Identifying parts of a

whole and Emerging

Patterns in Trends
 At the end of lesson you are able
to:
- identify parts of a whole
(HUMSS_MCT12-Ia-b-6);
- identify and explain an emerging
pattern (HUMSS_MCT12-Ia-b-7)
• It was the great Aristotle who first
claimed that the whole is not equal to the
sum of the parts, and conversely, the sum
of the parts is not equal to the whole. But
the proponent of the idea of atom, who is
Democritus, somehow believed that the
parts are of great significance in
understanding the essence of the whole.
What comes to your mind when you hear the
words “emerging trends”?
 Identifying Parts of a Whole
• Trends as they grow and evolve tend to influence or give
birth to other trends and become interconnected and
interrelated. It was mentioned in the previous lessons that
trends are formed from the combination of things. Thus, a
trend has constituent parts of portions that are interrelated.
Their influence, as well as how the people adopt them,
makes the trend viable, especially the megatrends and
gigatrends.
• Take as example the Japanese animation
(animé) trend that is associated with
several generations spanning decades. In
retrospect, Urgel (2017) illustrated the
popularity of anime which was brought
about by a number of developments such
as the ones shown below.
 Visual culture

• is another example that we experience today.

It was developed from various trends─
digital camera, smartphone, internet, Wi-Fi
technology, social media, mobile apps,
computer, fashion, art, photography, to name
a few.
• Remember that microtrends can become
macrotrends if they affect more lives and
societies. Then, macrotrends can become a
megatrend if it can affect a much larger group for
a longer period like a decade. Megatrends can
become gigatrends if they have everlasting
effects and influences. Therefore, it is evident
that the whole which comprises the large part is
made up of small things or parts.
 Identifying Emerging Patterns
• By simply looking at the previous diagram, you will
somehow have an idea on identifying emerging
patterns of a trend. Urgel (2017) defined pattern as a
design, shape, form or configuration that emerges from
repetitious appearance of lines, curves, and behavior.
According to him, in the study of trends, repetitive
behavior that gives rise to an emerging pattern is the
main interest.
• In order to follow and observe if a pattern
emerges out of various events and phenomena,
one should have the tools necessary to detect it.
According to Rehn and Lindkvist (2013), the
tools that a trend spotter should find handy to use
are categorized into four activities which are as
follows:
 1. Documentation

• means being able to record your observations which

you consider related to any trend. The primary tools for
documentation, however simple, are notebook and pen.
Some opt to use note-taking features or apps on a
smartphone or tablet. The camera has also become
necessary in providing visuals.
 2. Archive or Memory
• is used to easily retrieve any documentation you have kept.
Notes can be scanned or converted to a portable document
format (PDF) while digital pictures can be easily saved.
Physical archiving can, of course, still be used. There are
various digital archiving systems that are available, too.
Tagging and cross indexing are helpful in labeling files.
 3. Analysis

• is the stage where examination and combination

happen. Looking for patterns on prospective trends can
be achieved through these methods: brainstorming,
grouping, and crafting combinations. In brainstorming,
you decide which from your data is important and
which can be discarded.
 4. Presentation

• is representing your findings for easy

understanding as a way of analysis. You can
represent your findings through, among others, a
mood board and a storyboard. A mood board is a
collage of images, text, and object samples.
 Differentiating Relationships between
Causes and Consequences
• A cause refers to an agent that brings about a
result or a consequence. A consequence is always
traceable to a cause which can be a person, thing,
principle, motive, act, or event. There is no cause
without a consequence and vice versa.
• Let us try to look at some of the popular fashion trends among the
teenagers these days ranging from hairstyles, clothing, and music
preferences to mention a few. Clearly a number of them, if one will try to
observe, were patterned from a dominant and prevailing trend. To date,
Korean fashion trends is quite widespread in the country. In fact, you can
watch from the news almost every beginning of the year in a certain
portion of those news about the fashion trend for the year. In other words,
these news in the media somehow sets these so – called fashion trends
which will then be the baseline of fashion sales of the business sectors in
the market. People then especially the young and those who wanted to “fit
in” to these popularized trends would eventually patronize them. For
almost a number of years already, Korean culture became popular in the
country especially among the young.