Neuroaesthetics which unpacks how aesthetics, culture, and technology impact our brains, bodies, and behaviours.
• Taste 101's latest exploration looks into how taste has evolved from a moral compass to a social identifier through the ages.
• Cal Newport's new article delves into a new philosophy of productivity, emphasising intentional, quality-focused efforts over busyness.
• Sungai Design, in collaboration with designer Mike Russek, unveils the Ombak lounge chair, a sustainable furniture piece made from 2,000 plastic bags rescued from Bali's rivers.

OBESSIONS

We asked some of the Protein Agency team what they can’t stop thinking about:

• Joanna is obsessing over Toby Shorin's new research venture, Care Culture. This long-read reframes 'the loneliness epidemic' as 'the loneliness apparatus', and explores the many social institutions, regulatory decisions, policy programs, scientific research and public messages that are implicated in loneliness. She's also loving Are.na and Dirt's Scent Access Memory series — especially the Worldly Things essay.
• Gursharan is fascinated with Margie the hun, by far the best application of AI she'd ever seen and takes a peek into the most under celebrated community, the huns, and Brenda Hashtag's podcast Brendawareness.
• Hannah wants to spotlight Arab and Muslim voices in a positive way by reshaping the one dimensional narratives on who they are. Her highlights are the Hyphenated podcast - a 360-degree view of Muslim life in Britain and Europe, and Watermelon Pictures, a newly launched Palestinian-owned film label that promises to make sure that, from now on, Palestines are seen in a multifaceted way.
• Carlyn loves the recent earth day collab Clean Up The Ting with Are You Mad, Roding Rubbish and The North Face which motivated people to get outside and clean up as well as Everybody Eats, a guerrilla campaign that frees food from supermarkets back into the food banks. She’s also a big fan of the Polyester podcast, which unpacks the internet's obsessions through a pop culture informed feminist lens.

If you’d like to be featured here, we’d love to hear what you’re obsessing about …

THANKS 💚

Contributions this month have come from Anna Lena, Carlyn, Gursharan, Hannah, Hollie, Jara, Joanna, Leila, Leticia, Saoirse, Steffen, and Will.

SMALL PRINT

Protein is a place where people and ideas grow. We do this through our agency, studios, and global community. We believe we’ve all got a responsibility to think and act bigger than ourselves and that good growth can only be achieved by balancing purpose, profit, and progress.

Yes, we really have published 700+ issues 👀 of this newsletter. The first Protein Supplement was sent on 17th September 1997 to 14 people and (other than a few breaks over the years) has always tried to understand what’s really happening in the world. If you’re interested in digging into the (incomplete) archive, you can here.

You can also find us on Insta and Twitter. We always like to hear how we can improve what we do, so please get in touch here, and if you’re creative, curious and want to help build a better future, you can apply to join Protein here.