Olivia Houghton

Olivia joined The Future Laboratory as a junior researcher in early 2018. Now, as deputy creative foresight editor, she is responsible for leading the creative development of LS:N Global. Her role is to ensure the platform’s written and visual content sets new standards for digital communication.

Contributing regularly to publications including Vogue and the Financial Times, as well as to industry events such as Cosmetics Business Live, Olivia is known as The Future Laboratory’s go-to expert for consumer trends in beauty, health and wellness.

She is infamous for her nine-minute post-lunch naps and for challenging her colleagues to a tennis match or two.

What drew you to the world of trends and foresight?

I was always known as the ‘why’ child in my family – right up until adolescence – but it wasn’t until university that I really had a feel for trends and foresight.

During my second year we had a module on trend forecasting and I was introduced to The Future Laboratory. While the company used to host a live project with my university, unfortunately this was paused for my class year. I was gutted, but it didn’t stop me messaging the head of people on LinkedIn every two weeks asking if there were any new job vacancies… And here I am today.

What makes LS:N Global unique?

The Future Laboratory and LS:N Global offer something unique to the world of market research, trend forecasting and strategic planning – creative research. Creative research is a distinct type of research that adds contextual and aesthetic value to our content.

Our creative team ensure our research is inclusive of creative-led projects and/or projects of a high visual standard, as well as working on specific content with design implications. Alongside this, the team maintain LS:N Global’s progressive visual style through a combination of thorough visual research and external collaborations with our close network of creatives, and AI tools.