Keeping up with the times: new communication concept by impress

Imagine a world that is separated from our current concept of time. A world without clocks and calendars, where our bodies and the environment tell us what to do when.  What if we could embrace time, and by doing so, we could also embrace ourselves? We would live in ways so we could build a perfect relationship with time.  Let’s just imagine we could respect our natural rhythm, be in sync with ourselves and live life at our own personal pace.

We would have UCHRONIA. Time utopia.

Living in time utopia: UCHRONIA

While the decor specialist impress is always monitoring fresh trend themes, time is a topic that affects us continuously in our everyday lives. It stands above trends but also consumes them, works with them and makes us reevaluate them from time to time. This could also be said of the development of decors which takes a lot of time. From conceptual kickoffs over defined design choices to the finished product, time is an influential ingredient for our work.

Furthermore, in these challenging times, which are characterized by change, we also change our perspective on time. The situation that people quite often describe as “the new normality” makes us reevaluate what is worth our personal time and what might not be. It also requires a different way of dealing with time, of finding a balance or harmony between leisure and working hours, between time for ourselves and time for others.

Because time is such a universal topic for our society as well as for ourselves as human beings, impress wants to reflect on time itself with its new communication concept UCHRONIA – a time utopia in which we live in perfect harmony with our personal rhythm of time. Uchronia allows us to be in sync with our environment, our bodies and our minds, so we can thrive on our own terms. As Sascha Kostros, Head of Decor Management at impress, explains, “It is an idea to break away from time as we are used to experiencing it, especially in these modern times in which we slowly start to understand that the continuous technological progress leads to even more time pressure for us as human beings and our planet alike.” Therefore, with UCHRONIA we shift our attention to other dimensions of time such as inner time, biological time and dream time to the deeply geological time of the earth and discover the properties, magic and tragic of time.

impress in 2021

Moving through time and space

Linked to this new concept, impress has a lot to present for its customers in the months to come:

Beginning in May 2021, impress kicks off a new digital 3D-platform to reveal more about UCHRONIA. With decors in rendered living environments, information on trends and designer presentations, this platform will create a new experience for impress’ customers. Sascha Kostros announces, “With this platform, we are taking a big step forward in order to digitize the impressions that decors usually leave behind in real environments. What was previously only possible in real rooms is now possible using technological end devices. The advantage over classic catalogs is, of course, the mood conveyed by a tangible environment. It is a completely new opportunity to really discover decors at home or on the go instead of just viewing them or reading about it.”

Simultaneously, the story of UCHRONIA consisting of six chapters will be released in a limited edition of exclusive physical storybooks. Each chapter reflects on various perspectives of our human relation with time and will be mirrored on the platform as well, so customers will not miss any part of the story.

Furthermore, impress will also be present at Interzum@Home, the digital platform of the world’s leading trade fair for furniture production and interior design. An event that impress is looking forward to, as Sascha Kostros emphasizes, “Even though we at impress fully enjoy participating at physical fairs, we are delighted that our industry is also exploring new digital ways to connect designers and customers. We strongly believe well-balanced hybrid concepts to be the optimal future experience for our customers. Interzum@Home is an important step towards this goal.”

In addition to the new UCHRONIA concept, there are also illuminating trend topics this year that the international impress design circle has explored and meticulously summarized.

New digital platform for UCHRONIA

Looking at time from different angles

Even before the Interzum in May 2021, impress is kicking off a new digital platform to create appealing touchpoints for customers and let them experience UCHRONIA firsthand while revealing more about the story behind it. The platform will contain decors, trends, designer presentations and much more to give customers and industry representatives exciting insights into the world of UCHRONIA.

Visitors will be able to take a deep dive into an interactive digital environment where users can freely move around in rendered living spaces to discover new decors and much more. Further background information on decors can be easily accessed and bookmarked via individual QR-codes for personal summaries of one's favorite content.

“Due to the current circumstances and the ever-growing trend towards digitalization, impress will also use this platform as a long lasting tool to connect customers and designers while presenting new designs and trends on a regular basis,” says Sascha Kostros. Therefore, the platform is set to be continuously expanded with new perspectives and spaces to explore. Exclusive invitations will be sent out by sales contacts including individual access codes starting in Q2 2021.

Limited UCHRONIA storybooks

Interacting with time

With the start of UCHRONIA, a limited edition of exclusive physical storybooks will be released for each of the 6 chapters. The storybooks will contain the full story of UCHRONIA with various interactive features such as pop-up pages with panoramic landscapes or pop-up doors with little secrets behind them to let readers truly experience and understand the concept, always linked to decors.

The storybooks will be sent out by personal sales contacts starting in Q2 of 2021 with the opening of the digital platform.

impress at Interzum@Home

Changing times

In addition to the new digital in-house platform, impress will also be present at the digital Interzum@Home platform to introduce UCHRONIA with its new decors and trends.

Although Interzum, the world’s leading trade fair for furniture production and interior design in Cologne, Germany, is unfortunately not taking place this year in its physical form, industry and press representatives are already excited for the digital transformation of this important fair – and so is impress as a long-term exhibitor of course.

In order to emphasize the great importance of trade fairs like the Cologne Fair, impress will provide various insights into UCHRONIA with product information and video material on its company profile at Interzum@Home. While impress is also looking forward to physical held fairs again as soon as the situation allows it, the company is thankful for this great opportunity and believes this digital event to be an important contribution for the future of our industry with exciting new possibilities.