The Forecast Lab

ASU FIDM

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Forecasting the Future Through Research, Creativity, and Collaboration

The forecast lab is a collaborative environment where students, faculty, and industry partners investigate the future of fashion, retail, and creativity.

Founded by Dr. Danielle Sponder Testa, The Forecast Lab at ASU FIDM explores how forecasting methodologies can help organizations anticipate emerging cultural, technological, economic, and consumer change. The lab bridges professional forecasting practice with academic research, creating a collaborative environment where students, faculty, and industry partners investigate the future of fashion, retail, and the creative industries.

Unlike traditional forecasting approaches that focus solely on trend prediction, The Forecast Lab emphasizes the development of research methodologies that connect macro-level change with creative decision-making. By combining scholarly inquiry, industry insight, and experiential learning, the lab equips students with the tools to transform emerging signals into actionable strategies for product development, consumer engagement, and innovation.

Research within the lab spans fashion, retail, design, consumer behavior, artificial intelligence, sustainability, and interdisciplinary creative practice, reflecting the increasingly interconnected nature of today's global marketplace.

Two women shopping for clothes together in a store. One woman is holding a beige coat, and they are smiling and talking. The other woman has long red hair and is holding a coffee cup.

SMACKES

Research Framework

Dr. Testa developed the SMACKES research methodology for forecasting, designed to bridge macro-environmental research with creative product development.

While established forecasting frameworks—including PESTLE, DEEPLIST, and STEPIC—provide valuable approaches to environmental scanning and analysis, they often stop short of helping creative professionals, particularly new researchers, in translating macro-level shifts into meaningful design, merchandising, branding, and strategic decisions.

SMACKES addresses this gap. It is a framework that better aligns forecasting research with the realities of creative industries.

The framework organizes forecasting research across seven interconnected dimensions.

Crowd of people crossing a busy street at sunset, with palm trees and traffic lights in the background, in a lively urban area.

Social

Multiple floors of a shopping mall seen from above, with escalators, shoppers, and decorative hanging disco balls.

Market

A single pink rose flower with its petals open, photographed against a clear blue sky.

Aesthetic

A fashion model's midsection with one hand on her hip, wearing a white lace top, maroon velvet jacket, a pink belt, and a floral skirt, against a plain blue background.

Consumer

An organized white desk with a laptop displaying code, a smartphone, a coffee mug, headphones, and a notebook. In the background, there is a monitor showing a webpage, a small potted plant, and a white lamp. The workspace is bright with natural light coming through a window.

Knowledge

Multiple glass laboratory test tubes with plants growing inside, placed on a shelf in a laboratory setting.

Science

Together, these dimensions encourage researchers to examine not only macro-environmental forces but also the creative, cultural, and consumer-centered drivers that influence innovation across fashion, retail, design, and other creative disciplines.

Developed through comparative analysis of industry forecasting reports, futures predictions, and undergraduate forecasting projects, SMACKES integrates structured environmental scanning with experiential learning and design thinking, providing a more accessible pathway for translating research into product direction and strategic innovation. Early findings indicate that the framework helps students more effectively connect macro-level insights to consumer needs, creative concepts, and product outcomes.

Today, the methodology serves as an evolving foundation for research conducted through The Forecast Lab, supporting applications across education, industry collaboration, and interdisciplinary forecasting practice.

Publication Coming Soon