Futureyachts Vol. 1

Volume 1 (April 2017)

With new technologies and cutting-edge materials, the yachting industry is evolving rapidly to meet the needs of modern yacht owners, but what does the future hold for superyacht design? Discover the latest trends and read our in-depth interviews with yachting’s key influencers and disruptors.

Let’s dive into the murky waters of the “what ifs”, shall we?

Start the conversation.

We know what “now” looks like;

What’s next? And why?

• 204 pages
• 36 pages of new concepts
• 25 influencers and disruptors
• 24 features

The features:

Futurecast / Young Designers / Lifestyle 2030 / Outdoor Living / What’s new in lighting / Refit redesign / Refit return on investment / Cyber security / 3D Printing / Influencers / Transformers / Disruptors / Air Tenders / Toy haulers / Fuel and the future / Futureproofing AVIT / Fireplaces on board / One hull or two? / Explorer Yachts / Glass since Eco/ Design challenge / The futurist / Global Order Book / The next wave

Editor's introduction

Nothing is as sure as change but the pace with which technology, life and lifestyles are changing has obliterated what we had come to think of as the normal arc of discovery, evaluating and exploiting a trend. The internet and the Internet of Things are just the baby steps to where we as a civilization are headed.

I recently read an article entitled “Five Design Jobs that Won’t Exist in the The Future (and seven that will grow)”. I was surprised to see traditional industrial designers who focus on the sculptural look of a product tagged as “designosaurs”. The next darlings-to-be are “Virtual interaction designers”, those who create product experiences driven by conversation, gesture and light.

“Human-centred design has expanded from the design of objects to the design of experiences (interaction design, visual design and the design of spaces) and the next step will be the design of system behavior – the algorithms that determine the behavior of automated or intelligent systems” predicts Harry West, CEO of a San Francisco design firm called Frog.

Lifestyle design is the new undercurrent of yachting, promoted by fellow disruptors who assert that most currently available yachts don’t live the way today’s new affluent society does. The disconnect is palpable. People want a vessel that will give them experiences they can’t have elsewhere, and for too long have been handed designs for vessels that simply replicate all their land-based elsewhere, albeit with a pointy end.

These are exciting times, yachting at the cusp of change….Oh it may look a little messy, chaotic even, but the next era of yachts definitely isn’t going to be one size fits all.

Along with technology other disruptors that are and will be impacting yachts are climate change, fuel, political and border adjustments and rapidly shifting economic generators. In this book, we touch on some of the drivers of change for the very valid reason of sparking new thinking…as one client said, it’s no longer a matter of thinking outside the box, it’s about eliminating the box altogether.

Let’s dive into the murky waters of the “what ifs”, shall we? Start the conversation. We know what “now” looks like; what next? And why? That’s Futureyachts 2017.