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How can tech serve us better? Insights explores in new report, Good Screens

We live in the age of bad screen time. But is there a world in which technology can feel balanced, fulfilling – good? In our latest report, we explore the growing appetite for devices that make a positive impact on our lives, and how brands can respond to this moment creatively.

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The world of smart products, wearables and AI-powered devices is booming, accounting for much of the $1.3 trillion USD spent on consumer tech globally in 2025. Yet that statistic doesn’t reflect the entire picture.

Good Screens, a free, downloadable report from Insights, tells the other side of the story. We’re shedding light on why many people, including younger, “chronically online” generations, are hitting mute on technology, and how audiences are currently underserved by the industry. The report frames this shift as a design question. Do we want devices to be quiet and unobtrusive, or flamboyant and stimulating? Should they do more, or much less?

To answer, we’re zeroing in on the small yet mighty cohort
of designers, artists, creative technologists and brands reimagining the form and function of devices in inspiring ways, with opinions and insights from experts like Amsterdam-based studio Modem. These are served up alongside fresh design references showing how these ideas might manifest visually.

At a moment when technology risks swallowing us whole, Good Screens is a clarion call for doing things differently. The report serves as a compass to guide brands big and small through this sea change and stay ahead of the curve, while offering up ideas for creative teams working in technology on how to take screen time from bad to good.

Download The Good Screens Report

Download for free!

Contributors

Rima Sabina Aouf (opinion) @rimasabina

Zach Hackman (opinion artwork) @zachhackman_

Modem @modem.works

Superflux @superfluxstudio

Kiran Scott de Martinville @kiran.sdm

Kieran Feechan @kieran.mf

Domenico Di Paolo @question_everything.xyz

Noware @noware.nyc

USB Club @bringyourusb

Garden3D @garden3d_net

Coco Pauli cocopauli.com

Gunnar Kähler @gunnarkaehler

ECAL @ecal_ch

Motong Yang @mo___tong

Gyuhan Park @gyuhanpark

Zhuyang Liu @zhuyangleiu

Camille Roquet @camille.roquet

Stefani Pletenetska @wakeupstefani

Framework @frameworkcomputer

Report Team

Report Design: Studio Dial @studio_dial_

Megan Williams: Managing Editor

Liz Gorny: Overseeing Editor

Caitlin Higgs: Researcher and Writer

Ash Kirby: Senior Art Director

Saskia Vokes: Creative

Brittany Wilson: Campaign Manager

Livia Harper: Project Manager

Above

Modem and HB-AS: Heirloom Hardware (Copyright © Modem and HB-AS, 2023)

Above

Kieran Feechan and Domenico Di Paolo: Imago. Photography by Adam Lin (Copyright © Kieran Feechan and Domenico Di Paolo, 2026)

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Further Info

Insights is It’s Nice That’s research department. We inspire and inform the creative teams behind some of the world’s biggest brands, through cultural research to spark brand storytelling, dedicated year-long inspiration packages, and strategic visual trend work. If you’re in need of insights, get in touch at insights@itsnicethat.com.

About the Author

Megan Williams

Megan Williams is a London-based writer, editor and researcher who regularly covers photography and visual culture. Her writing has been published by WePresent, AnOther, The Guardian, British Journal of Photography, Creative Review and more.

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