It’s almost the end of the year, so we thought we’d do a quick round-up of some of the key moments, trends and stories that caught our attention in 2011...

Craft & Graft

This was the year that we celebrated everything craft. For brands, it meant showing off the craftsmanship and manufacturing processes behind their products. Anyone with a story to tell told it through an online viral video. All Saints did it with its Voice of the Cloth, a short documentary about clothing mills in the North of England.

It wasn’t just clothing that was part of the craft trend. Craft drinks were significant, too. Particularly craft beer, which we looked at in a Briefing in the summer about the recent crop of new small-scale indie beer makers in London.

Hyperlocalism

For brands, being seen to be global was officially dead in 2011. Instead, connecting with emerging local culture was the way to engage with regional consumers. Some did this through creating stores in cities that were specifically attuned to their surroundings and the tastes of these locals. For instance, in London, men’s fashion brand Topman did this with its Topman General Store, which opened in Spitalfields market in the summer, and features an interior that appeals to the East London male's taste for nostalgia and tradition. In New York, luxury beauty brand Aesop took a more literal approach, and used copies of the New York Times within its new flagship store in the city. And we expect to see even luxury brands embrace hyperlocalism next year.

Slow Technology

As much as technological development always seems to be speeding up, our consumption of it, in some cases, was slowing down. We called this digital downtime. And we explored the idea in our Slow Technology exhibition, curated by Henrietta Thompson, which was shown as part of this year’s London Design Festival. It featured a series of prototype gadgets that all aimed to give us a break from our excessive screen time.

Slow Tech wasn’t just about being anti-gadget. It also involved the pursuit of activities that removed people from being in front of a screen. For instance, we saw the trend for convivial dining continue, with more supper clubs around the world getting small groups of people together over food. These often took themes - Second World War rations, launderettes, and even Minotaurs - to give them a new twist.

Quantified Self

This was the year than Quantified Self - the way people use data to monitor and measure their habits and activities - really started to get underway. The Jawbone UP device, which measures everything from food and sleep, was one of the most talked about gadgets of the year. But several other devices and apps, such as the Swimtag and the The Antimap, also gave more specialised ways for people to monitor and track their personal data.

Meatopia

In case you hadn't noticed it, vegetarians had a tough time in 2011. Meat was everywhere: in food trucks, in dedicated new meat restaurants, in macho-istic cook books and even as the subject of art exhibitions. It was part of the trend for people wanting good quality, no-nonsense food - a complete departure from the refined dining of the nineties.

So that was 2011. We look forward to bringing you more trends and ideas in the New Year. So long for now...