Book Review: BankWest branch designer's vision of the future

A vision of what the world may be like by the time we hit 2057

BankWest's innovative new branch strategy is primarily the vision of consultant and futurist Richard Watson. In his book, Future Files, Watson presents a vision of what the world may be like by the time we hit 2057

Cover of Future Files BookTitle: Future Files: A history of the next 50 years
Author: Richard Watson
Publisher: Scribe
RRP: $44

Before setting out to charter what the future may look like in 50 years' time, Watson points out that his aim is not to predict the future, but to "liberate the imagination".

It is good; he says this in the preface of the book because while many of his forecasts seem more than probable (some are already happening as we speak) other scenarios of how the future may look seem better placed in a science fiction novel. Not that this detracts in any way for making this an absorbing and thought-provoking read.

Future Files left me conflicted. On the one hand I wanted to head straight out to the nearest gadget store to get my hands on the latest technological marvel, while on the other hand I thought about unplugging the internet and taking a mallet to my laptop before retiring to the countryside and making my own bread.

If you are wondering how this is possible, it is very simple... of all Watson's ideas that are believable, some are just too horrible to contemplate, while others make you wish the future was here already.

For example, in the chapter on Society and Culture - the book is neatly divided up into chapters covering different facets of life. Watson predicts that in the future, hotels will be staffed by receptionists who will in fact be holograms and that access to one's hotel room will be either via your "world-phone" (believable) or "via a chip in your jaw" (ouch!). Furthermore, he says patrons will be able to customise the hotel room so that it looks and smells "just like home". Despite all this technology, don't expect to be able to order a sandwich after 10:30pm.

Watson writes in 'tongue-in-cheek' style, making the book easy to read. Furthermore, he includes plenty of information about current trends which helps you understand where he gets his ideas from.

For instance, in the chapter on Media and Entertainment, Watson tracks how the reading of newspapers has declined (primarily due to lack of time and inconvenience) in favour of online content that is available when and in whatever format people want it. However, he reassures us that people will still choose to read both the news and books in paper format, partly out of habit and loyalty, but also because online content is so ubiquitous that much of it is of little value (everyone and his dog has a blog these days).

One chapter that should be of special interest to brokers is the one titled Banking and Financial Services. Here, you can learn about how the growth in the popularity of electronic money in Japan is likely to become a global phenomenon of the future - if you are wondering what he means by "electronic money", it is actually your mobile phone charged up as an electronic wallet.

And banks beware; Watson also predicts that supermarkets could one day be selling mortgages alongside tins of tuna and rice, while he expects that the likes of Microsoft, Vodafone and WalMart will all one day have banking licenses.

The great thing about Future Files is that it does not need to be read from end to end. It is a book you can dip in and out of - in the section on Automobiles and Transport you can read about cars that will repair themselves (believe it or not) or in Food and Drink you can shudder at the thought that fast food chains will be able to predict what you will order when you use the drive-through based on the car you drive.

Personally, I most enjoyed Watson's collection of current future trends already happening around the world such as a "vocation vacation" - a holiday club that allows you to try a new job on holiday, and website Asos.com which allows celebrity-crazed fans to copy the look of their favourite movie stars, right down to painting their toenails the same colour.

If anything, Future Files will certainly make you think!