In an industry where change is the only constant, staying current with design trends while driving sustainable growth is a challenge that requires more than just creativity, it demands strategic foresight, adaptability, and a deep understanding of the market’s pulse.
From graphic and experience design to visual strategic planning, professionals today must balance innovation with practicality. They must stay ahead of trends while managing the realities of workforce limitations and service procurement. So, how are industry leaders staying grounded and growing? Let’s see what the experts have to say…
Growth Needs Strategy, Not Just Speed
In today’s hyper-competitive landscape, growth without direction can actually hold you back. Thomas André Sola, Managing Director of APSCo Deutschland, puts it plainly:
“This requires a strategic approach. Invest in scalable technologies and processes. Maintain a flexible workforce strategy that adapts to market changes. Build strong relationships with reliable service providers and understand procurement needs.
Regularly review and optimise operations to ensure growth while maintaining high service standards. Have in mind that any investment will have a short and long-term impact on your profit numbers.”
It’s a sharp reminder that growth is about aligning every decision with a clear operational and financial strategy.
Stay Curious, Stay Current
Want to stay relevant? Stay curious. Kes Smith-Green, Owner and Head of Coaching and Training, keeps it simple:
“I’m constantly reading – whether I’m on my way to an organisation or training myself. I also do a lot of bite-sized courses that highlight individual updates or changes.
Plus, I keep up with a lot of research (thanks, ChatGPT, for helping me condense it all!).”
The best professionals never stop learning and they know how to learn fast.
Knowing When to Pivot
Staying current sometimes means letting go of what no longer works, even if it once defined your business. Alastair Banks, Co-Founder Optix Solutions, shares a compelling story of evolution, from web design to strategic marketing:
“It’s all about staying aware of the market around you – the things people want, the things they don’t want, and what they’re getting elsewhere. A good example is web design.
We don’t really build websites anymore, but we did for 20 years. It was a tough call to stop, especially with a team in place, but the reality was we weren’t making money. Platforms like WordPress came along, and people could build their own websites for next to nothing. We were struggling to add value.
That’s a classic example of a pivot. We started as a web design company, focused on that for about five years, then expanded into marketing – SEO, PPC, email marketing, all that. We got in early on it and have continued offering those services.
Over time, things shifted. Web design declined, and marketing took over. About five years ago, we became purely a marketing company. We now have around 25 staff, including a Director of Design with experience at big brands like Virgin and PlayStation. He’s a huge part of our creative efforts.
A lot of our clients come to us for campaign marketing, social media (especially organic), and exhibitions. We also have a performance marketing team with experts in SEO and PPC to help clients there too.
What we’re really trying to do is focus on the strategic space above the tactical services. Tactics like SEO and PPC are easy for clients to swap between companies, but strategy, and understanding why you’re doing something, is the big question.
So, when someone says, ‘I want SEO,’ my first question is, ‘Why?’ Most of the time, they don’t really know. They’ve heard it’s necessary but don’t understand why or how it fits into their bigger picture. If they can’t answer, they could end up wasting time and money.
Because we’ve been around so long, we can sit in that strategic space, which makes us a trusted partner. Once that happens, clients are less likely to move away from us. And of course, we have the tactical expertise to deliver what they need, too!”
Listening to the market and knowing when to evolve, keeps your business alive and relevant.
Design for Experience, Not Just Aesthetics
For Jenna Mari Matecki, Founder and Chief of Experiences of AMARIMA, staying relevant is about tuning into the evolving needs of people:
“Wellness travel and longevity-focused experiences will continue to be big – I see a real commitment to quality of life and holistic well-being playing out in our space, and I’m excited to see the concept of ‘wellness’ evolve. I also see an exciting shift towards hotel-club or resort-club hybrids – spaces that blend social connection, curated lifestyle, and community-driven hospitality.”
And Laura Wingate, Founder & CEO of Meno Plan, reminds us that some trends bring us back to basics:
“We are likely to be doing more in person stuff and getting together. We keep hearing that people are lonely and we know that in person interactions and friendships pack a bigger emotional punch than online ones, so we are looking to expand the Menowalk model to be something that anyone can do.”
When you design for human experiences, not just interfaces you build something that lasts.
Data-Led Growth is Smart Growth
Smart growth requires smart metrics. Sebastian Bates, Founder at The Warrior Academy, breaks down how he approaches acquisition through data:
“The first step was understanding lifetime value (LTV). We reverse-engineered it: how long do people stay, what’s the attrition, how much do they spend over time?
Then we looked at month-one payments. If someone commits for a full year, their LTV goes up, so we can spend more to acquire them.
Once we knew our LTV, we focused on acquisition costs, and how much it takes to get a member, a trial, or a lead. But I care more about trials than leads. A trial is a real buying signal, someone pays £40 for a week. If they like it, they sign up. Leads from TikTok don’t mean much if they’re not quality.
We track all this carefully. Typically, we spend about 15–18% of revenue on paid ads, and 5–7% on agencies. It’s been a game-changer.”
Growth should be tracked, tested, and always evolving.
Stay Informed. But Stay You.
Trends can be helpful, but they’re not everything. Kevin M. Dulle, Visual Translator and educator, brings a fresh take grounded in long-term thinking and deep creative identity:
“Staying current is critical for me. With experience design, I am both certified experience expert and I educate others as a cofounder of the World Experience Organization with a core mission of making better experiences and experiences better. I am also currently the illustrator and collaborator with one of the co-authors of the Experience Economy book, B. Joseph Pine II for the past six years.
As for visual strategic planning, keeping up with trends and developments, I am connected through various channels that provide me up-to-date information, and processes that are both failures and successes. You must be aware of both if you intend to guide and avoid pitfalls and disasters along the way.
To keep up with graphic design, there are news outlets and groups that provide me with enough insight, but my style is very unique and I avoid making trendy changes and only focus on improvements.”
Staying informed and authentic? That’s the sweet spot.
The Tools Change. The Mission Doesn’t.
Angela Soudi, Director Arena LLC & Creator Junior Gladiator Kidpreneurs, reflects on how far we’ve come:
“The first ‘tech’ tool I had was a Blackberry with a mini keyboard, and at the time, I thought it was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen. Fast forward to today, and we’re working with AI, automation, real-time analytics, and global reach, all from a single device. The transformation has been extraordinary.
In the early days, sales and marketing were all about face-to-face meetings, printed brochures, cold calling, and door knocking, that’s how we built our digital agency in Dubai in 2010. Everything was slower, more manual, and relationship-heavy. You built trust over time and through multiple conversations.
Now, digital tools have completely redefined how we connect, sell, and grow. We can text, track engagement, and personalise outreach on a massive scale, things we could only dream of back then. Social media, CRM platforms, targeted ads, and email funnels have made marketing more dynamic and measurable than ever before.
But while the tools have evolved, the fundamentals haven’t. People still crave connection, story, and authenticity. So I’ve always focused on blending modern technology with traditional methods – listening to the audience, delivering real value, and staying human in a digital world.”
Tech will keep evolving, but human connection, trust, and real value will always win.
So, how do you stay current? Not by chasing every new idea or tool, but by listening, learning, and making smart decisions.
Across all these stories, one theme stands out: the best leaders don’t react to change, they work with it. Whether it’s shifting your service offering, investing in the right tech, or doubling down on human connection, the secret is staying aligned with your mission and your market.
That’s how you stay relevant. That’s how you grow. And most importantly, that’s how you lead!
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