If this year’s Dentsu Creative trends report was about anything, it was about sitting in discomfort. As our global CSO, Patricia McDonald, put it, you typically think about decks like these through a lens of palpable optimism and excitement for the future. But this year felt different — like we were reporting on a world balanced on a knife’s edge.

On the one hand we read headlines every day that seem beyond our wildest sci-fi dreams, on the other we see stories of power cuts, shortages, and regressive policies that can feel as if we’re sliding backwards as a society. It’s the tension that comes from a world in flux. A world without the benefit of any singular guiding narrative.

As 2022 gives way to 2023 — a startling transition for those of us still processing 2020 — we find ourselves in a fascinating moment. Our old narratives are broken, that much is clear; but their new counterparts have yet to be written.