Once a signifier of luxury or novelty, custom products and services are now within reach of the everyday consumer, thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence, algorithm-led platforms, and the COVID-era digitisation boom. Today, everyone wants to be the main character of their brand experience.

Is gaming set to take over people’s free time? What are the limits of virtual reality? How have media producers adapted to pandemic-inspired needs? In this part of the 2021 Expert Outlook, we speak to four experts about how people are finding both solace and escapism through screens.

La-Z-Boy has long been a symbol of overindulgent underachievers forever reclining in an overstuffed armchair. But with a massive image overhaul, the company has re-emerged as an Instagram-ready, sustainable, and modern furniture brand for a generation craving comfort and style.

Video games may conjure up imagery of ultra-fantasy but can these play a positive role in mental health? Canvas8 spoke to Joe Donnelly, author ofCheckpoint: How Video Games Power Up Minds, Kick Ass, and Save Lives, to understand the benefits of gaming that transcend entertainment.

While spending hours gaming might be enjoyable, being hunched over on the couch is definitely the opposite. Ikea and ROG’s gaming furniture collaboration comes as people increasingly rely on gaming to escape to pandemic-free virtual worlds during lockdown.