Let’s Start Designing for Generation Alpha Now

I went back to my first in-person international conference and whoa was it weird to be in-person again. It was great to see friends, faces that I had only met via Zoom, and people who have helped make the last two years a little more bearable.

It was also amazing to see that we all seemed to have taken a breath during the last 850ish days.

As I walked the New Orleans Conference Center, I didn’t see the typically overly dressed people that looked uncomfortable in formal, business wear. I didn’t see the nonsense that I usually observe with everyone flaunting their busy, and “flashing their fancy.” What I did see was a group of professionals, with their own styles, smiles on their faces, respect for choices of others (some were masked, some weren’t), and collectively having fun while working professionally.

Maybe this new-found vibe of relaxed, yet professional, is just another gift of COVID. Or maybe it was more than COVID, maybe we are witnessing first hand some generational shifts.

When I was on my way home I sat next to a very cool person on the plane. She was (admittedly) at least a decade or younger than me and a designer by trade. As we were visiting, she shared a presentation she was making to her boss’s team about Generation Alpha. In a weird twist of fate she had used a few old…