Our MarComm Trends for 2026, continued.
I was recently asked by The PR Net to share my thoughts on Marketing and Communications trends shaping the design industry in 2026. In the piece, I spoke about Founder-Led Storytelling, but I wanted to expand on that idea here — and add a few other shifts I see redefining how design brands communicate.
Founder-Led Storytelling
In my interview, I shared: “…Founder-Led Storytelling will be pivotal in 2026, particularly across visual platforms like Instagram. Even when a founder’s name isn’t on the door, they remain the emotional and cultural anchor of the brand. As design services increasingly command six-figure investments, clients want to see more than a portfolio. They want to know who they are trusting, how decisions are made, and what values guide the work. Thoughtful, consistent founder visibility builds that confidence and transforms a polished façade into a point of view with a human presence behind it.”
If you’re the founder of a service-based brand and you’re not showing up, both online and in person, you are doing your business a disservice. Instagram is not a mythological lead source. It works. Several of our interior design clients secure real, qualified inquiries directly through social media. And here’s the reality: high-net-worth clients are on Instagram. They are not mindlessly scrolling; they are observing, researching, and forming opinions long before they ever reach out. Social media has become what websites once were: the place people go to understand who you are before they step into your world.
But curated grids alone are not enough. With six- and seven-figure investments, months (sometimes years) of disruption, and the emotional weight of redesigning a home, clients want alignment before they sign. They want to know your values. Your temperament. Your point of view. If your online presence feels different from the person they meet in real life, trust erodes instantly. Founder visibility is no longer optional, but is now a requirement.
Ditching Traditional Shelter Media
We’re also seeing a reclamation of PR. Designers are reshaping what publication looks like by turning to Substack, personal blogs, and owned platforms instead of relying solely on traditional shelter magazines. Who better to articulate the nuance of a project than the person who lived it?
This shift allows designers to go deeper: to explain decisions, challenges, trade-offs, and creative tension without the constraints of a condensed editorial format. The narrative becomes richer and more controlled. Beyond writing, many are expanding into spoken formats. Podcasts, in particular, are opening up space for real conversations about the industry. They move beyond polished reveal photos and into the actual mechanics of running a design business: client dynamics, budgeting realities, vendor relationships, creative burnout. That transparency builds credibility.
Take Caroline Turner Interiors, for example. Her podcast, Confessions of an Interior Designer, pulls back the curtain in a way that feels candid and human. It’s not overly produced or sanitized. And that’s the point. People want access to the real version of the work.
The Rise of AI
This one is complicated.
AI is everywhere — and in many ways, it’s useful. We use it in our own workflow to refine structure or tighten language. But relying on it as the starting and ending point? That’s where things fall apart. The internet is beginning to sound the same. The captions feel familiar. The phrasing is recycled. For an industry built on originality and point of view, that’s a problem.
AI should assist, and not replace. Get your thoughts out first. Write the messy draft. Form the opinion. Then, if needed, use tools to sharpen it. And even then, edit what comes back. Refine it. Make sure it sounds like you. If every brand starts to read the same, the differentiation disappears. And in this industry, differentiation is the entire business.
In-Person Experiential Events
The final shift I see gaining momentum is the return to in-person experiential events.
After years of digital saturation, people are craving physical interaction again — not just panels, but thoughtfully produced gatherings that create intimacy and dialogue. Designers, brands, and creatives are recognizing that community cannot be built solely through a screen. When done well, these events deepen loyalty, strengthen referral networks, and create lasting brand memory. A well-curated evening, a salon-style conversation, or a tactile showroom activation can accomplish what dozens of posts cannot: real connection.
In a world oversaturated with content, presence is becoming a differentiator. And in 2026, the brands that understand how to balance digital visibility with physical experience will lead the conversation.
None of these shifts are about chasing what’s new for the sake of it, but about ownership of voice, of narrative, and of presence. The brands that will move the design industry forward in 2026 are the ones willing to be seen, to speak for themselves, to gather people in real life, and to protect their point of view. The work has always mattered. Now, how you communicate it matters just as much.