The real world

as opposed to exclusively the dining table, home office or sofa – pyjama bottoms strategically out of view. But while it serves a purpose, it doesn’t mean we like it, or at least not all of the time.

A recent, wave-making report from Deloitte suggests that in-person networking is now the primary driver of business travel – partly responsible for the resurgence in travel at large. Zoom fatigue, the findings indicate, is starting to bite, with physical corporate and industry events seemingly the antidote; face-to-face the remedy. Conferences, exhibitions and trade shows are cited as having an outsize role to play in the business of relationship building and client acquisition.

So why am I going to Cairo? Well, for a design conference, of course. And while I appreciate the tussle between living (and travelling) more sustainably, and the desire to connect with an international community of colleagues and peers, the simple, unvarnished reality is that for the design industry to thrive, as well as survive, real world connections are essential. A spark of creative spontaneity cannot be lit on Teams, deep relationships do not bloom on Zoom, and ideas are less meaningfully received on Google Meet.

So while it’s unlikely video conferencing will go the way of the pyramids – interesting idea, not terribly useful –perhaps its dominance and oppressive ubiquity will be consigned to the past. Because even if, as some say, change is inevitable, it doesn’t mean it has to be permanent.