Tired of 2009 predictions yet? I've had no less than a dozen requests to contribute to compilations of predictions for the next year and have participated in a few. So, clearly I'm part of the problem if you're up to your ears in predictions from bloggers about what the next year will hold. Sometimes in the frenzy for all of us to put together our own predictions, we can lose sight of the fact that there are people who's entire jobs it is to pay attention to the trends happening around us and to put them in context. There are several sites devoted to this, and PSFK (one of my favourites) just released a book well worth picking up.

Your first reaction will probably include sticker shock (the softcover version is $50) - but once you delve into the ideas there, you'll likely consider it a bargain when priced against much longer reports from industry analysts about what trends to pay attention to in the future. Not only will the 9 "good ideas" shared in the book get you thinking, but you'll also get introduced to lots of sites you've never even heard of, including:

www.minkangdesign.com
www.tikitag.com
www.innocentdrinks.co.uk (Disclosure: Innocent Drinks are also mentioned in my book.)
www.twones.com
www.longnow.org

Just about the only complaint I had about the preview copy that the good folks at PSFK sent over was that the printing execution done through Blurb clearly must have driven their art directors crazy as it cut off words and images in several places and lacked the sort of high quality design experience overall that anyone familiar with PSFK will have come to expect. Still, despite the print version shortcomings, the ideas in this book will inspire your thinking into the new year in a way that no blog posts (no matter how well written) will do. For that alone, it's worth a look.