It’s the constant refrain we’re always cross-examining as a team: that there’s never been a better time to be a consumer.
Certainly, we’re faced with more choices than ever before. And this should, in theory, only lead to more innovation and improvement for our benefit. But this logic is always marred by one monstrous assumption: mainly, that we as consumers know how to pick winners. And the fact is, of late, our track record has been spotty at best. Just look at the millions wasted on funding vaporware teased through mockups.
These results shouldn’t come as a surprise, really. The temptation to be led by the SparkNotes of marketing now is stronger than ever, especially when facing the torrent of new information that pours into our lives each day.
Combatting this inertia is why we launched the GP100 back in 2013. It was an exercise by our staff to sift through the lengthy feature lists, ingenious design strategies and earnest backstories in search of two deeper qualities: a desire to challenge expectations, and the focus to pursue an idea to its full potential.
Today this task seems more important than ever, and just as in years past, we’ve worked diligently to identify a diverse mixture of products and ideas that push their respective categories in exciting new directions. Many of them you’ve seen before; others may be more obscure. As a group, though, they are proof that it is indeed an intriguing time to be a consumer, as long as you know where to look.
