I'm delighted to share my latest essay, now published as part of the inaugural Semiotic Sisterhood quarterly collection. In it, I examine how slogan tees have evolved into modern cultural battlegrounds, using Conner Ives' provocative "Protect the Dolls" t-shirt as a lens to explore broader questions about identity, activism, and commercial messaging.

This piece sits alongside six other fascinating essays from Carla Moss, Liz Hetherington, Hannah Hoel, Su Luo, Elinor Lifshitz, and Ashley Mauritzen - each unpacking different cultural codes that shape our world in ways both subtle and profound. The range of topics is genuinely wonderful,

Huge thanks to Hannah Hoel and Carla Moss for creating this collaborative space where cultural analysts can dig deeper into the signs and symbols surrounding us. I'm excited to see how this collection develops over the coming quarters.

Read the full collection of essays here: https://lnkd.in/eS4ffCwX

You can also read my individual essay below.

In this week’s edition of the Trend Taster, we round up the snackable trends, stats and insights from around the world, including:

• Gen Z consumers expect AI beauty personalisation

• Viking's hydrogen-powered cruise ship

• Brand Loyalty is Shrinking

• Explainer: cofertility

• Beauty's Next Frontier

In this week’s edition of the Trend Taster, we round up the snackable trends, stats and insights from around the world, including:

• The rise in pensioner shoplifting

• Gen Z's ChatGPT stylist

• Ferrero is launching Nutella Peanut

• Explainer: Luxury Blind Boxes

• The epic 100-day global train journey

In this episode of Negotiation Illuminators, Amy Combrinck speaks with Ramona Daniel, a Cultural Insights and Strategy Consultant. Founder of Twenty3.

They explore the evolution of Negotiation practices, the importance of understanding cultural contexts and the significance of communication styles in Negotiations.

Ramona shares her journey of transitioning careers and emphasises the need for relationship building in Negotiations.

Ultimately, they conclude that Negotiation is a dynamic process akin to a dance, requiring adaptability and awareness of cultural differences.

In this week’s edition of the Trend Taster, we round up the snackable trends, stats and insights from around the world, including:

• Pinterest's enhanced visual search

• Visa's Intelligent Commerce "agentic shopping"

• Philips' Fixables offers 3D-printable repair

• Explainer: millennial hobby energy

• Luxury Diapers

This training session was created for the Insight Consultant Group (ICG) as a Knowledge Share session for their independent consultants.

If you are relatively new to AI, this 45-minute session will help you get more out of the AI tools you’re already using, without needing to become a tech expert. You’ll learn:

• What different types of AI tools (like ChatGPT or Claude) can and can’t do, and how to pick the right one for the job

• Simple, repeatable ways to write prompts that give you better, more relevant answers

• How to fine-tune AI responses when they’re not quite right

• Easy ways to keep track of the prompts you’ve written, so you can reuse and improve them over time

This is a hands-on, interactive session for independent researchers who want to work faster, think more creatively, and make AI a more useful everyday tool.