# The Future Collective

> A strategic, future-focused design consultancy based in the UK, co-founded by Matt Parry and Kate Shepherd. Futures thinking creates perspective, strategy gives it direction and design gives it form — so ambitious organisations can start, scale, innovate, lead and transform. Our line: all in the name of progress.

Most consultancies define strategy but struggle to express it; most agencies execute design but rarely shape direction. The Future Collective does both, in one collective. Clients named on the site include Oracle, Adidas, Selfridges, Versace, Audi, P&G, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, Kate Spade, Coach, Capri Holdings, Henley Business School, Holland & Barrett, Howdens, Veolia, Twilio, Vans, Arla, Marshalls, Interface, Hydrafacial, UAL, London Design Festival, Capita, Butterfly and Nimble Gravity — across ten or more sectors, from luxury fashion to nuclear energy. Co-founders: Matt Parry (transformational direction) and Kate Shepherd (design intelligence). Contact: matt@future-collective.co.uk · kate@future-collective.co.uk · https://future-collective.co.uk

## Ways in

- [Start](https://future-collective.co.uk/start): Bring something new into the world — brand creation for new brands and ventures.
- [Scale](https://future-collective.co.uk/scale): Turn momentum into meaningful growth — brand systems, guidelines, repositioning and evolution.
- [Innovate](https://future-collective.co.uk/innovate): Create what comes next — futures, foresight and innovation strategy for new products, services and spaces.
- [Lead](https://future-collective.co.uk/lead): Become the voice others listen to — thought leadership, futures reports, keynotes, briefings and live experiences.
- [Transform](https://future-collective.co.uk/transform): Make AI work where it matters. Six offers: AI Business Impact Audit, AI Readiness Diagnostic, LLM and Agent Visibility, Intelligence Architecture, Leadership Capability and Operating Model, Delegated Intelligence and Orchestration. Includes the manifesto essay The Great Rewiring.

## What we do

- [Expertise](https://future-collective.co.uk/expertise): Futures (foresight, playbooks, signals and trends, scenario workshops, keynotes), Strategy (brand and business strategy, proposition, innovation and CX futures, AI readiness) and Branding (brand definition, creation and evolution, identity systems, brand books, campaign, film, experience and environments).
- [A manifesto for progress](https://future-collective.co.uk/progress): Why a brand is never finished, and what progress takes.
- [The Collective](https://future-collective.co.uk/collective): Co-founders Matt Parry and Kate Shepherd, and the specialists they work with.
- [Contact](https://future-collective.co.uk/contact): Replies within two working days.

## Work

- [Chosen works](https://future-collective.co.uk/work): 26 projects — 23 case studies and three films.
- [Oracle AI Live: Future Stores London](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/oracle-ai-live): Five-day live experience on the realities of AI across industries; TFC delivered the daily Industry Perspective.
- [Henley Business School: The Human Dimension](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/the-human-dimension): Leadership Futures report and film on what leadership requires when uncertainty is everyday.
- [Oracle NetSuite: Leading with Intelligence](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/leading-with-intelligence): 26 questions shaping 2026 — intelligence as an operating-model evolution, not a technology rollout.
- [Henley Business School: Redefining Leadership in the Age of AI](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/redefining-leadership): Research report and film with the World of Work Institute on what AI-driven change demands of leadership.
- [Oracle NetSuite: Hospitality Futures Playbook](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/hospitality-futures-playbook): Hospitality Futures: Tomorrow’s Vision — second in the NetSuite Futures series.
- [Oracle NetSuite: Retail Futures Playbook](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/retail-futures-playbook): Retail Futures: Tomorrow’s Vision — first in the series; a three-to-seven-year horizon for commerce.
- [Oracle NetSuite: Energy Futures Playbook](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/energy-futures-playbook): Energy Futures: Tomorrow’s Vision — the forces redefining the global energy system.
- [Henley Business School: Shaping Leadership for Industry 5.0](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/shaping-leadership-for-industry-5-0): Four Leadership Futures reports, nine months in the making with Henley’s academics.
- [Nimble Gravity: Strategy, executed](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/strategy-executed): Brand North Star, identity and bilingual website for a data and AI consultancy.
- [Butterfly: Elevating the Standard of Indoor Air Quality](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/butterfly-indoor-air-quality): Brand manifesto and film moving indoor air quality from compliance to care.
- [London College of Fashion: Retail Futures](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/lcf-retail-futures): Annual Retail Futures brief for the MA Global Fashion Retailing, with lululemon and Mulberry.
- [Capri Holdings: The Future of Luxury](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/the-future-of-luxury): Keynote for the Michael Kors EMEA leadership team on ten transitions reshaping luxury retail.
- [Marshalls: Strategic Innovation](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/marshalls-strategic-innovation): Strategic foresight programme guiding Marshalls’ innovation roadmap.
- [Howdens: Designing Homes for the Future](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/designing-homes-for-the-future): Annual macro trend forecast and futures workshop on how people will live next.
- [Arla Pro: Foodservice Innovation](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/arla-pro-foodservice-innovation): Independent outlook on UK foodservice for Arla Pro’s five-year innovation pipeline.
- [Hydrafacial: Brand Definition](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/hydrafacial-brand-definition): Brand proposition and the Glowgetters campaign, taking HydraFacial from B2B to consumers in EMEA.
- [Skin Sapiens: Brand Development](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/skin-sapiens-brand-development): The Good by Nature proposition and brand world that took a skincare start-up into Selfridges and Holland & Barrett.
- [Veolia Nuclear Solutions: Educational Playbook](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/veolia-educational-playbook): E-learning programme and film series on a century of nuclear history for new starters.
- [Veolia Nuclear Solutions: Pioneering a Safer, Smarter Future](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/veolia-pioneering-a-safer-smarter-future): Refreshed proposition and identity built on safety, expertise and collaboration.
- [Capita: Pan-industry CX Futures Strategy](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/capita-cx-futures-strategy): Pathways to CX Progress — twelve futures reports, one per Capita sector.
- [Holland & Barrett: Brand Book](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/holland-and-barrett-brand-book): A brand book revealing the scale of Holland & Barrett’s ambition to partners and suppliers.
- [London Design Festival: Design for Better 2.0](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/design-for-better-2-0): Three-day live forum in Shoreditch with IKEA, Space10, H&M, Atelier100, Aesop and the B Corp community.
- [Re_Threads: Brand Creation](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/re-threads-brand-creation): A brand built from a blank page for a sustainable clothing start-up.

## Films

- [Retail Reset](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/retail-reset): Short film on the reset facing retail; seen over a million times and named by Campaign among the top ten pandemic advertisements in Europe. Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/429196546
- [Strength in the Collective](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/strength-in-the-collective): Campaign film. Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/406504282
- [Design for Better](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/design-for-better-film): Film from the Design for Better forum. Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/513031901
- [The Human Dimension — the film](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/the-human-dimension): Trailer for the Henley Business School report, made by TFC; plays on the case-study page.
- [Redefining Leadership in the Age of AI — the film](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/redefining-leadership): Trailer for the Henley and World of Work Institute report, made by TFC; plays on the case-study page.

## Collective Conversations

Ten short films, each under ten minutes, published July 2025: co-founders Kate Shepherd and Matt Parry on the ideas shaping the studio’s thinking. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheFutureCollective

- [Episode 1: Thriving in the ‘Do It For Me’ economy](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/thriving-in-the-do-it-for-me-economy): When the customer is an intelligent agent shopping on a person’s behalf.
- [Episode 2: Foreshaping the future](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/foreshaping-the-future): Foresight is no longer enough; foreshape is how you stay ahead.
- [Episode 3: Embrace the uncertainty, part one](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/embrace-the-uncertainty-part-one): Kate on why there has never been a better time to embrace change.
- [Episode 4: Embrace the uncertainty, part two](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/embrace-the-uncertainty-part-two): Embracing complexity and spotting unmet needs keeps you future-facing.
- [Episode 5: Lessons from a founder](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/lessons-from-a-founder): Five years in — what founding The Future Collective has taught Kate and Matt.
- [Episode 6: Exploring our AI journey](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/exploring-our-ai-journey): Kate’s journey with AI and what it has changed about how the team works.
- [Episode 7: Getting started with AI](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/getting-started-with-ai): Even an hour a day counts; starting is all you need to do.
- [Episode 8: Don’t slow down, speed up](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/dont-slow-down-speed-up-in-conversation): In the era of augmentation, keep moving, quickly.
- [Episode 9: Making the leap from good to great](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/making-the-leap-from-good-to-great): How brands emotively hook people and make the leap from good to great.
- [Episode 10: Localism is the new future of retail](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/localism-is-the-new-future-of-retail-in-conversation): Localism playing out in our own neighbourhoods, and the opportunity for retailers.

## Forethought articles

- [Forethought](https://future-collective.co.uk/forethought): Index of essays, reports, films and playbooks, including The Great Rewiring.
- [Hospitality’s new horizon](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/hospitalitys-new-horizon): Five themes and four forces from the Hospitality Futures Briefing with Oracle NetSuite.
- [A deeper look: Hospitality Futures — Tomorrow’s Vision](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/hospitality-futures-a-deeper-look): Magnetic Places, Seamless Systems, Vital Connection — the hospitality playbook’s pillars.
- [Retail Futures: what’s changing now and what comes next?](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/retail-futures-whats-changing-now-and-what-comes-next): Questions from the Retail Futures Briefing, with the recording.
- [The true power of a brand lives in its identity](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/the-power-of-a-brand-lives-in-its-identity): Design Director Carl on the anatomy of a lasting brand identity.
- [A deeper look: Retail Futures — Tomorrow’s Vision](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/retail-futures-a-deeper-look): Connected Experience, Intelligent Operations, Purpose-Led Scale — the retail playbook’s pillars.
- [Localism is the new future of retail](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/localism-is-the-new-future-of-retail): High streets reawakening; why the future of global retail is local.
- [Don’t slow down, speed up](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/dont-slow-down-speed-up): Why the era of augmentation rewards motion: prototype, test, pivot.
- [Moving forward with AI, as a partner](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/moving-forward-with-ai-as-a-partner): What a year of experimenting with AI taught the team.
- [Embrace the uncertainty](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/embrace-the-uncertainty): Industry 5.0 asks us to re-humanise and act before stability arrives.
- [Welcome to the “Do It For Me” economy](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/welcome-to-the-do-it-for-me-economy): What agent-led shopping means for loyalty, discovery and the physical store.
- [Forget foresight, it’s time for foreshape](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/forget-foresight-its-time-for-foreshape): Kodak had foresight. Why every organisation now needs a prototyping culture.
- [Collective Conversations: reflections](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/collective-conversations-reflections): Podcast episode one with Tiny Habits coach Mike Coulter.
- [What makes a good brand great?](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/what-makes-a-good-brand-great): Why, story, simple, human, soulful.
- [What if?](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/what-if): Why “what if?” is the second half of the studio’s “so what” philosophy.
- [So what?](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/so-what): Five years of The Future Collective, and the question that has shaped everything since day one.
- [Cultural choreography](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/cultural-choreography): Flagships as identity: Aesop, Diptyque and Le Labo.
- [A symphony for the senses](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/a-symphony-for-the-senses): Three sensorial stores: Glossier You, Aesop and Louis Vuitton.
- [Entering into the archives](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/entering-into-the-archives): Brand archives as innovation labs; heritage as a growth strategy.
- [Futurespective briefing](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/futurespective-briefing): Questions from the Futurespective briefing on Industry 5.0.
- [Global Retail Briefing AW/23](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/global-retail-briefing-aw23): Flagships, VIP salons, AI in the store and regenerative design.
- [Industry 5.0: the human-centric revolution](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/industry-5-0-the-human-centric-revolution): The fifth industrial revolution puts humans back at the core.
- [It’s the (fore)thought that counts](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/its-the-forethought-that-counts): AI is rewriting the creative brief; why better design matters more.
- [Global Retail Futures Briefing SS23](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/global-retail-futures-briefing): The SS23 briefing on the themes reshaping retail, with recording and report.
- [The future of the department store](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/the-future-of-the-department-store): What the department store must become: curator, advisor, provider, host.

## Vocabulary

- Foresight vs foreshape: Foresight is the disciplined study of how the future could unfold — signals, trends and scenarios — so an organisation can decide what to do now. Foreshape is The Future Collective’s term for the step beyond it: prototyping the future rather than forecasting it, so you find out how people respond instead of predicting how they might. See [Forget foresight, it’s time for foreshape](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/forget-foresight-its-time-for-foreshape).
- Industry 5.0: The era of augmentation — the phase of industrial development that puts people back at the core, with technology enhancing human capability rather than replacing it. It asks what design, collaboration and leadership look like when humans and machines work alongside one another. See [Industry 5.0: the human-centric revolution](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/industry-5-0-the-human-centric-revolution).
- Retail futures: The Future Collective’s ongoing research, playbooks and briefings on the forces reshaping commerce over a three-to-seven-year horizon. Includes the Retail Futures Playbook with Oracle NetSuite, the Global Retail Briefings and the annual brief for London College of Fashion. See [Retail Futures Playbook](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/retail-futures-playbook).
- The post-commute economy: The Future Collective’s term for the pattern of daily life and spending that settled in once hybrid working cut the commute to a few days a week: footfall, discretionary spend and daily habits shifting from city-centre office districts to neighbourhoods and weekends, so retail format, location and service have to follow. See [Localism is the new future of retail](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/localism-is-the-new-future-of-retail).
- Localism: The shift of retail’s centre of gravity from scale to neighbourhood — high streets reawakening, slower, more intentional and more local, as brands embed themselves in community life. In The Future Collective’s words, the future of global retail is local. See [Localism is the new future of retail](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/localism-is-the-new-future-of-retail).
- “Do It For Me” retail: The emerging channel in which the customer is not only a person scrolling but an intelligent agent shopping on their behalf. Discovery becomes data-led, brand value is assessed by machine logic, and retailers must think like systems engineers as much as storytellers. See [Welcome to the “Do It For Me” economy](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/welcome-to-the-do-it-for-me-economy).
- The human dimension: A Leadership Futures report and film from Henley Business School, researched and written with The Future Collective, on what leadership requires when uncertainty is part of the everyday. Its argument: human capabilities — judgement, empathy, adaptability and trust — are central to how organisations perform; in more uncertain conditions, organisational strength and human strength become inseparable. See [The Human Dimension](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/the-human-dimension).
- Futures playbook: A research-led report on how a sector is likely to change over a set horizon, usually three to seven years, organised into a few pillars and the trends beneath them so a leadership team can act on it. The Future Collective researches, writes and designs them, often with a publishing partner, as in the Retail, Hospitality and Energy Futures Playbooks for Oracle NetSuite. See [Hospitality Futures Playbook](https://future-collective.co.uk/work/hospitality-futures-playbook).
- Futures briefing: Futures research delivered live — a session in which the co-founders walk a leadership team, a partner’s customers or an audience through the forces reshaping their sector and what to do about them. Examples: the Retail and Hospitality Futures Briefings with Oracle NetSuite and the sixty-minute Global Retail Briefings. See [Hospitality’s new horizon](https://future-collective.co.uk/thinking/hospitalitys-new-horizon).
- Collective Conversations: The Future Collective’s conversation series, in which co-founders Kate Shepherd and Matt Parry talk through the ideas shaping the studio’s thinking. It began as a podcast, opening with Tiny Habits coach Mike Coulter, and continues as ten short films published in July 2025, none longer than ten minutes. See [Forethought](https://future-collective.co.uk/forethought).

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